Research and Results Research and Results

Research and Results

  • Division of Rheumatic Diseases / Research

  • Results
Division of Rheumatic Diseases
Division of Rheumatic Diseases

The Division of Rheumatic Diseases in Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. We are conducting leading basic and clinical research on rheumatic diseases as a team comprising Associate Professor Miura, the head of the Division of Rheumatic Diseases in Department of Orthopaedic Surgery; Dr. Hayashi; Dr. Maeda; and Dr. Takashima. Our basic research focuses on the proliferation mechanism of synovial tissues, which serve as a site for inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. In clinical research, we actively provide patients with medical treatment such as biologics and appropriately analyze the therapeutic effect of the intervention. In addition, our institution strives to find out the clinical state of rheumatoid arthritis in several global multi-institutional joint studies such as the CORRECT study and the ANSWER cohort study. Furthermore, research on stress management and patient education is being performed in collaboration with medical staff such as nurses and physical therapists. We are able to not only provide extensive medical treatments for rheumatic diseases but also perform basic research not limited to the field of orthopedic surgery.

[Clinical Research]
Stress of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and health-scientific approach to stress
An old concept of rheumatic temperament states that mood is thought to have an important influence on the disease condition of rheumatoid arthritis. In collaboration with medical staff such as nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, music therapists, nutritionists, and medical technologists, we conduct various informative analytical studies on the stress and anxiety status of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and methods for reducing stress.
[Basic Research]
Pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis
The core of rheumatoid arthritis is the excessive proliferation of synovial cells, which is promoted by inflammatory cytokines. Our group focuses on decoy receptors for death signals and investigates their contribution in the suppression of arthritis to regulate their expression. We investigate the direct effects of decoy receptors on the synovial tissues of rheumatoid arthritis and evaluate their role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition, Associate Professor Miura’s office is always looking for health science graduate students at the Division of Orthopedic Science, Department of Rehabilitation Science, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, so please do not hesitate to contact us on the website if you are interested in research.

Go to the
http://www2.kobe-u.ac.jp/~ymiura
  • Division of Rheumatic Diseases / Results

  • Research
Original Research Article
(1) Takashima Y, Hayashi S, Maeda T, Fukuda K, Onoi Y, Tachibana S, Ikuta K, Anjiki K, Fujita M, Kikuchi K, Kamenaga T, Kuroda R, Matsubara T. Histopathological changes of synovial tissue in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors or IL-6 inhibitors. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. 2022;40(11):2060-2070.

(2) Hayashi S, Matsubara T, Fukuda K, Maeda T, Funahashi K, Hashimoto M, Takashima Y, Kikuchi K, Fujita M, Matsumoto T, Kuroda. A genome-wide association study identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms in the PPFIBP2 gene was predictive for interstitial lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2022; 29;6(3):rkac088

(3) Hayashi S, Matsubara T, Maeda T, Fukuda K, Funahashi K, Hashimoto M, Tsumiyama K, Kamenaga T, Takashima Y, Matsumoto T, Tachibana S, Kuroda R.Comparison of the inhibitory effect of tocilizumab and etanercept on the progression of joint erosion in rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Sci Rep. 2022 ;20;12(1):17524.

(4) Fukuda K, Miura Y, Maeda T, Hayashi S, Matsumoto T, Kuroda R. Expression profiling of genes in rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocytes regulated by Fas ligand via cDNA microarray analysis. Exp Ther Med. 2021 Sep;22(3):1000.

(5) Takashima Y, Hayashi S, Fukuda K, Maeda T, Tsubosaka M, Kamenaga T, Kikuchi K, Fujita M, Kuroda Y, Hashimoto S, Nakano N, Matsumoto T, Kuroda R. Susceptibility of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1-deficient mice to rheumatoid arthritis arising from interleukin-1β-induced inflammation. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 15;11(1):12516.

(6) Hayashi S, Matsubara T, Fukuda K, Maeda T, Funahashi K, Hashimoto M, Kamenaga T, Takashima Y, Kuroda R. A genome-wide association study identifying the SNPs predictive of rapid joint destruction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Biomed Rep. 2021 Mar;14(3):31.

(7) Hayashi S, Matsubara T, Fukuda K, Funahashi K, Hashimoto M, Maeda T, Kamenaga T, Takashima Y, Matsumoto T, Niikura T, Kuroda R. Predictive factors for effective selection of Interleukin-6 inhibitor and tumor necrosis factor inhibitor in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Sci Rep. 2020 Oct 6;10(1):16645.

(8) Hashimoto M, Funahashi K, Maeda T, Sagawa A, Izumihara T, Shono E, Matsuno H, Fukuda K, Hayashi S, Kuroda R, Matsubara T. Algorithms using genome-wide association studies for prediction of effectiveness of biologics in rheumatoid arthritis. Pers Med Univers. 2020;9:20-26.

(9) Hayashi S, Fukuda K, Maeda T, Chinzei N, Kihara S, Miura Y, Sakai Y, Hashimoto S, Matsumoto T, Takayama K, Niikura T, Kuroda R: Denosumab Treatment Improved Health-Related Quality of Life in Osteoporosis: A Prospective Cohort Study. JBMR Plus. 2019 May 7;3(7):e10191

(10) Fukuda K, Miura Y, Maeda T, Hayashi S, Kuroda R: Expression profiling of genes in rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocytes regulated by tumor necrosis factor-like ligand 1A using cDNA microarray analysis. Biomed Rep. 2019;1:1-5.

(11) Akiyama C, Tsumiyama K, Uchimura C, Honda E, Miyazaki Y, Sakurai K, Miura Y, Hashiramoto A, Felsher DW, Shiozawa S. Conditional Upregulation of IFN-α Alone Is Sufficient to Induce Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. J Immunol. 2019 Aug 15;203(4):835-843.

(12) Watanabe R, Maeda T, Zhang H, Berry GJ, Zeisbrich M, Brockett RD, Greenstein AE, Tian L, Goronzy JJ, Weyand CM. MMP (Matrix Metalloprotease)-9-Producing Monocytes Enable T Cells to Invade the Vessel Wall and Cause Vasculitis. Circ Res. 2018 Aug 31;123(6):700-715.

(13) Fukuda K, Miura Y, Maeda T, Hayashi S, Kuroda R. Decoy receptor 3 down-regulates centrosomal protein 70 kDa specifically in rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts. Mod Rheumatol. 2018;28(2):287-292.