Publications by authors named "Kazuya Akimitsu"

Whole-body vibration (WBV) has gained attention as a light-resistance exercise and can increase energy metabolism. The rare sugar D-allulose has anti-obesity effects that are mediated by the suppression of hepatic lipogenesis. In this study, we examined the anti-obesity effects of a combination of WBV and dietary D-allulose in rats fed a high-fat diet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We investigated the effects of a single and simultaneous intake of allitol and d-allulose on body fat accumulation and cecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and accurately assessed the contribution of rare sugars to body fat in rats fed a high-fat diet that led to obesity. Thirty-two male 3-week-old Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, allitol, d-allulose, and allitol + d-allulose. The rats were fed experimental diets and water ad libitum for 11 weeks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recent studies have shown that D-allose, a rare sugar, elicits antitumor effects on different types of solid cancers, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. In this study, we examined the effects of D-allose on the proliferation of human glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a crucial dialysis method for treating end-stage kidney disease. However, its use is restricted due to high glucose-induced peritoneal injury and hyperglycaemia, particularly in patients with diabetes mellitus. In this study, we investigated whether partially replacing d-glucose with the rare sugar d-allose could ameliorate peritoneal injury and hyperglycaemia induced by peritoneal dialysis fluid (PDF).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Allitol is a hexitol produced by reducing the rare sugar D-allulose with a metal catalyst under hydrogen gas. To confirm the safe level of allitol, we conducted a series of safety assessments. From the results of Ames mutagenicity assay using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537, Escherichia coli strain WP2uvrA, and an in vitro chromosomal aberration test on cultured Chinese hamster cells, allitol did not show any significant genotoxic effect.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Thailand, four systemic fungicides-carbendazim (Car), azoxystrobin (Azo), difenoconazole (Dif), and penthiopyrad (Pen)-are commonly used to control soybean anthracnose caused by ; however, the pathogen has developed resistance. From 2019 to 2020, fungicide resistance in from fields in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai was monitored. In tests of 85 isolates for resistance to multiple fungicides, 15.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

D-Allose is classified as a 'rare sugar,' i.e., part of the group of monosaccharides that are present in low quantities in the natural world.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

d-Allulose (d-psicose) is a rare sugar, that contains no calories and exhibits 70% relative sweetness when compared with sucrose. Recently, several studies have demonstrated the anti-obesity effect of d-allulose, mediated by suppressing lipogenesis and increasing energy expenditure. Medium-chain triacylglycerols (MCTs) are lipids formed by 3 medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) with 6-12 carbon atoms attached to glycerol.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

D-allose is a rare sugar that has been reported to up-regulate thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) expression and affect the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the antitumor effect of D-allose is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether orally administered D-allose could be a candidate drug against bladder cancer (BC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Disruption of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, MEKK1-MKK1/MKK2-MPK4 (hereafter designated as MEKK1 pathway), leads to the activation of distinct NLRs (nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat receptors), TNL (TIR-type NLR) SMN1, and CNL (CC-type NLR) SUMM2, resulting in dwarf and autoimmune phenotypes. Unlike and mutants, the dwarf and autoimmune phenotypes of are only partially suppressed by the mutation, suggesting a significant contribution of to the phenotypes. However, full suppression of by the double mutation remains to be elucidated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • d-allulose is a rare sugar that shows promise in reducing high blood sugar and delaying diabetic nephropathy progression in type 2 diabetes models.
  • The study involved giving OLETF rats water with or without 3% d-allulose for 13 weeks and showed significant improvements in blood glucose levels and kidney health.
  • The findings suggest that d-allulose may lower inflammation and prevent kidney damage, but further research is needed to fully understand its effects on renal inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Previously, we succeeded to produce the core structure of the host-selective ACR toxin (1) on brown leaf spot on rough lemon when the polyketide synthase ACRTS2 gene was heterologously expressed in Aspergillus oryzae (AO). To confirm the production of 1 in AO, the detection limit and suppressing decarboxylation were improved, and these efforts led us to conclude the direct production of 1 instead of its decarboxylation product. During this examination, minor ACR-toxin-related metabolites were found.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Highly reducing polyketide synthases (HR-PKSs) produce structurally diverse polyketides (PKs). The PK diversity is constructed by a variety of factors, including the β-keto processing, chain length, methylation pattern, and relative and absolute configurations of the substituents. We examined the stereochemical course of the PK processing for the synthesis of polyhydroxy PKs such as phialotides, phomenoic acid, and ACR-toxin.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

