The treatment for chronic renal failure is kidney transplantation, but there are problems such as a shortage of donors and the need for lifelong administration of immunosuppressive drugs. Regenerative medicine is attracting as a method that can solve these problems. In recent years, it has become possible to induce various renal progenitor cells from pluripotent stem cells, and to construct a kidney with a higher-order structure by combining the induced progenitor cells. In addition, by using the animal embryogenesis, it has also become possible to create a chimeric kidney which have vessels and urinary tracts. Here, we mainly describe the progress and problems of these approaches.

Orthostatic hypotension is one of the typical non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease with orthostatic hypotension is associated with cognitive dysfunction, and motor symptoms progress rapidly and the prognosis for life is poor, thus its management is important. Cardiac sympathetic denervation is one of the major causes of orthostatic hypotension. The first α-synuclein change as the onset mechanism of Parkinson’s disease has been proposed as a route that starts from the intestinal tract and spreads to the central nervous system via vagus nerve, but it has also been experimentally proved to reach the heart from the intestinal tract via the sympathetic nerve. There is also the possibility that it will spread to the central nervous system via the sympathetic nervous system including the heart, and further research is needed to clarify the pathophysiology of the onset of Parkinson’s disease.

Sterile inflammation develops in cardiac remodeling, where inflammatory cells or macrophages accumulate to a failing heart. The molecular processes, however, by which macrophages are activated in cardiac remodeling remain unclear. Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) is a transcription factor which plays a critical role in a transcriptional response to hypoxia. We found that HIF signal regulates nitric oxide, an inflammatory mediator production in macrophages. HIF also activates macrophage migration capacity by upregulating glycolytic metabolism. Using animal model of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, we revealed that HIF in myeloid cells acts to prevent excessive fibrosis in a heart, illuminating the cardioprotective roles of HIF signaling.

Exosomes, first thought to function only as cellular garbage disposal, are secreted by all cells and have recently been discovered that they also function as a cell-cell communication tool. We have previously shown that cancer cells send "exosomes" to the future site of metastasis to alter the environment to a favorable place where cancer cells can successfully metastasize. In this review, I will discuss how exosomes define the metastatic sites, potential for using plasma-derived exosomes to identify cancer, or even define a panel of tumor-type specific exosomal proteins, which may help classify tumors of unknown primary origin.

During exercise, sympathetic nerve activity is increased while parasympathetic nerve activity is decreased. Two theories have been proposed as mechanisms underlying autonomic cardiovascular adjustments to excise, namely exercise pressor reflex and central command. The exercise pressor reflex is activated by excitation of muscle afferent nerves due to contraction. Central command is a neural drive that arises from the central area in the brain and regulates both somatomotor and autonomic nervous systems. Psychological stress is also associated with autonomic changes including blood pressure elevation and thermogenesis. It should be noted, however, that the characteristics of autonomic responses and their mechanisms likely differ between exercise and stress. Here, we review the study history for understandings of mechanisms underlying autonomic nervous system changes during exercise or stress, thereby discuss recent knowledge as well as future research direction.

In recent years, the importance of supportive care for cancer patients has been emphasized, and Japanese herbal kampo medicine has come to be positioned as an important drug that contributes to supportive care suffering from cancer itself and/or several side effects. In addition, the effects and mechanism of action of kampo medicines have come to be recognized with scientific evidence. Scientific evidence has become the basis for prescribing of some kampo medicines in addition to “sho”, the status of clinical phenomena normally determines prescription of kampo medicine. Hangeshashinto, rikkunshito and daikenchuto, typical kampo medicines to be performed their properties with scientifically approached basic medicines, are taken up and presented in this paper. At the same time, we will introduce the prospects for future kampo medicine research.

Although the vagus nerve is best known for its projection from the center to peripheral organs, it actually has a higher percentage of afferent fibers that transmit peripheral information to the central nervous system. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), which stimulates these afferent contacts, has been used as a palliative therapy for intractable epilepsy, and as a treatment for depression and other disorders. Recent studies have shown that vagus nerve stimulation not only has therapeutic effects on brain pathology, but also promotes learning and rehabilitation by creating neuroplasticity in the brain and altering the brain’s internal environment. It has been suggested that both neurons and glial cell function may be involved in these changes in the brain environment. Research on the control of the central brain environment from the periphery holds promise not only for epilepsy, but also as a new treatment method for a wide range of brain pathologies.