Makoto Takeichi

Publications (4)17.07 Total impact

• Article: Possible roles of proinflammatory and chemoattractive cytokines produced by human fetal membrane cells in the pathology of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with influenza virus infection.

  Noboru Uchide, Kunio Ohyama, Toshio Bessho, Makoto Takeichi, Hiroo Toyoda
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Pregnant women are at an increased risk of influenza-associated adverse outcomes, such as premature delivery, based on data from the latest pandemic with a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in 2009-2010. It has been suggested that the transplacental transmission of influenza viruses is rarely detected in humans. A series of our study has demonstrated that influenza virus infection induced apoptosis in primary cultured human fetal membrane chorion cells, from which a factor with monocyte differentiation-inducing (MDI) activity was secreted. Proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interferon (IFN)-β, were identified as a member of the MDI factor. Influenza virus infection induced the mRNA expression of not only the proinflammatory cytokines but also chemoattractive cytokines, such as monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1β, IL-8, growth-regulated oncogene (GRO)-α, GRO-β, epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-activating protein (ENA)-78, and interferon inducible protein (IP)-10 in cultured chorion cells. These cytokines are postulated to associate with human parturition. This paper, therefore, reviews (1) lessons from pandemic H1N1 2009 in pregnancy, (2) production of proinflammatory and chemoattractive cytokines by human fetal membranes and their functions in gestational tissues, and (3) possible roles of cytokines produced by human fetal membranes in the pathology of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with influenza virus infection.
  Mediators of Inflammation 01/2012; 2012:270670. · 3.26 Impact Factor
• Article: Contribution of aquaporin 9 and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 to differential sensitivity to arsenite between primary cultured chorion and amnion cells prepared from human fetal membranes.

  Yuta Yoshino, Bo Yuan, Toshikazu Kaise, Makoto Takeichi, Sachiko Tanaka, Toshihiko Hirano, Deanna L Kroetz, Hiroo Toyoda
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Arsenic trioxide (arsenite, As(III)) has shown a remarkable clinical efficacy, whereas its side effects are still a serious concern. Therefore, it is critical to understand the effects of As(III) on human-derived normal cells for revealing the mechanisms underlying these side effects. We examined the effects of As(III) on primary cultured chorion (C) and amnion (A) cells prepared from human fetal membranes. A significant dose-dependent As(III)-mediated cytotoxicity was observed in the C-cells accompanied with an increase of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Higher concentrations of As(III) were required for the A-cells to show cytotoxicity and LDH release, suggesting that the C-cells were more sensitive to As(III) than the A-cells. The expression levels of aquaporin 9 (AQP9) were approximately 2 times higher in the C-cells than those in the A-cells. Both intracellular arsenic accumulation and its cytotoxicity in the C-cells were significantly abrogated by sorbitol, a competitive AQP9 inhibitor, in a dose-dependent manner. The protein expression levels of multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) 2 were downregulated by As(III) in the C-cells, but not in the A-cells. No significant differences in the expression levels of MRP1 were observed between C- and A-cells. The protein expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was hardly detected in both cells, although a detectable amount of its mRNA was observed. Cyclosporine A, a broad-spectrum inhibitor for ABC transporters, and MK571, a MRP inhibitor, but not PGP-4008, a P-gp specific inhibitor, potently sensitized both cells to As(III)-mediated cytotoxicity. These results suggest that AQP9 and MRP2 are involved in controlling arsenic accumulation in these normal cells, which then contribute to differential sensitivity to As(III) cytotoxicity between these cells.
  Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 09/2011; 257(2):198-208. · 4.45 Impact Factor
• Article: Direct contribution of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression to apoptosis induction in primary smooth chorion trophoblast cells of human fetal membrane tissues.

  Bo Yuan, Kunio Ohyama, Makoto Takeichi, Hiroo Toyoda
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: We have previously demonstrated that apoptosis induction is observed only in smooth chorion laeve trophoblast cells, and not in amnion epithelial cells of human fetal membrane tissues prepared at the term. Apoptosis induction was suppressed by the presence of an inhibitor specific for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), suggesting that intracellular oxidative stress plays a critical role in this process. In this study, we transfected the iNOS gene into primary cultured chorion and amnion cells to examine the direct contribution of iNOS gene expression to the apoptosis induction in these cells. We identified a significant increase in the levels of iNOS protein expression and nitrite accumulation in both chorion and amnion cells after the iNOS gene transfection. However, the induction of apoptosis was observed in an approximately 70% of chorion cells transfected with iNOS gene. Transfection of the iNOS gene into chorion cells resulted in the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and downregulation of hemeoxygenase-1 protein expression, whereas no such events were observed in the transfected amnion cells. These results suggest that apoptosis induced in the chorion trophoblast cells by the iNOS gene expression is closely linked to a physiological consequence, such as the rupture of fetal membranes.
  The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology 11/2008; 41(5):1062-9. · 4.89 Impact Factor
• Article: Expression of stathmin, a microtubule regulatory protein, is associated with the migration and differentiation of cultured early trophoblasts.

  Mikihiro Yoshie, Hideaki Kashima, Toshio Bessho, Makoto Takeichi, Keiichi Isaka, Kazuhiro Tamura
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The microtubule-destabilizing protein stathmin is expressed by the villous cytotrophoblasts and invasive extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) in the first-trimester human placenta. Here, we evaluated the significance of stathmin expression in terms of the functions of trophoblasts. We employed two choriocarcinoma cell lines (BeWo and JEG-3), an EVT cell line (HTR-8/SVneo) and isolated first-trimester trophoblast cells. The effects of small-interfering (si) RNA-mediated stathmin knockdown on trophoblast proliferation and migration were measured by WST-1 and Transwell assays, respectively. Trophoblast differentiation was induced by dibutyryl (db)-cAMP treatment and evaluated by measuring human chorionic gonadotrophin beta (hCGbeta) and syncytin expression and cell fusion. We examined the effect of knockdown and induced stathmin expression on db-cAMP-induced differentiation. siRNA-induced silencing of stathmin expression had a marked inhibitory effect on BeWo, JEG-3 and HTR-8/SVneo cell migration and also suppressed their proliferation, albeit to a lesser extent. db-cAMP-enhanced hCGbeta and syncytin expression and cell fusion in BeWo cells was inhibited by stathmin knockdown. However, induced expression of stathmin reversed the hCGbeta and syncytin expression and cell fusion in the Tet-On BeWo cells. Suppression of stathmin expression also inhibited the migration of and hCGbeta production by first-trimester trophoblasts. Stathmin expression may be closely associated with early trophoblast migration and differentiation into syncytiotrophoblasts during placentation.
  Human Reproduction 09/2008; 23(12):2766-74. · 4.47 Impact Factor