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    Yoshihiro Uesawa

    A series of 3-styrylchromone derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B inhibitory activities. Most of all derivatives inhibited MAO-B selectively, except compound 21. Compound 19, which had a methoxy... more
    A series of 3-styrylchromone derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B inhibitory activities. Most of all derivatives inhibited MAO-B selectively, except compound 21. Compound 19, which had a methoxy group at R2 on the chromone ring and chlorine at R4 on phenyl ring, potently inhibited MAO-B, with an IC50 value of 2.2 nM. Compound 1 showed the highest MAO-B selectivity, with a selectivity index of >3700. Further analysis of these compounds indicated that compounds 1 and 19 were reversible and mixed-type MAO-B inhibitors, suggesting that their mode of action may be through tight-binding inhibition to MAO-B. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analyses of the 3-styrylchromone derivatives were conducted using their pIC50 values, through Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) and Dragon. There were 1796 descriptors of MAO-B inhibitory activity, which showed significant correlations (P < 0.05). Further investigation of the 3-styrylchromone structures as useful scaffolds was performed through three-dimensional-QSAR studies using AutoGPA, which is based on the molecular field analysis algorithm using MOE. The MAO-B inhibitory activity model constructed using pIC50 value index exhibited a determination coefficients (R2) of 0.972 and a Leave-One-Out cross-validated determination coefficients (Q2) of 0.914. These data suggest that the 3-styrylchromone derivatives assessed herein may be suitable for the design and development of novel MAO inhibitors.
    Adverse events associated with opioid use in palliative care have been extensively studied. However, predicting the occurrence of adverse events based on the specific opioid used remains unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively... more
    Adverse events associated with opioid use in palliative care have been extensively studied. However, predicting the occurrence of adverse events based on the specific opioid used remains unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the adverse events caused by µ receptor stimulation of opioids approved in Japan and investigate the tendencies of adverse event occur-rence among different opioids.We utilized the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database to extract reported adverse events of opioids approved in Japan. Cluster analysis was performed on reporting odds ratios (RORs) of adverse event names among opioids to visualize relationships between opioids and adverse events, facilitating a comparative study of their clas-sifications.We calculated the RORs of adverse events for the target opioids. Based on these RORs, we performed a cluster analysis, which resulted in the classification of 11 target opioids into five distinct groups. we were able to comprehensively c...
    AimThis study aimed to analyze the current trends of drug‐induced liver‐related adverse events in the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) databases.MethodsThe... more
    AimThis study aimed to analyze the current trends of drug‐induced liver‐related adverse events in the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) databases.MethodsThe characteristics of implicated drugs were investigated by analyzing big data on drug‐induced liver‐related adverse events over the past 20 years in FAERS, comparing drug rankings between the JADER and FAERS databases, and calculating rankings of drugs inducing liver‐related adverse events using the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities Terminology.ResultsIn the 452 272 cases registered in FAERS from 1997 to 2019, warfarin, paracetamol, and adalimumab were the drugs most related to drug‐induced liver injury (DILI). In the 38 919 cases registered in JADER from 2004 to 2019, sorafenib, nivolumab, and herbal extracts were the drugs most related to DILI. No associations were found between the top 30 drugs in either of the two databases. Notably, th...
    Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a major factor influencing new drug withdrawal; therefore, an appropriate toxicity assessment at the preclinical stage is required. Previous in silico models have been established using compound... more
    Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a major factor influencing new drug withdrawal; therefore, an appropriate toxicity assessment at the preclinical stage is required. Previous in silico models have been established using compound information listed in large data sources, thereby limiting the DILI risk prediction for new drugs. Herein, we first constructed a model to predict DILI risk based on a molecular initiating event (MIE) predicted by quantitative structure–activity relationships, admetSAR parameters (e.g. cytochrome P450 reactivity, plasma protein binding, and water-solubility), and clinical information (maximum daily dose [MDD] and reactive metabolite [RM]) for 186 compounds. The accuracy of the models using MIE, MDD, RM, and admetSAR alone were 43.2%, 47.3%, 77.0%, and 68.9%, while the “predicted MIE + admetSAR + MDD + RM” model’s accuracy was 75.7%. The contribution of MIE to the overall prediction accuracy was little effect or rather worsening it. However, it was consider...
