School of Veterinary Medicine

Makoto Ujike

  (氏家 誠)

Profile Information

Affiliation
Associate Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Science School of Veterinary Medicine, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University
Degree
博士(医学)(名古屋市立大学)

J-GLOBAL ID
201601020286651431
researchmap Member ID
B000258727

Research Areas

 1

Papers

 35
  • Makoto Ujike, Tohru Suzuki
    Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997), 305 106122-106122, Jun, 2024  Peer-reviewedInvitedLead authorCorresponding author
    The generation of genetically engineered recombinant viruses from modified DNA/RNA is commonly referred to as reverse genetics, which allows the introduction of desired mutations into the viral genome. Reverse genetics systems (RGSs) are powerful tools for studying fundamental viral processes, mechanisms of infection, pathogenesis and vaccine development. However, establishing RGS for coronaviruses (CoVs) and toroviruses (ToVs), which have the largest genomes among vertebrate RNA viruses, is laborious and hampered by technical constraints. Hence, little research has focused on animal CoVs and ToVs using RGSs, especially in large domestic animals such as pigs and cattle. In the last decade, however, studies of porcine CoVs and bovine ToVs using RGSs have been reported. In addition, the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic has prompted the development of new and simple CoV RGSs, which will accelerate RGS-based research on animal CoVs and ToVs. In this review, we summarise the general characteristics of CoVs and ToVs, the RGSs available for CoVs and ToVs and the progress made in the last decade in RGS-based research on porcine CoVs and bovine ToVs.
  • Miyuki Kawase, Reiko Suwa, Satoko Sugimoto, Masatoshi Kakizaki, Yohei Kume, Mina Chishiki, Takashi Ono, Hisao Okabe, Sakurako Norito, Makoto Ujike, Mitsuaki Hosoya, Koichi Hashimoto, Kazuya Shirato
    Microbiology spectrum, e0192023, Dec 5, 2023  Peer-reviewed
    Since the pandemic of coronavirus diseases 2019, the use of real-time PCR assay has become widespread among people who were not familiar with it in virus detection. As a result, whether a high real-time PCR value in one time test indicates virus transmissibly became a complicated social problem, regardless of the difference in assays and/or amplification conditions, the time and number of diagnostic test during the time course of infection. In addition, the multiple positives in the test of respiratory viruses further add to the confusion in the interpretation of the infection. To address this issue, we performed virus isolation using pediatric SARI (severe acute respiratory infections) specimens on air-liquid interface culture of human bronchial/tracheal epithelial cell culture. The result of this study can be a strong evidence that the specimens showing positivity for multiple agents in real-time PCR tests possibly contain infectious viruses.
  • Satoko Sugimoto, Masatoshi Kakizaki, Miyuki Kawase, Kengo Kawachi, Makoto Ujike, Wataru Kamitani, Hiroshi Sentsui, Kazuya Shirato
    Microbiology Spectrum, Feb 6, 2023  Peer-reviewed
  • Kazuya Shirato, Makoto Ujike, Miyuki Kawase
    Japanese journal of infectious diseases, Dec 28, 2022  Peer-reviewed
    The Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in late 2021 and gradually overtook the Delta variant, which was the predominant variant at that time. The Omicron variant has been consecutively replaced by related sublineages. The real-time RT-PCR assays developed by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan (i.e., the NIID-N2 and NIID-S2 assays) are the reference assays that have been used in Japan since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. To evaluate the applicability of the NIID assays for the Omicron variants, trends in the prevalence of nucleotide mismatches in the primer/probe sequences were traced using sequences registered in the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data database. Approximately 99% of the deposited Omicron variant sequences did not have any mismatches in the NIID assay primer/probes from January to August 2022. This indicates that the NIID assays have been able to detect the changing SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants.
  • Youxian Li, Eiichiro Watanabe, Yusuke Kawashima, Damian R Plichta, Zhujun Wang, Makoto Ujike, Qi Yan Ang, Runrun Wu, Munehiro Furuichi, Kozue Takeshita, Koji Yoshida, Keita Nishiyama, Sean M Kearney, Wataru Suda, Masahira Hattori, Satoshi Sasajima, Takahiro Matsunaga, Xiaoxi Zhang, Kazuto Watanabe, Jun Fujishiro, Jason M Norman, Bernat Olle, Shutoku Matsuyama, Ho Namkoong, Yoshifumi Uwamino, Makoto Ishii, Koichi Fukunaga, Naoki Hasegawa, Osamu Ohara, Ramnik J Xavier, Koji Atarashi, Kenya Honda
    Nature, 609(7927) 582-589, Sep 7, 2022  Peer-reviewed
    Increased levels of proteases, such as trypsin, in the distal intestine have been implicated in intestinal pathological conditions1-3. However, the players and mechanisms that underlie protease regulation in the intestinal lumen have remained unclear. Here we show that Paraprevotella strains isolated from the faecal microbiome of healthy human donors are potent trypsin-degrading commensals. Mechanistically, Paraprevotella recruit trypsin to the bacterial surface through type IX secretion system-dependent polysaccharide-anchoring proteins to promote trypsin autolysis. Paraprevotella colonization protects IgA from trypsin degradation and enhances the effectiveness of oral vaccines against Citrobacter rodentium. Moreover, Paraprevotella colonization inhibits lethal infection with murine hepatitis virus-2, a mouse coronavirus that is dependent on trypsin and trypsin-like proteases for entry into host cells4,5. Consistently, carriage of putative genes involved in trypsin degradation in the gut microbiome was associated with reduced severity of diarrhoea in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, trypsin-degrading commensal colonization may contribute to the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and protection from pathogen infection.

Misc.

 6

Presentations

 25

Teaching Experience

 4

Research Projects

 12