Kobe University · Graduate School of Medicine / Faculty of Medicine

Research keywordscircadian clock genes・cardiac hypertrophy・vascular grafts・myocardial infarction repair・hemocompatible biomaterials・decellularized vascular tissue・mesenchymal stem cell therapy・perivascular fibrosis

This is a public-data preview. Personalized fit, contact angles, and saved workflows require sign-in.

• Adverse Effects of Circadian Disorganization on Mood and Molecular Rhythms in the Prefrontal Cortex of Mice.2020 · 2020年04月, Neuroscience, 432, 44 - 54, 英語, 国際誌
• Widely distributable and retainable in-situ gelling material for treating myocardial infarction.Intramyocardial hydrogel injection is a promising therapy to prevent negative remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI). In this study, we report a mechanism for in-situ gel formation without external stimulation, resulting in an injectable and tissue-retainable hydrogel for MI treatment, and investigate its therapeutic outcomes. A liquid-like polymeric solution comprising poly(3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid-co-acrylamide) (BAAm), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and sorbitol (S) increases the viscous modulus by reducing the pre-added sorbitol concentration is developed. This solution achieves a sol-gel transition in-vitro in heart tissue by spontaneously diffusing the sorbitol. After intramyocardial injection, the BAAm/PVA/S with lower initial viscous modulus widely spreads in the myocardium and gelate compared to a viscoelastic alginate (ALG) hydrogel and is retained longer than the BAAm/S solution. Serial echocardiogram analyses prove that injecting the BAAm/PVA/S into the hearts of subacute MI rats significantly increases the fraction shortening and ejection shortening and attenuates the expansion of systolic LV diameter for up to 21 d after injection compared to the saline injection as a control, but the ALG injection does not. In addition, histological evaluation shows that only the BAAm/PVA/S decreases the infarct size and increases the wall thickness 21 d after injection. The BAAm/PVA/S intramyocardial injection is better at restraining systolic ventricular dilatation and cardiac failure in the rat MI model than in the control groups. Our findings highlight an effective injectable hydrogel therapy for MI by optimizing injectability-dependent distribution and retention of injected material. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In-situ gelling material is a promising strategy for intramyocardial hydrogel injection therapy for myocardial infarction (MI). Since the sol-gel transition of reported materials is driven by external stimulation such as temperature, pH, or ultraviolet, their application in vivo remains challenging. In this study, we first reported a synthetic in-situ gelling material (BAAm/PVA/S) whose gelation is stimulated by spontaneously reducing pre-added sorbitol after contacting the heart tissue. The BAAm/PVA/S solution spreads evenly, and is retained for at least 21 d in the heart tissue. Our study demonstrated that intramyocardial injection of the BAAm/PVA/S with more extensive distribution and longer retention had better effects on preventing LV dilation and improving cardiac function after MI than that of viscoelastic ALG and saline solution. We expect that these findings provide fundamental information for the optimum design of injectable biomaterials for treating MI.
• Impact of heart-specific disruption of the circadian clock on systemic glucose metabolism in mice.The daily rhythm of glucose metabolism is governed by the circadian clock, which consists of cell-autonomous clock machineries residing in nearly every tissue in the body. Disruption of these clock machineries either environmentally or genetically induces the dysregulation of glucose metabolism. Although the roles of clock machineries in the regulation of glucose metabolism have been uncovered in major metabolic tissues, such as the pancreas, liver, and skeletal muscle, it remains unknown whether clock function in non-major metabolic tissues also affects systemic glucose metabolism. Here, we tested the hypothesis that disruption of the clock machinery in the heart might also affect systemic glucose metabolism, because heart function is known to be associated with glucose tolerance. We examined glucose and insulin tolerance as well as heart phenotypes in mice with heart-specific deletion of Bmal1, a core clock gene. Bmal1 deletion in the heart not only decreased heart function but also led to systemic insulin resistance. Moreover, hyperglycemia was induced with age. Furthermore, heart-specific Bmal1-deficient mice exhibited decreased insulin-induced phosphorylation of Akt in the liver, thus indicating that Bmal1 deletion in the heart causes hepatic insulin resistance. Our findings revealed an unexpected effect of the function of clock machinery in a non-major metabolic tissue, the heart, on systemic glucose metabolism in mammals.
• Vascular tissue reconstruction by monocyte subpopulations on small-diameter acellular grafts via integrin activation.Although the clinical application of cell-free tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) has been proposed, vascular tissue regeneration mechanisms have not been fully clarified. Here, we report that monocyte subpopulations reconstruct vascular-like tissues through integrin signaling. An Arg-Glu-Asp-Val peptide-modified acellular long-bypass graft was used as the TEVG, and tissue regeneration in the graft was evaluated using a cardiopulmonary pump system and porcine transplantation model. In 1 day, the luminal surface of the graft was covered with cells that expressed CD163, CD14, and CD16, which represented the monocyte subpopulation, and they exhibited proliferative and migratory abilities. RNA sequencing showed that captured cells had an immune-related phenotype similar to that of monocytes and strongly expressed cell adhesion-related genes. In vitro angiogenesis assay showed that tube formation of the captured cells occurred via integrin signal activation. After medium- and long-term graft transplantation, the captured cells infiltrated the tunica media layer and constructed vascular with a CD31/CD105-positive layer and an αSMA-positive structure after 3 months. This finding, including multiple early-time observations provides clear evidence that blood-circulating monocytes are directly involved in vascular remodeling.

• An smart three-layer vascular graft with endothelial guidance and on-demand immunomodulation for long-term patency Le Thi.Hue 日本学術振興会, 科学研究費助成事業, 基盤研究(C), 神戸大学, 2026年04月01日 - 2029年03月31日2026 · KUID parsed section
• A new vascular regenerative therapy for myocardial ischemia using intergin-specific circulating monocytes Le Thi.Hue 日本学術振興会, 科学研究費助成事業, 若手研究, 国立研究開発法人国立循環器病研究センター, 2024年04月01日 - 2027年03月31日2024 · KUID parsed section
• 超分子MRプローブで挑む脳腫瘍微細血管形成の４次元ライブイメージング 馬原 淳, Soni Raghav, 齋藤 茂芳, Le Thi.Hue 日本学術振興会, 科学研究費助成事業, 基盤研究(B), 国立研究開発法人国立循環器病研究センター, 2023年04月01日 - 2026年03月31日2023 · KUID parsed section

• Official profile