Publications by authors named "Yuki Naitou"

Article Synopsis
  • In vitro gametogenesis allows scientists to create gametes from pluripotent cells, which helps study germ cell development and find new sources of gametes.
  • The research focused on inducing primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs) from stem cells of the endangered northern white rhinoceros (NWR) and the closely related southern white rhinoceros (SWR), identifying that certain proteins are crucial for this differentiation process.
  • This study successfully generated PGCLCs from NWR stem cells and identified specific cell surface markers to isolate these cells, laying the groundwork for producing NWR gametes in the lab and further understanding germ cell development in large animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Primordial germ cells (PGCs) in mammals are formed from the epiblast during gastrulation, but the link between PGC formation and this process is not well understood.
  • Researchers discovered that the transcription factor OVOL2 plays a crucial role in regulating both PGC specification and the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during gastrulation by repressing or activating specific genes.
  • The two splice variants of OVOL2, Ovol2a and Ovol2b, have different functions, with Ovol2a regulating genes that promote pluripotency and Ovol2b upregulating genes tied to PGC specification, helping clarify how germ line cells are formed as the epiblast differentiates
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine, oxytocin and melanocortin pathways are known to be involved in the induction of penile erections in rats. Although a dopamine-oxytocin-5-HT link in the central nervous system has been suggested to be important to the control of penile erections, the 5-HT receptor subtype that mediates dopamine-oxytocin-5-HT action and the relationship between the dopamine-oxytocin-5-HT pathway and melanocortin pathway have not been fully elucidated. In this study, in order to clarify these matters, we examined the effects of a selective 5-HT(2B)/5-HT(2C) receptors antagonist, 1-(1-methylindol-5-yl)-3-(3-pyridyl)urea (SB200646) and a selective 5-HT(2C) receptor antagonist, 6-chloro-5-methyl-1-[6-(2-methylpyridin-3-yloxy) pyridin-3-yl carbamoyl] indoline (SB242084) on penile erections induced by a dopamine receptor agonist, 10, 11-dihydroxyaporphine (apomorphine), oxytocin, or a melanocortin receptor agonist, melanotan-II (MT-II) in rats.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To identify potent and selective 5-HT(2C) receptor agonists, a series of novel benzazepine derivatives were synthesized, and their structure-activity relationships examined. The compounds were evaluated for their 5-HT(2C), 5-HT(2A), and 5-HT(2B) receptor binding affinity and intrinsic activity for the 5-HT(2C) and 5-HT(2A) receptors. Among these compounds, 6,7-dichloro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine (6) was effective in a rat penile erection model when administered po, which is a symptom of the serotonin syndrome reflecting 5-HT(2C) receptor activation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A series of novel indazole derivatives were synthesized, and their structure-activity relationships examined in order to identify potent and selective 5-HT2C receptor agonists. Among these compounds, (S)-2-(7-ethyl-1H-furo[2,3-g]indazol-1-yl)-1-methylethylamine (YM348) had a good in vitro profile, that is, high agonistic activity to the human 5-HT2C receptor subtype (EC50 = 1.0 nM) and high selectivity over 5-HT2A receptors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: We investigated the effects of the novel 5-HT2C receptor agonist YM348 [(S)-2-(7-ethyl-1H-furo[2,3-g]indazol-1-yl)-1-methylethylamine] on ICP in anesthetized rats and clarified whether behavioral changes such as hypolocomotion induced at a high dose are a cause of the inverted U-shaped PE dose-response curves in conscious rats.

Materials And Methods: Male Wistar rats (Japan SLC, Shizuoka, Japan) weighing 250 to 315 gm were used. The pro-erectile effect of YM348 (2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

YM348, (S)-2-(7-ethyl-1H-furo[2,3-g]indazol-1-yl)-1-methylethylamine, showed a high affinity for cloned human 5-HT(2C) receptors (K(i): 0.89 nM). The functional selectivity for 5-HT(2C) receptors in the 5-HT(2) receptor family was the highest among 5-HT(2C) receptor agonists, including m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) and Ro60-0175 ((S)-2-(6-chloro-5-fluoroindol-1-yl)-1-methylethylamine).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF