Talk to us about your skin: The relationship between spoken language and haptic exploratory procedures

OBJECTIVE

To enhance satisfaction, the cosmetics industry needs to clearly understand consumers' descriptions of their key tactile preferences. It is difficult for researchers to understand verbal descriptions from people whose native language is different from their own. Previous research has implied that some sensory words with the same lexical meanings have been observed in different haptic exploratory procedures (HEPs). Therefore, our study aims to investigate and understand the key tactile perceptions of people from five different countries based on their descriptions and their HEPs.

METHODS

In Experiment 1, 1545 participants living in the US, Japan, China, Italy, and Thailand described their major tactile perceptions as efficacy in skincare, and we analysed the frequency of each word used in their answers. In Experiment 2, we confirmed the task to observe HEPs for Chinese, Italian, and Thai participants. A total of 24 participants in China, 33 participants in Italy, and 30 participants in Thailand freely explored their faces with their hands and answered which side more closely matched the major tactile adjectives. Experts classified the observed HEPs into six classifications within two categories and three contact area sizes and investigated the cultural differences.

RESULTS

More than 2% of the Chinese, Italian, Thai, US, and Japanese participants described 33, 20, 29, 22, and 18 words, respectively, as efficacy in skincare. Verified words that described the major tactile perceptions in each native language had the same meanings as moistness, firmness, softness, smoothness, and so on. We could confirm the HEPs of these major feelings for the participants from each culture. Chinese and Thai participants' HEPs for moistness or softness were observed with a pressing movement. Conversely, Italian participants' HEPs for moistness or softness were observed with a rubbing movement.

CONCLUSION

This study showed that words with the same lexical meanings evoked different HEPs. The results imply that different HEPs can provide different physical stimuli on the skin. Therefore, it is important to survey both objects and HEPs to better understand the tactile experience.

Effects of N-acetyl-L-tryptophan on desorption of the protein-bound uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate and effects on uremic sarcopenia

INTRODUCTION

Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is a protein-bound uremic toxin that causes uremic sarcopenia. IS has poor dialysis clearance; however, the addition of a binding competitor improves its removal efficiency.

METHODS

Dialysis experiments were performed using N-acetyl-l-tryptophan (L-NAT) instead of l-tryptophan (Trp) using pooled sera obtained from dialysis patients. The molecular structures of L-NAT and Trp were similar to that of IS. Therefore, we examined whether Trp and L-NAT were involved in muscle atrophy in the same manner as IS by performing culture experiments using a human myotube cell line.

RESULTS

The removal efficiency of L-NAT was the same as that of Trp. However, L-NAT concentrations in the pooled sera increased at the end of the experiment. Trp (1 mM) decreased the area of human myocytes, similar to IS, whereas L-NAT did not.

CONCLUSION

L-NAT is a binding competitor with the ability to remove protein-bound IS while preventing sarcopenia.

Skin Cold Stimulation Can Modulate the Perceptual Rating of Musical Chords

We studied the effect of cutaneous cold stimulus on the perceptual rating of musical chords. Despite the shown influence of music and tactile stimuli on human psychological evaluation, the effect of a cold stimulus on sound perception remains underexplored. We examined the effect of a cold stimulus on four psychological measures (frisson, arousal, pleasantness, and valence) as participants listened to two-note chords (consonance and dissonance). The cold-stimulus condition involved an experimenter touching the back of the participant's neck with a cooling device while listening to the sounds, while the control condition used a cooling device with the power off. For the frisson and arousal measures, the main effect of the stimulus condition was significant, showing that the cold stimulus increased the frisson and arousal measures. For the pleasantness and valence measures, there was a significant main effect of two-note chords, showing that a consonance was perceived as more pleasant than a dissonance; however, there was no significant main effect of stimulus condition, showing that the cold stimulus did not affect pleasantness and valence ratings. The results showed that a cold stimulus could bias frisson and arousal without affecting pleasantness and valence ratings when listening to musical sound.

Blockade of glucagon increases muscle mass and alters fiber type composition in mice deficient in proglucagon-derived peptides

AIMS/INTRODUCTION

Glucagon is secreted from pancreatic α-cells and plays an important role in amino acid metabolism in liver. Various animal models deficient in glucagon action show hyper-amino acidemia and α-cell hyperplasia, indicating that glucagon contributes to feedback regulation between the liver and the α-cells. In addition, both insulin and various amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids and alanine, participate in protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. However, the effect of hyperaminoacidemia on skeletal muscle has not been investigated. In the present study, we examined the effect of blockade of glucagon action on skeletal muscle using mice deficient in proglucagon-derived peptides (GCGKO mice).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Muscles isolated from GCGKO and control mice were analyzed for their morphology, gene expression and metabolites.

RESULTS

GCGKO mice showed muscle fiber hypertrophy, and a decreased ratio of type IIA and an increased ratio of type IIB fibers in the tibialis anterior. The expression levels of myosin heavy chain (Myh) 7, 2, 1 and myoglobin messenger ribonucleic acid were significantly lower in GCGKO mice than those in control mice in the tibialis anterior. GCGKO mice showed a significantly higher concentration of arginine, asparagine, serine and threonine in the quadriceps femoris muscles, and also alanine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine and lysine, as well as four amino acids in gastrocnemius muscles.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that hyperaminoacidemia induced by blockade of glucagon action in mice increases skeletal muscle weight and stimulates slow-to-fast transition in type II fibers of skeletal muscle, mimicking the phenotype of a high-protein diet.

Activation of Lactate Receptor Positively Regulates Skeletal Muscle Mass in Mice

G protein-coupled receptor 81 (GPR81), a selective receptor for lactate, expresses in skeletal muscle cells, but the physiological role of GPR81 in skeletal muscle has not been fully elucidated. As it has been reported that the lactate administration induces muscle hypertrophy, the stimulation of GPR81 has been suggested to mediate muscle hypertrophy. To clarify the contribution of GPR81 activation in skeletal muscle hypertrophy, in the present study, we investigated the effect of GPR81 agonist administration on skeletal muscle mass in mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group and GPR81 agonist-administered group that received oral administration of the specific GPR81 agonist 3-Chloro-5-hydroxybenzoic acid (CHBA). In both fast-twitch plantaris and slow-twitch soleus muscles of mice, the protein expression of GPR81 was observed. Oral administration of CHBA to mice significantly increased absolute muscle weight and muscle weight relative to body weight in the two muscles. Moreover, both absolute and relative muscle protein content in the two muscles were significantly increased by CHBA administration. CHBA administration also significantly upregulated the phosphorylation level of p42/44 extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 (ERK1/2) and p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (p90RSK). These observations suggest that activation of GRP81 stimulates increased the mass of two types of skeletal muscle in mice in vivo. Lactate receptor GPR81 may positively affect skeletal muscle mass through activation of ERK pathway.

Simultaneous loss of skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain IIx and IIb causes severe skeletal muscle hypoplasia in postnatal mice

The skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (MyHC) is a fundamental component of the sarcomere structure and muscle contraction. Two of the three adult fast MyHCs, MyHC-IIx and MyHC-IIb, are encoded by Myh1 and Myh4, respectively. However, skeletal muscle disorders have not yet been linked to these genes in humans. MyHC-IIb is barely detectable in human skeletal muscles. Thus, to characterize the molecular function of skeletal muscle MyHCs in humans, investigation of the effect of simultaneous loss of MyHC-IIb and other MyHCs on skeletal muscle in mice is essential. Here, we generated double knockout (dKO) mice with simultaneous loss of adult fast MyHCs by introducing nonsense frameshift mutations into the Myh1 and Myh4 genes. The dKO mice appeared normal after birth and until 2 weeks of age but showed severe skeletal muscle hypoplasia after 2 weeks. In 3-week-old dKO mice, increased expression of other skeletal muscle MyHCs, such as MyHC-I, MyHC-IIa, MyHC-neo, and MyHC-emb, was observed. However, these expressions were not sufficient to compensate for the loss of MyHC-IIb and MyHC-IIx. Moreover, the aberrant sarcomere structure with altered expression of sarcomere components was observed in dKO mice. Our findings imply that the simultaneous loss of MyHC-IIb and MyHC-IIx is substantially detrimental to postnatal skeletal muscle function and will contribute to elucidating the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle wasting disorders caused by the loss of skeletal muscle MyHCs.

