Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, The ancestral gene repertoire of animal stem cells., Alexandre Alié; Tetsutaro Hayashi; Itsuro Sugimura; Michaël Manuel; Wakana Sugano; Akira Mano; Nori Satoh; Kiyokazu Agata; Noriko Funayama, Stem cells are pivotal for development and tissue homeostasis of multicellular animals, and the quest for a gene toolkit associated with the emergence of stem cells in a common ancestor of all metazoans remains a major challenge for evolutionary biology. We reconstructed the conserved gene repertoire of animal stem cells by transcriptomic profiling of totipotent archeocytes in the demosponge Ephydatia fluviatilis and by tracing shared molecular signatures with flatworm and Hydra stem cells. Phylostratigraphy analyses indicated that most of these stem-cell genes predate animal origin, with only few metazoan innovations, notably including several partners of the Piwi machinery known to promote genome stability. The ancestral stem-cell transcriptome is strikingly poor in transcription factors. Instead, it is rich in RNA regulatory actors, including components of the "germ-line multipotency program" and many RNA-binding proteins known as critical regulators of mammalian embryonic stem cells., 22 Dec. 2015, 112, 51, E7093-100, E7100, Scientific journal, True, 10.1073/pnas.1514789112

American journal of translational research, Preclinical evaluation of an O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase-siRNA/liposome complex administered by convection-enhanced delivery to rat and porcine brains., Takashi Tsujiuchi; Atsushi Natsume; Kazuya Motomura; Goro Kondo; Melissa Ranjit; Rei Hachisu; Itsuro Sugimura; Shinpei Tomita; Isao Takehara; Max Woolley; Neil U Barua; Steven S Gill; Alison S Bienemann; Yoriko Yamashita; Shinya Toyokuni; Toshihiko Wakabayashi, The main determinant of glioblastoma (GBM) resistance to temozolomide (TMZ) is thought to be O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), which is a DNA-repair enzyme that removes alkyl groups from the O(6)-position of guanine. Previously, we reported that a MGMT-siRNA/cationic liposome complex exerted a clear synergistic antitumor effect in combination with TMZ. Translation to a clinical setting might be desirable for reinforcing the efficacy of TMZ therapy for GBM. In this study, we aim to evaluate the safety of MGMT-siRNA/cationic liposome complexes and determine whether the convection-enhanced delivery of these complexes is suitable for clinical use by undertaking preclinical testing in laboratory animals. No significant adverse events were observed in rats receiving infusions of MGMT-siRNA/cationic liposome complex directly into the brain with or without TMZ administration. A pig which received the complex administered by CED also showed no evidence of neurological dysfunction or histological abnormalities. However, the complex did not appear to achieve effective distribution by CED in either the rat or the porcine brain tissue. Considering these results together, we concluded that insufficient distribution of cationic liposomes was achieved for tumor treatment by CED., 2014, 6, 2, 169, 78, Scientific journal, True

Fisheries Science, Gut microflora of abalone Haliotis discus hannai in culture changes coincident with a change in diet, Reiji Tanaka; Itsuro Sugimura; Tomoo Sawabe; Mamoru Yoshimizu; Yoshio Ezura, Development of gut microflora in abalone Haliotis discus hannai cultured at two abalone farms in Japan was similar: (i) gut microflora of juvenile abalones fed on microalgae matched microflora cultured from seawater; and (ii) gut microflora changed coincident with the abalone switching food sources from microalgae to algal pellets. After abalone reached 4 months of age, the gut microflora was replaced by algal polysaccharide-degrading bacteria, which were almost entirely characterized as facultative anaerobes. Dominant species were alginolytic, non-motile fermenters (NMF) and Vibrio spp. The gut microflora seemed to be stable in abalone older than 1 year, with NMF bacteria dominating. Ninety-six percent of the NMF isolates were identified as Vibrio halioticoli by species-specific identification using the colony hybridization method. These results show that abalone H. discus hannai has a unique developmental process in which gut microflora shifts to alginate-degrading bacteria, especially V. halioticoli., Oct. 2003, 69, 5, 951, 958, Scientific journal, 10.1046/j.1444-2906.2003.00712.x

World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Hydrophobic cluster analysis and classification of sixteen bacterial alginate lyases, J. Kraiwattanapong; T. Ooi; S. Kinoshita; I. Sugimura; T. Sawabe; Y. Ezura, Sixteen alginate lyases whose primary sequences have been reported were compared, and classified into the following three groups on the basis of the identity of their primary sequences. Strong homology (> 50%): A-AlgL, A-AlgL*, P-AlgL, P-AlgL*, and AlgA; weak homology (> 20%): ALY, AlxM, P-Aly, K-Aly, AlyPG, AlgVGI, AlgVGII, and AlgVGIII; little homology (< 20%): ALYII, Al-III, and AlgVMI. Using hydrophobic cluster analysis (HCA), a secondary structure prediction method, the sixteen alginate lyases were placed into the following classes. Class 1: AlgA, A-AlgL, A-AlgL*, P-AlgL, and P-AIgL*; Class 2: AlgVMI and Al-III; Class 3: ALY and AlxM; Class 4A: ALYII, K-Aly, P-Aly, and AlyPG; Class 4B: AlgVGI and AlgVGII; Class 5: AlgVGIII, which is put in a class of its own, because it is unlike any of the other alginate lyases., 2000, 16, 3, 219, 224, Scientific journal, 10.1023/A:1008911724014

