Research Background and Problem Statement In social animals, competition among individuals and the establishment of hierarchical status are crucial for resource allocation, group stability, and energy conservation. However, while it is known that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays an essential role in regulating social competition behaviors ...

NUMB Gene Variant: A Novel Mechanism in Gout Development Background Gout is one of the most common forms of inflammatory arthritis worldwide, primarily triggered by the persistent elevation of serum uric acid levels, known as hyperuricemia. Hyperuricemia leads to the deposition of urate crystals, resulting in inflammation of joints and other tissue...

Stem Cell Transplantation Extends the Reproductive Lifespan of Naturally Aging Cynomolgus Monkeys Background of the Study The ovary is a crucial organ for female reproduction and health, responsible for producing oocytes and secreting sex hormones. As women age, ovarian reserves gradually decline, eventually leading to menopause, which brings about...

Selective Advantage of Clonal Hematopoietic Mutant Stem Cells in Aging and Inflammatory Responses Background and Research Motivation Clonal Hematopoiesis (CH) is an aging-related phenomenon in the hematopoietic system, where hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) acquire specific somatic mutations and undergo expansion, causing a particular mutated cell l...

Epitope Prime Editing Shields Hematopoietic Cells from CD123 Immunotherapy: A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research Background and Problem Statement Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a malignant blood disease characterized by the abnormal differentiation of myeloid hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Its incidenc...

Modeling the Atrioventricular Conduction Axis Based on Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac Assembloids Research Background The atrioventricular (AV) conduction axis is responsible for electrical conduction between the atrium and the ventricle and is a core component of the cardiac electrophysiological system. The delay function of AV conduc...

Alveolar Regeneration: Role of p63+ Progenitor Cells Derived from Airway Secretory Cells Background Introduction Effective gas exchange in the lungs relies on the precise structure and function of various epithelial cells, distributed across two distinct structural regions: ductal airways and alveoli. When alveoli are damaged (e.g., due to inhaled ...

Differences in Signaling Requirements for Trophoblast Stem Cells between Humans and Marmosets Background and Research Motivation Embryo implantation and placenta formation are critical features of eutherian mammalian development. The trophoblast is a group of outer cells of the embryo that mediates the connection between the embryo and maternal tis...

Inflammation-Induced Epigenetic Imprinting and Intestinal Stem Cell Regulation In recent years, the scientific community has shown immense interest in the “memory” capabilities of non-immune cells, particularly the phenomenon where specific stem cells in adult tissues develop memory after undergoing inflammation, influencing their functionality. Ho...

A Primate-Specific Endogenous Retroviral Envelope Protein Regulates Human Cardiomyocyte Development by Inhibiting SFRP2 Research Background and Significance Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) are remnants of ancient viral infections that integrated into the host genome and were inherited through the germline to modern human genomes during evolution. Th...