The University of Tokyo · Medicine
Professor Tatsuhiro Hisatsune's research lab focuses on aging-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, with a central emphasis on identifying and validating nutritional and microbial interventions to preserve brain health in older adults. The lab investigates the neuroprotective roles of bioactive compounds such as anserine/carnosine, probiotics like *Lactiplantibacillus plantarum* OLL2712, and functional foods such as matcha green tea, particularly in individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, including those carrying the APOE ε4 allele. Their work integrates clinical trials, neuroimaging, and molecular mechanisms to explore the microbiome-gut-brain axis, cholinergic modulation, and vascular-cognitive interactions. The lab aims to translate basic neuroscience into practical, evidence-based nutritional strategies for healthy brain aging.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Adult hippocampal neurogenesis contributes to the hippocampal circuit's role in cognitive functioning. New neurons are generated from hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs) throughout life, but their generation is substantially diminished in aged animals due to a decrease in NSC proliferation. Because acetylcholine (ACh) is an important neurotransmitter released in the hippocampus during learning and exercise that is known to decrease with aging, we investigated whether aged NSCs can respond to AC
Our goal in this study was to determine whether or not anserine/carnosine supplementation (ACS) is capable of preserving cognitive function of elderly people. In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, volunteers were randomly assigned to an ACS or placebo group at a 1:1 ratio. The ACS group took 1.0 g of an anserine/carnosine (3:1) formula daily for 3 months. Participants were evaluated by psychological tests before and after the 3-month supplementation period. Thirty-nine healthy elderly v
The use of probiotics is expected to be an intervention in neurodegenerative conditions that cause dementia owing to their ability to modulate neuroinflammatory responses via the microbiome-gut-brain axis. Therefore, we selected <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> OLL2712 (OLL2712), the optimal anti-inflammatory lactic acid bacteria strain with high IL-10-inducing activity in immune cells, and aimed to verify its protective effects on memory function in older adults. A 12-week, randomized, doub
The present study might suggest that protective effects against cognitive decline in APOE4 (+) MCI subjects exist.
In a previously reported double-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT), we demonstrated that daily supplementation with anserine (750 mg) and carnosine (250 mg) improves brain blood flow and memory function in elderly people. Here, we conducted a sub-analysis of MRI data and test scores from the same RCT to determine whether anserine/carnosine supplementation specifically benefits elderly people carrying the APOE e4 allele, which is a risk gene for accelerated brain aging and for the onset of
Matcha Green Tea Powder contains a variety of active ingredients beneficial to health, such as tea catechins, lutein and vitamin K. It is also known that these ingredients confer benefits upon cognitive functions of elderly people. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationship between a daily supplementation of Matcha and the change in cognitive functions of community-dwelling elderly people. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week trial was performed. Sixty-one participants
We recruited 154 community-dwelling elderly individuals and conducted a cohort study to find out the nutrient intake that is suitable for maintaining cognitive function in Japanese elders. Cognitive function was evaluated by the two functional tests, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Wechsler Memory Scale-Delayed Recall (WMS-DR), and daily nutrient intake was estimated from a Brief-type Self-administered Diet History Questionnaire (BDHQ). By a multiple regression analysis, among the f
A CD8+ Ts clone 13G2 was established from lymph node cells of bovine alpha s1-casein-primed C57BL/6 mice by in vitro antigenic stimulation followed by maintenance with IL-2-containing medium. The clone suppressed the Ag-induced proliferative responses of CD4+ Th cell clones without detectable cytotoxicity for both APC and responding T cells. The clone was able to suppress the in vitro proliferative response and antibody formation of Ag-primed lymph node cells. The suppression was Ag-nonspecific
This study demonstrates and characterizes CD8+ T cells specific to the exogenous Ag, bovine alpha s1-casein. Purified CD8+ T cells from alpha s1-casein-primed lymph node cells proliferated well in response to an alpha s1-casein derivative, trypsin-digested alpha s1-casein. CD8+ T cell repertoire for the exogenous Ag was directly demonstrated in the primary culture condition. The intact alpha s1-casein primed the responding CD8+ T cells in vivo more efficiently than the tryptic alpha s1-casein; h
Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is the most abundant free amino acid in the developing mammalian cerebral cortex, however, few studies have reported its neurobiological functions during development. In this study, by means of whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, we examined the effects of taurine on chloride channel receptors in neocortical neurons from early to late postnatal stages, which cover a critical period in cortical circuit formation. We show here that taurine activates chloride cha
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