    Two series of novel unsymmetrical 3,5-bis(benzylidene)-4 piperidones 2a–f and 3a–e were designed as candidate antineoplastic agents. These compounds display potent cytotoxicity towards two colon cancers, as well as several oral squamous... more
    Two series of novel unsymmetrical 3,5-bis(benzylidene)-4 piperidones 2a–f and 3a–e were designed as candidate antineoplastic agents. These compounds display potent cytotoxicity towards two colon cancers, as well as several oral squamous cell carcinomas. These compounds are less toxic to various non-malignant cells giving rise to large selectivity index (SI) figures. Many of the compounds are also cytotoxic towards CEM lymphoma and HL-60 leukemia cells. Representative compounds induced apoptotic cell death characterized by caspase-3 activation and subG1 accumulation in some OSCC cells, as well as the depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential in CEM cells. A further line of inquiry was directed to finding if the SI values are correlated with the atomic charges on the olefinic carbon atoms. The potential of these compounds as antineoplastic agents was enhanced by an ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) evaluation of five lead molecules, which revealed...
    Colored (pink and red) grapefruit pulp contains lower amounts of the furanocoumarin derivatives that cause pharmacokinetic interactions than white grapefruit pulp. However, few studies have examined interactions with colored juice... more
    Colored (pink and red) grapefruit pulp contains lower amounts of the furanocoumarin derivatives that cause pharmacokinetic interactions than white grapefruit pulp. However, few studies have examined interactions with colored juice products. Therefore, we examined the potential interactions of both white and colored grapefruit products by measuring the concentrations of furanocoumarin derivatives and inhibition of the metabolizing cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A enzymes, the target of the furanocoumarins. We measured concentrations of three major furanocoumarin derivatives, bergaptol, bergamottin, and 6',7'-dihydroxybergamottin, with high-performance liquid chromatography in 21 brands of grapefruit juice sold in Japan, including 14 white and 7 colored brands. The mean difference in bergaptol, bergamottin, and 6',7'-dihydroxybergamottin concentrations in white grapefruit juice samples was 1.59, 0.902, and 1.03 times, respectively, the amounts in colored samples. White samples...
    Drug-induced pruritus triggers a desire to scratch, thereby diminishing one’s quality of life. Certain instances of this phenomenon follow complex mechanisms of action that diverge from histamine-mediated pathways, known contributors to... more
    Drug-induced pruritus triggers a desire to scratch, thereby diminishing one’s quality of life. Certain instances of this phenomenon follow complex mechanisms of action that diverge from histamine-mediated pathways, known contributors to pruritus. However, investigations into the relationship between drugs and pruritus are limited. In this study, data mining techniques were employed to comprehensively analyze the characteristics of drugs linked to pruritus, using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System(FAERS) Data maintained in the United States. Reports linked to pruritus demonstrated noteworthy differences in gender, age, and weight when compared with non-pruritus cases. Among the leading candidates for drugs prompting pruritus were ophthalmic drugs, systemic antibacterials, contrast media, dermatological antifungals, and dermatological preparations. Principal component analysis showed that the second principal component served as an indicator for distinguishing between onsets at mu...
    The current study aimed to identify the crude drugs associated with drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in 148 Kampo medicines prescribed throughout Japan using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database, a large-scale... more
    The current study aimed to identify the crude drugs associated with drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in 148 Kampo medicines prescribed throughout Japan using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database, a large-scale spontaneous reporting system in Japan. First, we tabulated the number of DILI reports from the report-based dataset and the background information from the patient-based dataset. Thereafter, we combined the 126 crude drugs into 104 crude drug groups to examine multicollinearity. Finally, the reporting odds ratios (RORs), 95% confidence intervals, p values for Fisher’s exact test, and number of reports were calculated for each crude group to identify those associated with DILI. Notably, the number of adverse event reports for DILI (63,955) exceeded that for interstitial lung disease (51,347), the most common adverse event. In total, 78 crude drug groups (90 crude drugs) were reported to have an ROR > 1, a p < 0.05, and ≥10 reported cases. Our results hi...
    Fractures occur when bones become fragile and are subjected to external forces as occurring during falls. The use of drugs that increase bone fragility or fall risk increases the risk of fracture. This study investigates drug-induced... more
    Fractures occur when bones become fragile and are subjected to external forces as occurring during falls. The use of drugs that increase bone fragility or fall risk increases the risk of fracture. This study investigates drug-induced fractures reported in the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database in patients using 4892 drugs. Atypical femur fracture was the most frequently reported fracture, and 58 other fractures were also reported. Using Volcano plots and multiple logistic regression analysis, we identified the risk factors for drug-induced fractures as being female, of older age, higher body mass index, and using one of 90 drugs. The drug groups significantly associated with drug-induced fractures included bone resorption inhibitors, antiviral drugs, dopaminergic drugs, corticosteroids, and sleep sedatives. Principal component analysis was used to examine the relationship between the use of specific drugs and the site of drug-induced fracture. Bone resorption inhibi...
