2025年11月 Student Monthly Progress を開催しました

11月28日 (金)にStudent Monthly Progressが開催されました。4名の大学院生が研究内容について発表しました。

 

【発表者】

1. Nodoka Maeda: Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine

< The assessment of left atrial function via 3D echocardiography in dogs with mitral regurgitation >

 

2. Haruto Eguchi: Laboratory of Public Health

< Endoplasmic reticulum localization of Lamina-associated polypeptide 2, an inner nuclear membrane protein, promotes replication of West Nile virus>

 

3. Pavani Senarathne: Laboratory of Animal Experimentation, Institute of Genetic Medicine

< Development of novel and rapid immunochromatographic (ICG) test for the detection of acute hantavirus infections>

 

4. Mebuki Ito: Division of Risk Analysis and Management

 < Ecological study of emerging tick-borne orthonairovirus in Hokkaido, Japan>

 

【座長】

Sao Oe: Laboratory of Anatomy

Khesera Sastrin Prasita Negara: Laboratory of Collaboration and Education

 

 

 

   

❖座長レポート❖

 

《The assessment of left atrial function via 3D echocardiography in dogs with mitral regurgitatio》

   Nodoka Maeda

 

 

 

This study investigated the feasibility and reliability of using three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE) to assess left atrial (LA) phasic function in both healthy dogs and dogs with cardiac disease. LA motion was automatically tracked from single-beat 3D echocardiographic images to calculate indices of reservoir, conduit, and booster pump function, and these values were compared with those obtained by manual LA volume measurements.

3D-STE analysis was successful for all dogs, and both intra- and inter-observer variability remained below 20%, demonstrating good repeatability and reproducibility. In clinical cases, LA phasic function indices derived from 3D-STE showed strong agreement with manual measurements. Overall, the results indicate that 3D-STE is a feasible, reliable, and clinically useful method for evaluating LA function in dogs. 

 

 

《Endoplasmic reticulum localization of Lamina-associated polypeptide 2, an inner nuclear membrane protein, promotes replication of West Nile virus》

　Haruto Eguchi

 

 

 

West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen that poses a growing threat to global health. During replication, WNV induces extensive remodeling of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane to facilitate virion production, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Lamina-associated polypeptide 2 (LAP2), an inner nuclear membrane protein, redistributes from the nucleus to the ER during mitosis and is implicated in membrane rearrangement. They focused on the function of LAP2 at the ER and its relationship with WNV infection.

This study examined how West Nile virus (WNV) infection affects the intracellular localization of LAP2 and whether LAP2 contributes to viral replication. Immunocytochemistry revealed that LAP2, normally located in the nucleus, translocated to the cytoplasm in WNV-infected cells and colocalized with the ER marker calreticulin and the viral protein NS3, indicating its recruitment to ER-associated replication sites. Furthermore, viral titers were significantly reduced in LAP2-knockout cells compared with control cells. These findings suggest that WNV utilizes LAP2 at the ER membrane to support efficient viral replication.

 

 

《Development of novel and rapid immunochromatographic (ICG) test for the detection of acute hantavirus infectionse》

　Pavani Senarathne

 

 

Hantaviruses are rodent-borne viruses, and exposure in Sri Lanka has been reported since 1988. High seropositivity among CKDu patients and the discovery of LNKV and ANJZV suggest a possible link between hantavirus infection and kidney disease.

To enable rapid detection, a new immunochromatographic (ICG) assay was developed to identify virus-specific IgM and IgG. Testing of 140 febrile Sri Lankan patients and 22 confirmed Chinese HFRS cases showed 77.8% sensitivity and 98.4% specificity for Sri Lankan samples, and 100% accuracy for Chinese cases. Several Sri Lankan samples were PCR-confirmed as LNKV. The assay shows promise for early hantavirus diagnosis and improving patient management in CKDu-endemic areas.

 

 

《Ecological study of emerging tick-borne orthonairovirus in Hokkaido, Japan》

   Mebuki Ito

 

 

Yezo virus (YEZV) is an emerging tick-borne virus recently identified in humans in Hokkaido, Japan, yet its ecological dynamics remain poorly understood. To clarify its natural lifecycle, ticks were systematically collected across 171 sites in 2024, and small mammals were trapped at locations predicted to have high YEZV suitability in 2025.

YEZV RNA was detected primarily in Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes ovatus, with spatial overlap analyses indicating that YEZV distribution aligns most closely with I. persulcatus. Among 284 small mammals sampled, 3.9% had anti-YEZV antibodies and 7.0% carried YEZV RNA, and the virus was successfully isolated from Apodemus speciosus. Viral genomes from both ticks and mammals were nearly identical to human strains. These findings identify I. persulcatus and A. speciosus as key species supporting YEZV circulation and demonstrate the importance of field-based ecological studies for understanding emerging tick-borne viruses.