Biology subjects

Terada, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Terada, M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Survivability and Life Support in Sealed Mini-Ecosystems with Simulated Planetary Soils

Establishing a sustainable life-support system for space exploration is challenging due to the vast distances, costs, and differing environments from Earth. Using insights from the Biosphere 2 experiment, we introduced the "Ecosphere" and "Biosealed" systems in custom containers to replicate Earths ecosystems, suggesting feasible space migration through transplanting Earth-like biomes. Over four years, we gained deeper insights into these enclosed ecosystems. Moisture deficiency was a major obstacle to plant growth, which we addressed by incorporating a groundwater layer in the containers. We underscored the critical role of microorganisms in building and sustaining these ecosystems. However, temperature spikes from sunlight threatened stability. Our experiments confirmed fruit flies survival on plant-produced oxygen and photosynthetic bacteria. Interactions between plants, microbes, and simulated space soils were examined. Detailed analysis unveiled diverse microbes shaping both confined and simulated space environments. Major findings include the symbiotic relationship of plants with cyanobacteria, the potential of LED lighting in sun-limited missions, and challenges with ethylene gas and moisture. Microbial integration in rough soils holds promise for seed germination, but understanding their role in space soils is crucial. Our research offers a comprehensive foundation for future space life-support systems and underlines potential concerns about microbes affecting human health.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Acquirement of the autonomic nervous system modulation evaluated by heart rate variability in medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Small teleosts have recently been established as models of human diseases. However, measuring heart rate by electrocardiography is highly invasive for small fish. The physiological nature and function of vertebrate autonomic nervous system (ANS) modulation of the heart has traditionally been investigated in larvae with an incompletely developed ANS or in anesthetized adults, whose ANS activity may possibly be disturbed under anesthesia. Here, we defined the frequency characteristics of heart rate variability (HRV) modulated by the ANS from observations of heart movement in high-speed movie images and changes in ANS regulation under environmental stimulation in unanesthetized adult medaka (Oryzias latipes), a small teleost. The HRV was significantly reduced by atropine (1 mM) in the 0.25 - 0.65 Hz and by propranolol (100 M) at 0.65-1.25 Hz range, suggesting that HRV in adult medaka is modulated by both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems within these frequency ranges. Such modulations of HRV by the ANS were remarkably suppressed in anesthetized adult medaka. Continuous exposure to light suppressed HRV only in the 0.25 - 0.65 Hz range, indicating parasympathetic withdrawal. The power of HRV increased along developmental processes. These results suggest that ANS modulation of the heart in adult medaka is frequency-dependent phenomenon, and that the impact of long-term environmental stimuli on ANS activities can be precisely evaluated in unanesthetized adult fish using this method.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2022

SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing humoral IgA response occurs earlier but modest and diminishes faster compared to IgG response.

Secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) plays a crucial role in the mucosal immunity for preventing the invasion of the exogenous antigens, however, little has been understood about the neutralizing activity of serum IgA. Here, to examine the role of IgA antibodies against COVID-19 illnesses, we determined the neutralizing activity of serum/plasma IgG and IgA purified from previously SARS-CoV-2-infected and COVID-19 mRNA-vaccine-receiving individuals. We found that serum/plasma IgA possesses substantial but rather modest neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 compared to IgG with no significant correlation with the disease severity. Neutralizing IgA and IgG antibodies achieved the greatest activity at approximately 25 and 35 days after symptom onset, respectively. However, neutralizing IgA activity quickly diminished and went down below the detection limit approximately 70 days after onset, while substantial IgG activity was observed till 200 days after onset. The total neutralizing activity in sera/plasmas of those with COVID-19 largely correlated with that in purified-IgG and purified-IgA and levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2-S1-binding IgG and anti-SARS-CoV-2-S1-binding IgA. In individuals who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 but had no detectable neutralizing IgA activity, a single dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 elicited potent serum/plasma neutralizing IgA activity but the second dose did not further strengthen the neutralization antibody response. The present data show that the systemic immune stimulation with natural infection and COVID-19 mRNA-vaccines elicit both SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing IgG and IgA response in serum, but the IgA response is modest and diminishes faster compared to IgG response. Author SummaryImmunoglobulin A (IgA) is the most abundant type of antibody in the body mostly located on mucosal surfaces as a dimeric secretory IgA. Such secretory IgA plays an important role in preventing the adherence and invasions of foreign objects by its neutralizing activity, while monomeric serum IgA is thought to relate to the phagocytic immune system activation. Here, we report that individuals with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) developed both systemic neutralizing IgG and IgA active against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although the neutralizing IgA response was quick and reached the highest activity 25 days post-symptom-onset, compared to 35 days for IgG response, neutralizing IgA activity was modest and diminished faster than neutralizing IgG response. In individuals, who recovered from COVID-19 but had no detectable neutralizing IgA activity, a single dose of COVID-19 mRNA-vaccine elicited potent neutralizing IgA activity but the second dose did not further strengthen the antibody response. Our study provides novel insights into the role and the kinetics of serum IgA against the viral pathogen both in naturally-infected and COVID-19 mRNA-vaccine-receiving COVID-19-convalescent individuals.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Robotic Search for Optimal Cell Culture in Regenerative Medicine

Induced differentiation is one of the most experience- and skill-dependent experimental processes in regenerative medicine, and establishing optimal conditions often takes years. We developed a robotic AI system with a batch Bayesian optimization algorithm that autonomously induces the differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial (iPSC-RPE) cells. The system performed 216 forty-day cell culture experiments, with a total experimentation time of 8,640 days. From 200 million possible parameter combinations, the system performed cell culture in 143 different conditions in 111 days, resulting in 88% better iPSC-RPE production than that by the pre-optimized culture in terms of pigmented scores. Our work demonstrates that the use of autonomous robotic AI systems drastically accelerates systematic and unbiased exploration of experimental search space, suggesting immense use in medicine and research.

systems biology↗