    Atypical femoral fracture (AFF) is a rare complication related to the use of bisphosphonates (BPs). Herein, we analyzed the risk factors and onset patterns of AFF using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database and reported the... more
    Atypical femoral fracture (AFF) is a rare complication related to the use of bisphosphonates (BPs). Herein, we analyzed the risk factors and onset patterns of AFF using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database and reported the findings. First, the independent risk factors for AFF were gender (female), high body mass index, and medical history of osteoporosis, arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Drug-related risk factors for AFF included BPs (i.e., alendronic acid, ibandronic acid, etidronic acid, zoledronic acid, minodronic acid, risedronic acid), denosumab, prednisolone, lansoprazole, rabeprazole, exemestane, letrozole, eldecalcitol, and menatetrenone. Therefore, it appears that AFF is influenced by a combination of patient backgrounds and drugs, and that the risk of developing AFF is particularly high in patients with fragile bones (e.g., osteoporosis, arthritis, and SLE). Second, in the analysis of AFF onset patterns, the onset of AFF from BPs and denosumab ...
    A deep learning-based quantitative structure–activity relationship analysis, namely the molecular image-based DeepSNAP–deep learning method, can successfully and automatically capture the spatial and temporal features in an image... more
    A deep learning-based quantitative structure–activity relationship analysis, namely the molecular image-based DeepSNAP–deep learning method, can successfully and automatically capture the spatial and temporal features in an image generated from a three-dimensional (3D) structure of a chemical compound. It allows building high-performance prediction models without extracting and selecting features because of its powerful feature discrimination capability. Deep learning (DL) is based on a neural network with multiple intermediate layers that makes it possible to solve highly complex problems and improve the prediction accuracy by increasing the number of hidden layers. However, DL models are too complex when it comes to understanding the derivation of predictions. Instead, molecular descriptor-based machine learning has clear features owing to the selection and analysis of features. However, molecular descriptor-based machine learning has some limitations in terms of prediction perfor...
    In the toxicological testing of new small-molecule compounds, it is desirable to establish in silico test methods to predict toxicity instead of relying on animal testing. Since quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs) can... more
    In the toxicological testing of new small-molecule compounds, it is desirable to establish in silico test methods to predict toxicity instead of relying on animal testing. Since quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs) can predict the biological activity from structural information for small-molecule compounds, QSAR applications for in silico toxicity prediction have been studied for a long time. However, in recent years, the remarkable predictive performance of deep learning has attracted attention for practical applications. In this review, we summarize the application of deep learning to QSAR for constructing prediction models, including a discussion of parameter optimization for deep learning.
    Background: Carfilzomib is a proteasome inhibitor widely used for the treatment of multiple myeloma. However, cardiac adverse events (CAEs) are a serious side effect of carfilzomib administration. Observational studies based on systematic... more
    Background: Carfilzomib is a proteasome inhibitor widely used for the treatment of multiple myeloma. However, cardiac adverse events (CAEs) are a serious side effect of carfilzomib administration. Observational studies based on systematic reviews and real-world data have revealed that the risk of CAEs tends to be high. However, there have been no reports on the incidence of CAEs associated with carfilzomib in Japanese patients. Furthermore, there have been no reports on the timing and post-event outcomes of CAEs. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the trends in carfilzomib-associated adverse events, the time to onset of CAEs, and the clinical outcomes after the occurrence of CAEs using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database. Method: We analyzed data from the JADER database, which contains reports of spontaneous adverse events submitted to the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Agency, between April 2004 and December 2020. The relative risk of adver...
    In severe cases, antineoplastic agent-induced diarrhea may be life-threatening; therefore, it is necessary to determine the mechanism of toxicity and identify the optimal management. The mechanism of antineoplastic agent-induced diarrhea... more
    In severe cases, antineoplastic agent-induced diarrhea may be life-threatening; therefore, it is necessary to determine the mechanism of toxicity and identify the optimal management. The mechanism of antineoplastic agent-induced diarrhea is still unclear but is often considered to be multifactorial. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular initiating event (MIE), which is the initial interaction between molecules and biomolecules or biosystems, and to evaluate the MIE specific to antineoplastic agents that induce diarrhea. We detected diarrhea-inducing drug signals based on adjusted odds ratios using the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System. We then used the quantitative structure-activity relationship platform of Toxicity Predictor to identify potential MIEs that are specific to diarrhea-inducing antineoplastic agents. We found that progesterone receptor antagonists were potential MIEs associated with diarrhea. The findings of this study may help ...