With a Hint of Sudachi: Food Plating Can Facilitate the Fondness of Food

Among the senses of food, our subjective sense of taste is significantly influenced by our visual perception. In appetite science, previous research has reported that when we estimate quality in daily life, we rely considerably on visual information. This study focused on the multimodal mental imagery evoked by the visual information of food served on a plate and examined the effect of the peripheral visual information of garnish on the sensory impression of the main dish. A sensory evaluation experiment was conducted to evaluate the impressions of food photographs, and multivariate analysis was used to structure sensory values. It was found that the appearance of the garnish placed on the plates close to the main dish contributes to visual appetite stimulants. It is evident that color, moisture, and taste (sourness and spiciness) play a major role in the acceptability of food. To stimulate one's appetite, it is important to make the main dish appear warm. These results can be used to modulate the eating experience and stimulate appetite. Applying these results to meals can improve the dining experience by superimposing visual information with augmented reality technology or by presenting real appropriate garnishes.

Mesenchymal Bmp3b expression maintains skeletal muscle integrity and decreases in age-related sarcopenia

Age-related sarcopenia constitutes an important health problem associated with adverse outcomes. Sarcopenia is closely associated with fat infiltration in muscle, which is attributable to interstitial mesenchymal progenitors. Mesenchymal progenitors are nonmyogenic in nature but are required for homeostatic muscle maintenance. However, the underlying mechanism of mesenchymal progenitor-dependent muscle maintenance is not clear, nor is the precise role of mesenchymal progenitors in sarcopenia. Here, we show that mice genetically engineered to specifically deplete mesenchymal progenitors exhibited phenotypes markedly similar to sarcopenia, including muscle weakness, myofiber atrophy, alterations of fiber types, and denervation at neuromuscular junctions. Through searching for genes responsible for mesenchymal progenitor-dependent muscle maintenance, we found that Bmp3b is specifically expressed in mesenchymal progenitors, whereas its expression level is significantly decreased during aging or adipogenic differentiation. The functional importance of BMP3B in maintaining myofiber mass as well as muscle-nerve interaction was demonstrated using knockout mice and cultured cells treated with BMP3B. Furthermore, the administration of recombinant BMP3B in aged mice reversed their sarcopenic phenotypes. These results reveal previously unrecognized mechanisms by which the mesenchymal progenitors ensure muscle integrity and suggest that age-related changes in mesenchymal progenitors have a considerable impact on the development of sarcopenia.

Collagen-VI supplementation by cell transplantation improves muscle regeneration in Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy model mice

Background

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) function as supportive cells on skeletal muscle homeostasis through several secretory factors including type 6 collagen (COL6). Several mutations of COL6A1, 2, and 3 genes cause Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD). Skeletal muscle regeneration deficiency has been reported as a characteristic phenotype in muscle biopsy samples of human UCMD patients and UCMD model mice. However, little is known about the COL6-dependent mechanism for the occurrence and progression of the deficiency. The purpose of this study was to clarify the pathological mechanism of UCMD by supplementing COL6 through cell transplantation.

Methods

To test whether COL6 supplementation has a therapeutic effect for UCMD, in vivo and in vitro experiments were conducted using four types of MSCs: (1) healthy donors derived-primary MSCs (pMSCs), (2) MSCs derived from healthy donor induced pluripotent stem cell (iMSCs), (3) COL6-knockout iMSCs (COL6KO-iMSCs), and (4) UCMD patient-derived iMSCs (UCMD-iMSCs).

Results

All four MSC types could engraft for at least 12 weeks when transplanted into the tibialis anterior muscles of immunodeficient UCMD model (Col6a1KO) mice. COL6 protein was restored by the MSC transplantation if the MSCs were not COL6-deficient (types 1 and 2). Moreover, muscle regeneration and maturation in Col6a1KO mice were promoted with the transplantation of the COL6-producing MSCs only in the region supplemented with COL6. Skeletal muscle satellite cells derived from UCMD model mice (Col6a1KO-MuSCs) co-cultured with type 1 or 2 MSCs showed improved proliferation, differentiation, and maturation, whereas those co-cultured with type 3 or 4 MSCs did not.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that COL6 supplementation improves muscle regeneration and maturation in UCMD model mice.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-021-02514-3.

