Brain damage such as stroke is a devastating neurological condition that may severely compromise patient quality of life. No effective medication-mediated intervention to accelerate rehabilitation has been established. We found that a small compound, edonerpic maleate, facilitated experience-driven synaptic glutamate AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic-acid) receptor delivery and resulted in the acceleration of motor function recovery after motor cortex cryoinjury in mice in a training-dependent manner through cortical reorganization. Edonerpic bound to collapsin-response-mediator-protein 2 (CRMP2) and failed to augment recovery in CRMP2-deficient mice. Edonerpic maleate enhanced motor function recovery from internal capsule hemorrhage in nonhuman primates. Thus, edonerpic maleate, a neural plasticity enhancer, could be a clinically potent small compound with which to accelerate rehabilitation after brain damage.

Although the mechanisms have not yet been completely investigated, WBH may provide a new therapeutic or preventive modality against obesity-related diseases such as T2DM and metabolic or insulin resistance syndrome.

RAS is involved in the pathophysiology of DSS-induced colitis and AT1a receptor may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of IBD.

The peroxisome biogenesis disorders (PBDs) are currently difficult-to-treat multiple-organ dysfunction disorders that result from the defective biogenesis of peroxisomes. Genes encoding Peroxins, which are required for peroxisome biogenesis or functions, are known causative genes of PBDs. The human peroxin genes PEX3 or PEX16 are required for peroxisomal membrane protein targeting, and their mutations cause Zellweger syndrome, a class of PBDs. Lack of understanding about the pathogenesis of Zellweger syndrome has hindered the development of effective treatments. Here, we developed potential Drosophila models for Zellweger syndrome, in which the Drosophila pex3 or pex16 gene was disrupted. As found in Zellweger syndrome patients, peroxisomes were not observed in the homozygous Drosophila pex3 mutant, which was larval lethal. However, the pex16 homozygote lacking its maternal contribution was viable and still maintained a small number of peroxisome-like granules, even though PEX16 is essential for the biosynthesis of peroxisomes in humans. These results suggest that the requirements for pex3 and pex16 in peroxisome biosynthesis in Drosophila are different, and the role of PEX16 orthologs may have diverged between mammals and Drosophila. The phenotypes of our Zellweger syndrome model flies, such as larval lethality in pex3, and reduced size, shortened longevity, locomotion defects, and abnormal lipid metabolisms in pex16, were reminiscent of symptoms of this disorder, although the Drosophila pex16 mutant does not recapitulate the infant death of Zellweger syndrome. Furthermore, pex16 mutants showed male-specific sterility that resulted from the arrest of spermatocyte maturation. pex16 expressed in somatic cyst cells but not germline cells had an essential role in the maturation of male germline cells, suggesting that peroxisome-dependent signals in somatic cyst cells could contribute to the progression of male germ-cell maturation. These potential Drosophila models for Zellweger syndrome should contribute to our understanding of its pathology.

The spread of capsule endoscopy has led to a focus on small intestinal injury induced by non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, it has been proposed that proton pump inhibitors (PPI), a strong anti-secretary agent, have anti-inflammatory action beyond acid suppression. Therefore, we evaluated the biological effects of lansoprazole, a PPI used in the clinical area, in the setting of experimental rat non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced enteritis. The animals were given indomethacin subcutaneously and the intestinal mucosa was examined 24 h later. Lansoprazole was given subcutaneously just after following indomethacin injection. Single administration of indomethacin at 10 mg/kg provoked severe hemorrhagic lesions in the small intestine, mostly the jejunum and ileum. The levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), the myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and the content of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (CINC-1) in the intestinal mucosa significantly increased in indomethacin-treated groups compared with the sham-operated groups. The development of intestinal lesions in response to indomethacin was dose-dependently prevented by lansoprazole at a dose of 5 mg/kg together with significant suppression of the increased level of TBARS, MPO activities and CINC-1 in the small bowel. Furthermore, the increased CINC-1 mRNA expression after administration of indomethacin was also inhibited by treatment with lansoprazole. These results suggest that lansoprazole administered exogenously prevented the small intestine against indomethacin-induced damage, the action being dependent on its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative responses. This evidence supports the theory that PPI have an expanding role beyond acid suppression.