    <p>We removed duplicated data from the drug information table (b) and REAC table (c) [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0172057#pone.0172057.ref021"... more
    <p>We removed duplicated data from the drug information table (b) and REAC table (c) [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0172057#pone.0172057.ref021" target="_blank">21</a>]. The DEMO table (a) was combined with the REAC table (c) and drug information table (b) using the ID number for each table. This table was called the “all data table.” In each patient, the causes of medication-related adverse events were classified into three categories: “suspected medicine,” “concomitant medicine,” and “interaction”. We only extracted the cases that were classified as “suspected medicine” into the “suspected medicine data table.” We then extracted cases with the adverse effect of “hiccups” from this table. In the same manner, we extracted cases of hiccups from all data tables. This information was shown in the “Hiccups data table.”.</p
    With the progression of global vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), embolic and thrombotic events (ETEs) following COVID-19 vaccination continue to be reported. To date, most reports on the type of COVID-19 vaccine and... more
    With the progression of global vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), embolic and thrombotic events (ETEs) following COVID-19 vaccination continue to be reported. To date, most reports on the type of COVID-19 vaccine and ETEs have been based on clinical trials, and other reports include a small number of cases. Further, the relationship between the type of COVID-19 vaccine and ETEs has not been clarified. It is important to elucidate trends in the development of ETEs after vaccination, which is a crucial concern for both prospective patients and healthcare providers. In this retrospective, pharmacovigilance study, we analyzed the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports from January 1, 2020 to June 18, 2021, and performed signal detection and time-to-onset analysis of adverse events by calculating the reported odds ratio (ROR) to understand ETE trends after COVID-19 vaccination based on the vaccine type. Using VAERS, we could collect data about severa...
    Molecular design and evaluation for drug development and chemical safety assessment have been advanced by quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) using artificial intelligence techniques, such as deep learning (DL).... more
    Molecular design and evaluation for drug development and chemical safety assessment have been advanced by quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) using artificial intelligence techniques, such as deep learning (DL). Previously, we have reported the high performance of prediction models molecular initiation events (MIEs) on the adverse toxicological outcome using a DL-based QSAR method, called DeepSnap-DL. This method can extract feature values from images generated on a three-dimensional (3D)-chemical structure as a novel QSAR analytical system. However, there is room for improvement of this system’s time-consumption. Therefore, in this study, we constructed an improved DeepSnap-DL system by combining the processes of generating an image from a 3D-chemical structure, DL using the image as input data, and statistical calculation of prediction-performance. Consequently, we obtained that the three prediction models of agonists or antagonists of MIEs achieved high prediction...
    Background: Very few papers covering the anticancer activity of azulenes have been reported, as compared with those of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity. This led us to investigate the antitumor potential of fifteen... more
    Background: Very few papers covering the anticancer activity of azulenes have been reported, as compared with those of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity. This led us to investigate the antitumor potential of fifteen 4,6,8-trimethyl azulene amide derivatives against oral malignant cells. Methods: 4,6,8-Trimethyl azulene amide derivatives were newly synthesized. Anticancer activity was evaluated by tumor-specificity against four human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines over three normal oral cells. Neurotoxicity was evaluated by cytotoxicity against three neuronal cell lines over normal oral cells. Apoptosis induction was evaluated by Western blot and cell cycle analyses. Results: Among fifteen derivatives, compounds 7, 9, and 15 showed the highest anticancer activity, and relatively lower neurotoxicity than doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and melphalan. They induced the accumulation of a comparable amount of a subG1 population, but slightly lower extent of ...
    Irinotecan (CPT-11) is widely used for the treatment of unresectable colorectal cancer in combination with fluoropyrimidines, such as 5-fluorouracil and S-1. Diarrhea is one of the adverse effects associated with CPT-11 and frequently... more
    Irinotecan (CPT-11) is widely used for the treatment of unresectable colorectal cancer in combination with fluoropyrimidines, such as 5-fluorouracil and S-1. Diarrhea is one of the adverse effects associated with CPT-11 and frequently reported by patients treated with CPT-11-containing regimens combined with oral fluoropyrimidines. However, the mechanisms involved in this process, as well as whether fluctuations in the frequency and differences in the onset time of diarrhea with each CPT-11-containing regimen are caused by drug interactions remain unclear. Therefore, we examined the incidence of diarrhea caused by each CPT-11-containing regimen in patients with colorectal cancer using data from the large voluntary reporting Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database. Firstly, we searched for suspected drugs related to the occurrence of diarrhea using reported odds ratio and calculated the signal score to assess drug–drug interactions. Subsequently, we conducted a time-to-on...

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