d-Allulose has potential as a low-calorie sweetener which can suppress fat accumulation. Several enzymes capable of d-allulose production have been isolated, including d-tagatose 3-epimerases. Here, we report the isolation of a novel protein from Methylomonas sp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The rare sugar D-tagatose is a safe natural product used as a commercial food ingredient. Here, we show that D-tagatose controls a wide range of plant diseases and focus on downy mildews to analyze its mode of action. It likely acts directly on the pathogen, rather than as a plant defense activator.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Arabidopsis thaliana, a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, MEKK1-MKK1/MKK2-MPK4, is important for basal resistance and disruption of this pathway results in dwarf, autoimmune phenotypes. To elucidate the complex mechanisms activated by the disruption of this pathway, we have previously developed a mutant screening system based on a dwarf autoimmune line that overexpressed the N-terminal regulatory domain of MEKK1. Here, we report that the second group of mutants, smn2, had defects in the SMN2 gene, encoding a DEAD-box RNA helicase.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

OsNINJA1-interacting protein, OsSRO1a, acts as a mediator that suppresses OsMYC2 activity in response to JA. Jasmonic acid (JA) is an important plant hormone for the stable growth and development of higher plants. The rice gene NOVEL INTERACTOR OF JAZ1 (OsNINJA1) interacts with Jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins and is a repressor of JA signaling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Jasmonic acid (JA) is a plant hormone that plays an important role in the defense response and stable growth of rice. In this study, we investigated the role of the JA-responsive valine-glutamine (VQ)-motif-containing protein OsVQ13 in JA signaling in rice. OsVQ13 was primarily located in the nucleus and cytoplasm.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways have a pivotal role in innate immunity signaling in plants. In Arabidopsis, the MAPK pathway that consists of MEKK1, MKK1/MKK2 and MPK4 is involved in pattern-triggered immunity signaling upstream of defense gene expression. This pathway is partly guarded by SUMM2, a nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR) protein, which is activated by disruption of the MAPK pathway.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The plant hormone jasmonic acid (JA) plays an important role in defense response and plant development. Jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins act as transcriptional repressors of plant responses to JA. In this study, we found that OsNINJA1, which is a JAZ-interacting adaptor protein, plays an important role in JA signaling that is positively regulated by the transcription factor OsMYC2 in rice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The X-ray structure of ketose 3-epimerase from Arthrobacter globiformis M30, which was previously reported to be a D-allulose 3-epimerase (AgD-AE), was determined at 1.96 Å resolution. The crystal belonged to the hexagonal space group P622, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 103.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The jasmonic acid (JA)-responsive transcription factor OsMYC2 acts as a positive regulator of leaf senescence by direct regulation of some senescence-associated genes in rice. OsMYC2, a transcription factor (TF), acts as a positive regulator of jasmonic acid (JA) signaling involved in development and defense in rice. Here, we report that OsMYC2 plays an important role in leaf senescence under dark-induced senescence (DIS) conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An enzyme that catalyzes C-3 epimerization between d-fructose and d-allulose was found in Arthrobacter globiformis strain M30. Arthrobacter species have long been used in the food industry and are well-known for their high degree of safety. The enzyme was purified by ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatographies and characterized as a d-allulose 3-epimerase (d-AE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

JASMONATE ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins act as transcriptional repressors of jasmonic acid (JA) responses and play a crucial role in the regulation of host immunity in plants. Here, we report that OsMYC2, a JAZ-interacting transcription factor in rice (Oryza sativa L.), plays an important role in the resistance response against rice bacterial blight, which is one of the most serious diseases in rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rice is one of the most important crops worldwide and is widely used as a model plant for molecular studies of monocotyledonous species. The plant hormone jasmonic acid (JA) is involved in rice-pathogen interactions. In addition, volatile compounds, including terpenes, whose production is induced by JA, are known to be involved in the rice defense system.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF