{"title":"The Japanese gut microbiome: ecology, uniqueness, and impact on health and disease.","authors":"Suguru Nishijima, Masahira Hattori, Naoyoshi Nagata","doi":"10.2183/pjab.102.006","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.102.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metagenomics has become a powerful approach for deciphering the structure and function of the human gut microbiome, a complex microbial ecosystem in the gut. The human gut microbiome plays a crucial role in health and disease through multifaceted interactions with various factors, including age, diet, lifestyle, and medications. This review summarizes key advances in gut microbiome research over the past two decades and presents several topics from a recent large-scale, data-driven study, specifically a cohort-based initiative, the Japanese 4D microbiome project. These include a population-level characterization of the Japanese gut microbiome in a global context through comparison with 31,695 gut metagenomes from 37 countries, as well as an extensive analysis of the effects of medications. This review provides new insights into the ecology and uniqueness of the Japanese gut microbiome and highlights the importance of large-scale, well-phenotyped cohorts in advancing microbiome science.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":"102 2","pages":"82-103"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13000112/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146166440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Extremely active Sun from 1190 to 1220 in the Medieval Period: Intercomparison of historical records and tree-ring carbon-14.","authors":"Hiroko Miyahara, Ryuho Kataoka, Kazuaki Yamamoto, Fuyuki Tokanai, Toru Moriya, Mirei Takeyama, Hirohisa Sakurai, Motonari Ohyama, Kazuho Horiuchi, Hideyuki Hotta","doi":"10.2183/pjab.102.011","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.102.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Several large sunspots and red aurorae have been recorded in the literature from relatively low geomagnetic latitude regions in Northeast Asia around 1200-1205 CE, and this interval can be regarded as one of the highest solar activity periods in the Medieval Period. To search for a potential solar proton event during this time and examine the solar cycle dependence, a high-precision carbon-14 analysis with annual resolution was conducted. We found no enhancement in carbon-14 around 1204 CE when prolonged low-latitude aurorae were observed in Kyoto, Japan, as recorded in Meigetsuki. Instead, we found a potential solar proton event in 1200-1201 CE, possibly associated with either the large sunspots or the red auroral events documented in this period. Reconstruction of solar cycles around the event suggested that this solar proton event occurred at the activity cycle's maximum. We also found that the solar cycles around this period were approximately seven to eight years, much shorter than those in the modern era, suggesting extremely high solar activity.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":"102 4","pages":"156-166"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13199641/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147676100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Direct photoexcitation of borate complexes for radical generation: A platform from organic synthesis to chemical biology.","authors":"Hirohisa Ohmiya","doi":"10.2183/pjab.102.016","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.102.016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Photochemical reactions enable access to reactive intermediates and bond-forming pathways that are often inaccessible under conventional thermal conditions. Among these, photoredox catalysis has become a powerful method for generating radicals, but it typically relies on multistep electron- and energy-transfer processes that can limit the efficiency and design of reaction. Herein, we present the development of borate complexes that can be directly excited by light to generate carbon-centered radicals, which provides a simpler and more versatile alternative to the aforementioned methods. The initial boracene-based systems enable visible-light-driven cleavage of carbon-boron bonds to form alkyl radicals with strong reducing capability. To improve functional group compatibility, a second-generation complex prepared from widely available boronic acids was developed. These systems enable diverse reactions, including carbon-carbon bond formation and transformations of biologically relevant molecules. Furthermore, extension to deep-red and near-infrared light allows radical generation under lower-energy irradiation, which is advantageous for practical and biological applications. Finally, this approach enables a new type of photocaged molecule that releases bioactive compounds with precise spatial and temporal control, as demonstrated for acetylcholine in cellular and neural imaging. These studies highlight the direct excitation of borate complexes as a versatile platform for bridging synthetic chemistry and chemical biology.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":"102 7","pages":"229-243"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13493201/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148536624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multimodal flexible sensor system toward telediagnosis.","authors":"Do Hoon Lee, Kuniharu Takei","doi":"10.2183/pjab.102.004","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.102.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Advancements in living standards, medical technologies, and nutrition have contributed to the global increase in life expectancy. However, the widening gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy indicates that a growing population requires ongoing medical care and hospitalization. The development of a home-use telediagnostic system is a promising solution for improving the quality of life for patients and healthcare providers to extend a healthy lifespan and reduce the burden on clinicians. Such a system also holds the potential for rapid health assessments during emergency situations, where timely triage is critical. This study reviews recent progress in noninvasive, multimodal sensor patches capable of continuously monitoring vital signs and biomarkers via the skin. Furthermore, we explore the integration of machine learning for real-time, on-device data analysis as an edge system, enabling autonomous health feedback without reliance on the Internet. Although several technical challenges remain before practical implementation, these innovations may pave the way for a paradigm shift in conventional medical care.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":"102 1","pages":"18-39"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12950839/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145960041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unconstrained deep learning-based sleep stage classification using cardiorespiratory and body movement activities in adults with suspected sleep apnea.","authors":"Seiichi Morokuma, Toshinari Hayashi, Naoyuki Motomura, Masatomo Kanegae, Yoshihiko Mizukami, Shinji Asano, Ichiro Kimura, Kenji Fujita, Yutaka Kohda, Hiroshi Imai, Yuji Tateizumi, Hitoshi Ueno, Subaru Ikeda, Kyuichi Niizeki","doi":"10.2183/pjab.101.032","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.101.032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study assessed the feasibility of unconstrained deep-learning-based sleep stage classification using cardiorespiratory and body movement activities derived from piezoelectric sensors installed under a bed mattress. Heart and respiratory rates and their respective variabilities, cardiorespiratory coupling index, and body movement were simultaneously acquired through polysomnography (PSG) for 106 untreated participants with suspected sleep apnea. We used a bidirectional long short-term memory network to predict the five sleep stages using five different input feature combinations. The best performance was achieved with a model comprising six parameters, including cardiorespiratory variability features, with a balanced accuracy of 0.70 ± 0.05, Cohen's κ of 0.40 ± 0.11, and an F1 score of 0.63 ± 0.08. Deming regression and Bland-Altman analyses of the six major sleep parameters estimated by the model and those determined by PSG showed significant correlations (r = 0.426-0.781) with a low bias. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and its potential to expand opportunities for in-home sleep monitoring.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"587-603"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12709057/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144966279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Syntheses and biological evaluation of M-COPA analogs derived from pentadienoic Weinreb amide.","authors":"Hisazumi Tsutsui, Daiki Usukura, Fumiya Watabe, Hiroki Okano, Ryo Hirata, Ryunosuke Shiogama, Yamato Kanai, Saki Kato, Yuki Asahara, Sayaka Chogi, Yingjia Lu, Haruka Hirai, Mai Kitamoto, Miho Kojima, Yuuki Obata, Motoyuki Shimonaka, Takatsugu Murata, Isamu Shiina","doi":"10.2183/pjab.101.029","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.101.029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>M-COPA (1), which contains diene and 3-picolylamine moieties in its side chain and seven stereogenic centers in a multisubstituted octalin skeleton, strongly inhibits the growth of several cancer cell lines. Expecting the improvement of conformational flexibility of basic and coordinating 3-pyridylmethylamino group on M-COPA and its physical properties, we efficiently synthesized its amine analogs by replacing its amide group with an amino group through the Weinreb amide-type Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction. The cytotoxic properties of 1 and its analogs were evaluated against NCI-H226, a lung cancer cell line, HeLa, a cervical cancer cell line, and GIST-T1, a gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell line. The evaluation results indicated that the structural alteration from amide moiety to amine moiety lowered the pharmacological activity but remained strong cytotoxicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"510-518"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12674992/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144682959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mari Yotsu-Yamashita, Yuta Kudo, Kyoka Sato, Osamu Chiba, Yuko Cho, Ryuichi Watanabe, Toshiyuki Suzuki, Keiichi Konoki
{"title":"Chemical properties and biological activities of three highly purified major tetrodotoxin analogues.","authors":"Mari Yotsu-Yamashita, Yuta Kudo, Kyoka Sato, Osamu Chiba, Yuko Cho, Ryuichi Watanabe, Toshiyuki Suzuki, Keiichi Konoki","doi":"10.2183/pjab.101.033","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.101.033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tetrodotoxin (TTX), the pufferfish toxin, has the potential to cause fatal food poisoning because of its potent voltage-gated sodium channel (Na<sub>v</sub>) blocking activity. 4-epiTTX, 11-norTTX-6(S)-ol, and 11-oxoTTX are the major TTX analogues found in marine animals; thus, their chemical properties and biological activities should be determined. In this study, these three TTX analogues were purified to a high level (purity >97%) from pufferfish and newts. The ratios of the hemilactal to the 10,7-lactone forms were determined using <sup>1</sup>H NMR, and <sup>13</sup>C NMR data were also obtained. 