Volume 275,
Issue 11,
2020
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連載
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臨床医が知っておくべき最新の基礎免疫学 14
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Source:
医学のあゆみ 275巻11号, 1197-1202 (2020);
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自己と非自己を認識する免疫の本質の理解と,臨床的に顕在化したがんの多くは免疫からの逃避/抑制機構を獲得しているというがん免疫編集理論の確立に並行して,がんの免疫からの逃避/抑制を阻害するというコンセプトの免疫チェックポイント阻害薬が近年ついに実用化された.免疫チェックポイント阻害薬に続く有効ながん免疫療法として遺伝子改変T 細胞療法が注目されている.キメラ抗原受容体遺伝子(CAR)を導入したT細胞(CAR-T)療法が急性リンパ性白血病(ALL)およびびまん性大細胞性B 細胞リンパ腫(DLBCL)の治療法として2019 年にわが国で承認された.T 細胞レセプター(TCR)遺伝子改変T 細胞(TCR-T)療法もいくつかの固形がんを対象とした臨床試験で有効性を示しつつある.今後の課題として,抗原の選択,T 細胞疲弊の回避,副作用の制御,非自己細胞の利用などがあげられ,これらを克服してより有効な遺伝子改変T 細胞療法を開発すべく研究が展開されている.
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バイオミメティクス(生体模倣技術)の医療への応用 10
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Source:
医学のあゆみ 275巻11号, 1203-1209 (2020);
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高靱性ハイドロゲルは,高強度・高靱性を示し軟骨などの結合軟組織の代替材料として期待されている.しかし,その水を多く含む特性から骨組織との強固な固定が困難であり,期待される応用が制限されていた.そこで,筆者らは骨が代謝をともなう動的な組織であることに着目した.ゲル自体をその代謝機構に取り込ませることでゲルを強固に接着させる手法を開発した.ゲル表面に骨の無機主成分であるハイドロキシアパタイト(HAp)を複合化することにより,骨組織との接着面において骨組織とゲルの融合領域を形成し,強固な接着が可能となった.また,このゲル-HAp 複合体をコラーゲン-HAp 複合体である骨組織のモデル材料として,骨組織の構造や形成過程の機構を解明することにも役に立つ.ハイドロゲルとHApの複合化は優れた生体代替材料としての応用を実現するだけでなく,骨組織の基礎的な機能の理解を助けるものである.
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特報
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第57回(2020年度)ベルツ賞受賞論文1等賞
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Source:
医学のあゆみ 275巻11号, 1210-1219 (2020);
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Once kidney damage reaches a certain threshold, the progression of renal disease is consistent, irreversible, and largely independent of the initial insult. The final common pathway in this process is important, and we have proposed and studied chronic hypoxia in the tubulointerstitium a final common pathway that leads to the development of end-stage kidney disease. We developed various methods to estimate oxygenation of the kidney, including oxygen-sensing transgenic rats and a new phosphofluorescence probe. Animals with kidney disease developed hypoxia of the kidney even from an early stage of the disease, and causes of hypoxia of the kidney are multifactorial. Studies utilizing blood oxygen level-dependent MRI confirmed that kidneys of human patients suffer from hypoxia. Hypoxia induces kidney damage via multiple pathways, including apoptosis, fibrosis, and epigenetic changes. As epigenetic changes induced by hypoxia persist for a long time, we proposed this as“hypoxic memory”. Cells are endowed with a defensive mechanism against hypoxia, and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)is a master regulator of this defense. As erythropoietin is a representative target of HIF, HIF activator has been developed as a new therapeutic modality against anemia in CKD and is now available at the bedside. Given that kidney hypoxia has pivotal roles on the development and progression of kidney disease, hypoxia can be a valid therapeutic target, and our experiments studies showed that pharmaceutical intervention to active HIF improves a variety of animal models of kidney disease. Our studies suggest that HIF activation is an ideal target of future therapeutic approaches.
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第57回(2020年度)ベルツ賞受賞論文2等賞
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Source:
医学のあゆみ 275巻11号, 1220-1235 (2020);
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Chronic kidney disease(CKD)is a global health burden and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, affecting 10% of global population. While currently available treatment benefit CKD patients, there are no treatment that specifically targets the pathogenesis of CKD, and improved understanding of the pathogenesis of CKD is prerequisite to develop future CKD treatment. Irrespective of its etiology, the progression of CKD is characterized by common pathological processes, such as“ glomerulosclerosis”,“ tubular injury”, and “fibrosis”. Utilizing lineage tracing analysis and TRECK method, we have identified the cell populations responsible for renal fibrosis, renal anemia, tubular injury and regeneration, and demonstrated the close interaction between these cell populations regulating their phenotypes and behaviors. We further identified key molecules such as USAG-1 and retinoic acid, mediating the crosstalk between these cell populations. Additionally, we recognized tertiary lymphoid tissue (TLT)as a new microenvironment that causes sustained inflammation and delayed regeneration in aged kidneys, and demonstrated the diverse roles of resident fibroblasts contributing to TLT formation. Taken together, orchestrated function of various cell populations, in combination with complex network of intercellular crosstalk, is essential in maintaining kidney function and structure. The damage of a specific cell population spreads to other cell populations, causing a wide range of kidney damage and functional deterioration. Even more striking is the discovery that many important pathological processes during CKD are reversible. Drug discovery targeting the communications between cell populations in the kidney and their regulating molecules is expected as an effective treatment for CKD.