Kagoshima University

Tissue clearing has been widely used for fluorescence imaging of fixed tissues, but its application to live tissues has been limited by toxicity. Here we develop minimally invasive optical clearing media for fluorescence imaging of live mammalian tissues. Light scattering is minimized by adding spherical polymers with low osmolarity to the extracellular medium. A clearing medium containing bovine serum albumin (SeeDB-Live) is compatible with live cells, enabling structural and functional imaging of live tissues, such as spheroids, organoids, acute brain slices and the mouse brains in vivo. SeeDB-Live minimally affects neuronal electrophysiological properties and sensory responses in vivo, and facilitates fluorescence imaging of deep cortical layers in live animals without detectable toxicity to neurons or behavior. We further demonstrate its utility to epifluorescence voltage imaging in acute brain slices and in vivo preparations. Thus, SeeDB-Live expands both the depth and modality range of fluorescence imaging in live mammalian tissues.

Brown adipose tissue plays a crucial role in systemic energy homeostasis by taking up and metabolizing large amounts of fatty acids. The fatty acid sensor FFAR4 and the transporter CD36 are key proteins in this process, but their functional interaction has not been fully characterized. In this study, we generated FFAR4-deficient mouse brown adipocyte cell lines and found that this chronic deficiency of FFAR4 led to a compensatory increase in CD36 mRNA expression. However, subsequent experiments using transient overexpression systems revealed a distinct, rapid post-translational regulation mechanism: FFAR4 activation markedly reduced CD36 protein levels. In addition, we identified the secreted enzyme PCSK9 as a key mediator. We demonstrated that FFAR4 promotes the maturation and enhances the secretion of PCSK9, an effect driven by a promotion of its transcription. The secreted PCSK9 then induced the degradation of CD36 through both autocrine and paracrine pathways. This newly identified FFAR4-PCSK9-CD36 axis appears to function as a sophisticated negative feedback loop, or "emergency brake," protecting brown adipocytes against excessive fatty acid uptake and lipotoxicity. These findings reveal a critical mechanism for the maintenance of lipid homeostasis and identify a promising new therapeutic target for metabolic diseases.

Canine hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) requires further molecular characterization to identify diagnostic and therapeutic targets, and to establish whether dogs with this condition can model the human disease. Accordingly, we aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in canine HCC and evaluate cross-species transcriptomic dysregulation in canine and human HCC. Liver tissue samples from three dogs with HCC and three healthy dogs were subjected to next-generation sequencing, followed by RT-qPCR validation. Identified DEGs were then targeted in bioinformatics analyses (pathway enrichment, protein-protein interaction network, and hub gene analyses) for molecular characterization and comparison with human HCC datasets. We identified 975 DEGs (upregulated: 604; and downregulated: 371). Extracellular matrix-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, cell adhesion molecule, PI3K/Akt signaling, and cytokine/chemokine-related pathways were enriched. C1R, APOC3, C1QA, APOA1, C1QB, ACTG1, C1QC, CRP, ANXA5, and ANXA2 were identified as hub genes. Canine and human HCCs share 118 DEGs, highlighting conserved alterations in metabolic pathways, PI3K-Akt signaling, focal adhesion, and PPAR signaling pathways. Based on human HCC data, SPP1, NQO1, RRM2, APOA1, APOC3, ALDOB, and IGF1 were identified as prognosticators indicating poor overall survival. This study presents the first cross-species transcriptomic analysis of canine HCC, revealing significant molecular resemblances to human HCC, indicating it may be a promising comparative model for studying tumor biology, drug responses, and novel therapeutic interventions.

Pancreaticoduodenal artery aneurysms (PDAAs) are associated with celiac axis stenosis and occlusion. PDAAs carry a risk of sudden rupture and therefore require prompt treatment. Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), a systemic autoimmune disease, has recently been reported in association with various arterial aneurysms. To our knowledge, no previous report has described concurrent PDAAs and cerebral aneurysms (CAs) associated with SS. Here, we present a rare case of PDAAs and CAs associated with SS. A 69-year-old Japanese woman with a history of chronic hepatitis was referred to our hospital. She had a 20-year history of dry mouth, a one-month history of taste disturbance, and joint pain. Laboratory tests revealed she was SS. Abdominal ultrasonography performed for chronic hepatitis incidentally revealed aneurysms around the pancreas. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) demonstrated multiple PDAAs, including two anterior superior PDAAs, three anterior inferior PDAAs, one inferior PDAA, and two dorsal pancreatic artery aneurysms. The origin of the celiac axis was occluded. CECT also revealed three CAs: an anterior communicating artery (AcomA) aneurysm with a bleb, a right middle cerebral artery aneurysm, and a right M1 bifurcation aneurysm. We planned a three-stage treatment strategy. First, an aorto-hepatic bypass using a reversed great saphenous vein graft was performed. The graft was proximally anastomosed to the abdominal aorta 15 mm above the inferior mesenteric artery, routed through the mesocolon near the ligament of Treitz, and passed between the stomach and pancreas. It was then distally anastomosed to the common hepatic artery. The gastroduodenal artery (GDA) was ligated to prevent competitive flow between the GDA and the graft. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 9. Twenty days later, coil embolization of the PDAAs was performed as the second treatment. Fifty days thereafter, stent-assisted coil embolization of the AcomA aneurysm was performed as the third treatment. Twelve months after the aorto-hepatic bypass, the graft remained patent, and the sizes of the remaining CAs were unchanged. Our case highlights the potential for systemic aneurysm formation in patients with SS and demonstrates that staged multidisciplinary treatment can be safely and effectively performed.