4-epiTTX underwent considerable transformation to TTX in physiological conditions. The Na<sub>v</sub> blocking activity of these analogues was evaluated by whole-cell patch-clamp recording using a human Na<sub>v</sub>1.2, colorimetric cell-based assay and mouse bioassay. The toxicity equivalency factors (TEFs setting TTX 1) of the three analogues were estimated; 4-epiTTX (0.06), 11-norTTX-6(S)-ol (0.02), and 11-oxoTTX (1.2) using patch-clamp recording, and 11-norTTX-6(S)-ol (0.50) and 11-oxoTTX (0.42) using the mouse bioassay. These data confirmed the low Na<sub>v</sub> blocking activity of 4-epiTTX and high activity of 11-oxoTTX.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"519-533"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12674993/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A novel glomerulopathy model demonstrates renal counterbalance via local angiotensin II regulation.","authors":"Kazuo Sakamoto, Kunio Kawanishi, Jun-Dal Kim, Masahiro Koizumi, Shin-Ichi Muroi, Saori Tabara, Akiyoshi Fukamizu, Taiji Matsusaka, Michio Nagata","doi":"10.2183/pjab.101.025","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.101.025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Renal counterbalance, involving compensatory hypertrophy of the healthy kidney and atrophy of the injured one, remains incompletely understood, particularly at the glomerular level. In this study, we employed NEP25 mice, which selectively express human CD25 in podocytes, enabling precise induction of unilateral podocyte injury through the administration of LMB2, a CD25-targeted immunotoxin. Using a two-kidney, one-nephropathy (2K1N) model, we demonstrated that asymmetric changes in renal blood flow and proteinuria, with histological and transcriptomic analyses uncovering distinct pathological and molecular features between the injured and contralateral healthy kidneys. Notably, an imbalance in intrarenal angiotensin (Ang) II levels was observed, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition ameliorated the glomerular damage and restored perfusion. These findings indicate that local Ang II dysregulation is a key factor in renal counterbalance. Our study provides the first glomerulopathy-based experimental platform to dissect asymmetric renal adaptation, offering fundamental insight into the homeostatic mechanisms of renal function in health and disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"431-444"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12462361/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144369164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The shifting paradigm of chromatin structure: from the 30-nm chromatin fiber to liquid-like organization.","authors":"Kazuhiro Maeshima","doi":"10.2183/pjab.101.020","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.101.020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The organization and dynamics of chromatin are critical for genome functions such as transcription and DNA replication/repair. Historically, chromatin was assumed to fold into the 30-nm fiber and progressively arrange into larger helical structures, as described in the textbook model. However, over the past 15 years, extensive evidence including our studies has dramatically transformed the view of chromatin from a static, regular structure to one that is more variable and dynamic. In higher eukaryotic cells, chromatin forms condensed yet liquid-like domains, which appear to be the basic unit of chromatin structure, replacing the 30-nm fiber. These domains maintain proper accessibility, ensuring the regulation of DNA reaction processes. During mitosis, these domains assemble to form more gel-like mitotic chromosomes, which are further constrained by condensins and other factors. Based on the available evidence, I discuss the physical properties of chromatin in live cells, emphasizing its viscoelastic nature-balancing local fluidity with global stability to support genome functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"339-356"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12423499/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144021000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"f<sub>4</sub>-statistics-based ancestry profiling and convolutional neural network phenotyping shed new light on the structure of genetic and spike shape diversity in Aegilops tauschii Coss.","authors":"Yoshihiro Koyama, Mizuki Nasu, Yoshihiro Matsuoka","doi":"10.2183/pjab.101.023","DOIUrl":"10.2183/pjab.101.023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aegilops tauschii Coss., a progenitor of bread wheat, is an important wild genetic resource for breeding. The species comprises three genetically defined lineages (TauL1, TauL2, and TauL3), each displaying valuable phenotypes in agronomic traits, including spike shape. In the present work, we studied the relationship between population structure and spike shape variation patterns using a collection of 249 accessions. f<sub>4</sub>-statistics-based ancestry profiling confirmed the previously identified lineages and revealed a genetic component derived from TauL3 in the genomes of some southern Caspian and Transcaucasus TauL1 and TauL2 accessions. Spike shape variation patterns were analyzed using a convolutional neural network-based approach, trained on green and dry spike image datasets. This analysis showed that spike shape diversity is structured according to lineages and demonstrated the potential to distinguish the lineages based on spike shape. The implications of these findings for the origins of common wheat and the intraspecific taxonomy of Ae. tauschii are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":20707,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences","volume":" ","pages":"357-370"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12423502/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144120532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}