Mitochondrial dysfunction is recognized as a key factor in the pathological progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and can disrupt the balance of intracellular metabolic pathways (e.g., oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis). The authors focused on oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), reported to a primary component accumulated in the retina of AMD patients, and elucidated its effect on metabolic alterations with increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production in retinal pigment epithelial cells. It was discovered that prolonged exposure to ox-LDL is crucial for the induction of these metabolic alterations. These significantly contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying AMD metabolic alterations.
Management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) after delayed periods presents a significant challenge in cancer chemotherapy. This study represents the first attempt to compare the administration of fosnetupitant (F-NTP), fosaprepitant (F-APR), or aprepitant (APR) from 0 to 168 hours following the initial doses of cisplatin-based regimens. The authors demonstrated that F-NTP was significantly more effective than F-APR and APR in reducing CINV after anticancer drug administration from 0 to 168 hours, without significant side effects. The efficacy of F-NTP was particularly effective in the beyond-delayed periods (120-168 hours), which is the focus of attention of the revised Japanese antiemetic guidelines.
[Highlighted Paper selected
by Editor-in-Chief]
The study
examined which cells are responsible for
responding to the LNPs used in the approved COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. In this
study, the authors incubated immortalized
mouse lymphatic endothelial cells (mLECs) or professional antigen presenting
cells (APCs) such as RAW 264.7 monocyte/macrophage cells with SM-102 LNPs that contained no
mRNA. As a result, chemokines involved in the recruitment of
monocytes/neutrophils were produced only by the mLECs following the empty LNP
treatment. These findings indicate that LECs appear to serve as the cells that
send out initial signals to response LNPs.
The authors mainly investigated the risk factors and preventive strategies of cetuximab-induced hypomagnesemia in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Their results indicated that a low pre-treatment serum magnesium level emerges as the only risk factor, and this risk can be effectively mitigated through intravenous prophylactic magnesium sulfate administration from initiating cetuximab treatment. This preventive intervention exhibits minimal adverse events and is thus recommended for managing cetuximab-induced hypomagnesemia. Given that cetuximab interruption due to adverse events directly impacts prognosis, the insights gleaned from their study hold significant relevance for the optimal care of HNC patients undergoing cetuximab treatment.
Diabetes patients are well-known to exhibit alteration of taste sensitivity, but the alteration profiles have not been clarified in detail yet. In brief-access tests with a mixture of sucrose and quinine hydrochloride, the lick ratios of control, but not non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM)-model, rats for the mixture and quinine hydrochloride solutions decreased aging-dependently. Metagenomic analysis of gut microbiota revealed strain- and aging-dependent alteration of mucus layer-regulatory microbiota. These findings suggested that control, but not NIDDM-model, rats exhibited an aging-dependent increase of bitter taste sensitivity with alteration of gut microbiota.