This study aims to evaluate the changes in the content of bioactive compounds and the antioxidant capacity of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) leaf tea throughout the production process. The results show that leaf age significantly affects the accumulation of bioactive compounds, with mature leaves having the highest total polyphenol content and total flavonoid content. After processing, all tea samples showed increased antioxidant activity due to the heat process, helping to release bound phenolic compounds and inhibit the enzyme polyphenol oxidase. A 10% moisture reduction before fermentation resulted in the highest antioxidant activity (85%), while excessive moisture reduction (> 15%) decreased total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. The best fermentation conditions were determined to be 40 °C for 5 h. Additionally, the best hot extraction conditions for the finished tea were 95 to 100 °C for 6 to 8 min, which allowed to obtain the highest phenolic content without causing thermal degradation.

We present a bar-informed kinematic-distance (BIKD) method to reconstruct face-on molecular-gas maps of the inner Milky Way from PPV data, relaxing the standard assumption of axisymmetric circular rotation that can generate severe artifacts in barred regions. BIKD replaces the rotation curve with a non-axisymmetric streaming field extracted from hydrodynamical simulations in an observationally constrained barred Galactic potential, and infers a discrete distance posterior along each sightline using a Gaussian likelihood in line-of-sight velocity. To mitigate multi-modality, we adopt posterior-weighted map making via posterior sampling. We validate the full pipeline in closed-loop tests on the simulations, showing that the recovered large-scale morphology is only weakly sensitive to simple distance priors and remains stable across plausible variations in bar angle, snapshot time, and pattern speed. We then apply BIKD to a Galactic CO survey to obtain a face-on $Σ$ map. Compared to a standard axisymmetric kinematic-distance (KD) reconstruction, BIKD strongly suppresses line-of-sight--elongated finger-of-God features and robustly recovers a bar-aligned, quadrant-asymmetric inner-Galaxy morphology under model marginalization. The model-marginalized radial profiles show an approximately exponential decline beyond $\sim4$ kpc, a pronounced deficit at $R\sim0.5$--$3.5$ kpc, and a central concentration consistent with Central Molecular Zone surface densities. Finally, we compare prominent ridge-shaped overdensities in the BIKD map with independent spiral-arm loci traced by high-mass star-forming region masers with VLBI trigonometric parallaxes and by classical Cepheids with period--luminosity distances. Several maser-parallax segments are qualitatively consistent with the dominant BIKD ridges, whereas the Cepheid loci do not coincide with them within their recommended azimuth range.

Abstract. Pramudia Z, Ismail A, Risqiana MA, Maimunah Y, Bahri AS, Setiawan AF, Kurniawan A. 2026. Feeding regimes influence growth, survival, morphometric indicators, and water quality correlations in Betta splendens (Super Red Plakat strain) fry. Biodiversitas 27 (1): d270114. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d270114. The early larval stage is crucial for growth and survival in ornamental fish culture, yet feeding strategies for Betta splendens (Super Red Plakat strain) remain underexplored. This study evaluated the effects of five feeding regimes, comprising live prey and formulated diets on the morphometric growth and survival of B. splendens fry during a 28-day post-infusoria rearing period. Five dietary treatments: Artemia nauplii, Alona sp., Moina sp., Daphnia magna, and artificial pellets, with infusoria provided in all treatments during the first week. Survival rate (SR), total length (TL), and standard length (SL) were measured at the end of the experiment. Fry fed with Artemia nauplii and Moina sp. exhibited the highest survival (88-89%) and growth performance (TL up to 15.6 mm), while D. magna resulted in the lowest values. Statistical analysis confirmed significant differences among treatments. Water quality remained within optimal thresholds, ensuring reliable interpretation. Pearson correlation analysis showed strong positive associations among SR, TL, and SL, confirming that survival is closely linked to growth. Moderate correlations between DO and biological metrics suggest oxygen availability may indirectly influence performance. These findings highlight the importance of feed type and particle size compatibility with larval open-mouth for enhancing productivity in B. splendens hatchery practices. The use of Artemia or Moina during the post-infusoria stage can enhance hatchery yield by approximately 10-20%, providing practical guidance for sustainable B. splendens aquaculture and supporting SDG 14 (Life Below Water) through improved fry survival and responsible freshwater biodiversity management.