Marine Biotechnology, Cloning and sequence analysis of Vibrio halioticoli genes encoding three types of polyguluronate lyase, Itsuro Sugimura; Tomoo Sawabe; Yoshio Ezura, The alginate lyase-coding genes of Vibrio halioticoli IAM 14596(T), which was isolated from the gut of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai, were cloned using plasmid vector pUC 18, and expressed in Escherichia coli. Three alginate lyase-positive clones, pVHB, pVHC, and pVHE, were obtained, and all clones expressed the enzyme activity specific for polyguluronate. Three genes, alyVG1, alyVG2, and alyVG3, encoding polyguluronate lyase were sequenced: alyVG1 from pVHB was composed of a 1056-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 352 amino acid residues; alyVG2 gene from pVHC was composed of a 993-bp ORF encoding 331 amino acid residues; and alyVG3 gene from pVHE was composed of a 705-bp ORF encoding 235 amino acid residues. Comparison of nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences among AlyVG1, AlyVG2, and AlyVG3 revealed low homologies. The identity value between AlyVG1 and AlyVG2 was 18.7%, and that between AlyVG2 and AlyVG3 was 17.0%. A higher identity value (26.0%) was observed between AlyVG1 and AlyVG3. Sequence comparison among known polyguluronate lyases including AlyVG1, AlyVG2, and AlyVG3 also did not reveal an identical region in these sequences. However, AlyVG1 showed the highest identity value (36.2%) and the highest similarity (73.3%) to AlyA from Klebsiella pneumoniae. A consensus region comprising nine amino acid (YFKAGXYXQ) in the carboxy-terminal region previously reported by Mallisard and colleagues was observed only in AlyVG1 and AlyVG2., 2000, 2, 1, 65, 73, Scientific journal, 10.1007/s101269900010

Marine Biotechnology, In situ polymerase chain reaction visualization of Vibrio halioticoli using alginate lyase gene AlyVG2, Itsuro Sugimura; Tomoo Sawabe; Yoshio Ezura, A prokaryotic in situ polymerase chain reaction (PI-PCR) technique was applied to visualize Vibrio halioticoli cells using alginate lyase gene alyVG2 as a target gene. Prior to PI-PCR, a primer set, VG2-OS3, for specific amplification of an approximately 1.0-kb fragment from V. halioticoli genomic DNA was developed with amplified fragments from V. pelagius and V. fischeri DNAs as reference strains. One-stage PI-PCR using the primer set, digoxigenin-labeled dUTP, and indirect alkaline-phosphatase-linked fluorescence detection technique (HNPP/Fast Red TR as a substrate) failed to differentiate V. halioticoli IAM14596(T) cells from ATCC25916(T) cells of the closely related species V. pelagius. However, two-stage PI-PCR adding the extension and digoxigenin-labeling step of the amplified fragment into the first amplification stage allowed us to differentiate V. halioticoli cells from V. pelagius cells., 2000, 2, 1, 74, 79, Scientific journal, 10.1007/s101269900009

International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, Vibrio halioticoli sp. nov., a non-motile alginolytic marine bacterium isolated from the gut of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai, Tomoo Sawabe; Itsuro Sugimura; Miwa Ohtsuka; Kazuaki Nakano; Kenichi Tajima; Yoshio Ezura; Richard Christen, Six alginolytic, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile marine bacteria were isolated from the gut of abalone Haliotis discus hannai. DNA-DNA hybridization data showed that the six strains constituted a single genospecies. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rDNA sequences indicated that the isolates should be assigned to the genus Vibrio. The phenotypic features of the isolates were closely related to Vibrio fischeri and Vibrio pelagius biovar I, but 13 traits (motility, luminescence, alginase production, lipase production, lysine decarboxylase, indole production, growth in 1 and 6% NaCl and assimilation of five carbon compounds) distinguished these strains from V. fischeri, and 17 traits (motility, growth at 37 °C, lipase production, indole production, growth in 1 and 6% NaCl, acid from sucrose and D- sorbitol, and assimilation of nine carbon compounds) distinguished these strains from V. pelagius. The G+C content of the isolates was 41.6-43.1 mol%. According to DNA-DNA hybridization data and 165 rDNA phylogenetic analyses, it was concluded that the six isolates constitute a new species different from any other Vibrio species. The name Vibrio halioticoli sp. nov. (type strain IAM 14596(T)) is proposed. A set of phenotypic features which enables differentiation of the new species from other species of the Vibrionaceae family is described., Apr. 1998, 48, 2, 573, 580, Scientific journal, 10.1099/00207713-48-2-573

Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education, Research Division for Higher Education, Development and implementation of the card game ‘Challenge Pizza’ for entrepreneurship education, Iwaki Keiji; Shiina Nozomi; Miyahara Yuta; Takeda Masaki; Kominami Asuka; Tanno Suzaku; Sugimura Itsuro, In recent years, entrepreneurship education has become increasingly important in order to thrive in the age of globalization and VUCA. 2023 marks the launch of the new EDGE-PRIME Initiative, which will provide entrepreneurship education to high school students. In Japan, opportunities for entrepreneurship education are expanding from universities to high schools, as well as elementary and junior high schools. As a result, we developed a card game for elementary and junior high school students aimed at introducing them to entrepreneurship. This paper describes the content and implementation of the “Challenge Pizza” card game, which has been designed to teach these students about entrepreneurship. Additionally, we trialed the game with 35 elementary and junior high school students and evaluated its educational effects. Our analysis confirmed that the game fostered a deeper understanding of business and highlighted the importance of creativity and independence, which were the primary objectives of the card game., Apr. 2024, 31, 47, 54, 10.14943/j.highedu.31.47

Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education, Research Division for Higher Education, Entrepreneurship through: Evidence from Basketball Classes Held for Elementary School Students in Naganuma, Shiina Nozomi; Ochi Keigo; Iwaki Keiji; Shiraishi Akito; Sugimura Itsuro, A The “Entrepreneurship Through Sports” project launched against the backdrop of the increasing importance of entrepreneurship education, the declining number of sports opportunities in Hokkaido, and the serious decline in elementary school students' physical fitness. The project seeks to capitalize on the high affinity between the effects of sports and the fostering of entrepreneurship. Under the project, a basketball school was offered to 12 elementary school students in Naganuma. The concept was “growing by improving individual skills and team play and learning to make the most of them,” and the program included individual skill lessons, lectures on teamwork, games, and consistent positive encouragement. Questionnaires sent to participants, parents, and university students who served as instructors showed positive responses in all areas related to entrepreneurship and sports opportunities, indicating that the project achieved success., Apr. 2024, 31, 55, 64, 10.14943/j.highedu.31.55

Not Refereed, Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education, Research Division for Higher Education, Design Thinking Implementation Report : Proposals for the Numata Town Whole Nature Experience Project, Shiina Nozomi; Sugimura Itsuro; Hosokawa Toshiyuki, For the first time since one of the authors participated in training at Stanford University, we gave a two-day intensive lecture on design thinking that incorporated everything learned at the Firefly Museum in the town of Numata in October 2021. In this program, four students worked in groups to conduct all the processes of design thinking, such as interviewing local people, identifying issues, creating prototypes, and then asking for their opinions on the ideas again. The comments from the audience in the final presentation and those from the participating students indicated that by applying design thinking, we are able to introduce a better learning method for proposing solutions to problems in the field., Mar. 2022, 29, 99, 103, 10.14943/j.highedu.29.99

15 Nov. 2018, 14, 11, 24, 26, 10.1241/sangakukanjournal.14.11_24

2016, 39th

2012, 153rd

2007, 6

Dec. 2005, 31, 13, 503, 504

2005, 31, 13

Nov. 2004, 23, 11, 1277, 1280

2003, 2, 86, 91

1999, 1999

1998, 1998

112 Hydrophobic cluster analysis of 4 newly isolated alginate lyases, Kraiwattanapong,J.; Ooi,T.; Kinoshita,S.; Sugimura,I.; Sawabe,T.; Ezura,Y, 05 Sep. 1997, 平成9年度, 8

日本水産学会大会講演要旨集, Classification of alginic acid disintegrating bacteria., 沢辺智雄; 牧野栄之; 杉村逸郎; 辰己昌弘; 絵面良男, 1997, 1997

マリンバイオテクノロジー学会大会講演要旨集, Arginase gene of abalone digestive tract derived alginic acid decomposing bacteria., 杉村逸郎; 沢辺智雄; 絵面良男, 1997, 1st

日本水産学会大会講演要旨集, Abalone digestive tract derived Vibrio. Structural comparison of alginic acid lyase gene of sp., 杉村逸郎; 沢辺智雄; 絵面良男; KRAIWATTANAPONG O J; 大井俊彦; 木下晋一, 1997, 1997

月刊海洋, Analysis of marine microorganism community with bio markers. Detection of Vibrio genus bacteria derived from the alimentary canal of marine algae herbivorous animals by the in situ PCR method . Application possibility to the ecology elucidation., 沢辺智雄; 杉村逸郎; 絵面良男, 1997, 29, 12, 732, 737

日本水産学会大会講演要旨集, Cloning of alginic acid degrading enzyme gene of bacteria A431 stock derived from abalone digestive tract., 杉村逸郎; 沢辺智雄; 絵面良男, 1996, 1996

日本水産学会大会講演要旨集, Characters of alginic acid separating bacteria separated from abalone digestive tract., 沢辺智雄; 大塚美和; 杉村逸郎; 絵面良男, 1996, 1996

マリンバイオテクノロジー研究発表会講演要旨集, Character of arginase of Vibrio sp. A431 stock and cloning of gene., 杉村逸郎; 田中宏朗; 沢辺智雄; 絵面良男, 1995, 4th