Temporal coherency of mechanical stimuli modulates tactile form perception

The human hand can detect both form and texture information of a contact surface. The detection of skin displacement (sustained stimulus) and changes in skin displacement (transient stimulus) are thought to be mediated in different tactile channels; however, tactile form perception may use both types of information. Here, we studied whether both the temporal frequency and the temporal coherency information of tactile stimuli encoded in sensory neurons could be used to recognize the form of contact surfaces. We used the fishbone tactile illusion (FTI), a known tactile phenomenon, as a probe for tactile form perception in humans. This illusion typically occurs with a surface geometry that has a smooth bar and coarse textures in its adjacent areas. When stroking the central bar back and forth with a fingertip, a human observer perceives a hollow surface geometry even though the bar is physically flat. We used a passive high-density pin matrix to extract only the vertical information of the contact surface, suppressing tangential displacement from surface rubbing. Participants in the psychological experiment reported indented surface geometry by tracing over the FTI textures with pin matrices of the different spatial densities (1.0 and 2.0 mm pin intervals). Human participants reported that the relative magnitude of perceived surface indentation steeply decreased when pins in the adjacent areas vibrated in synchrony. To address possible mechanisms for tactile form perception in the FTI, we developed a computational model of sensory neurons to estimate temporal patterns of action potentials from tactile receptive fields. Our computational data suggest that (1) the temporal asynchrony of sensory neuron responses is correlated with the relative magnitude of perceived surface indentation and (2) the spatiotemporal change of displacements in tactile stimuli are correlated with the asynchrony of simulated sensory neuron responses for the fishbone surface patterns. Based on these results, we propose that both the frequency and the asynchrony of temporal activity in sensory neurons could produce tactile form perception.

Desloratadine inhibits heterotopic ossification by suppression of BMP2-Smad1/5/8 signaling

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a pathological condition in which ectopic bone forms within soft tissues such as skeletal muscle. Human platelet-derived growth factor receptor α positive (PDGFRα+) cells, which were proved to be the original cells of HO were incubated in osteogenic differentiation medium with Food and Drug Administration-approved compounds. Alkaline phosphatase activity was measured as a screening to inhibit osteogenic differentiation. For the compounds which inhibited osteogenic differentiation of PDGFRα+ cells, we examined dose dependency of its effect using alizarin red S staining and its cell toxicity using WST-8. In addition, regulation of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP)-Smad signaling which is the major signal of osteogenic differentiation was investigated by Western blotting to elucidate the mechanism of osteogenesis inhibitory effect by the compound. In vivo experiment, complete transverse incision of Achilles tendons in mice was made and mice were fed the compound by mixing with drinking water after operation. Ten weeks after operation, we assessed and quantified HO by micro-computed tomography scan. Intriguingly, we discovered desloratadine inhibited osteogenic differentiation of PDGFRα+ cells using the drug repositioning method. Desloratadine inhibited osteogenic differentiation of the cells dose dependently without cell toxicity. Desloratadine suppressed phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8 induced by BMP2 in PDGFRα+ cells. In Achilles tenotomy mice model, desloratadine treatment significantly inhibited ectopic bone formation compared with control. In conclusion, we discovered desloratadine inhibited osteogenic differentiation using human PDGFRα+ cells and proved its efficacy using Achilles tenotomy ectopic bone formation model in vivo. Our study paved the way to inhibit HO in early clinical use because of its guaranteed safety.

An Analysis of Differentially Expressed Coding and Long Non-Coding RNAs in Multiple Models of Skeletal Muscle Atrophy

The loss of skeletal muscle mass (muscle atrophy or wasting) caused by aging, diseases, and injury decreases quality of life, survival rates, and healthy life expectancy in humans. Although long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in skeletal muscle formation and differentiation, their precise roles in muscle atrophy remain unclear. In this study, we used RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) to examine changes in the expression of lncRNAs in four muscle atrophy conditions (denervation, casting, fasting, and cancer cachexia) in mice. We successfully identified 33 annotated lncRNAs and 18 novel lncRNAs with common expression changes in all four muscle atrophy conditions. Furthermore, an analysis of lncRNA–mRNA correlations revealed that several lncRNAs affected small molecule biosynthetic processes during muscle atrophy. These results provide novel insights into the lncRNA-mediated regulatory mechanism underlying muscle atrophy and may be useful for the identification of promising therapeutic targets.

A new murine ileostomy model: recycling stool prevents intestinal atrophy in the distal side of ileostomy

OBJECTIVES

Proximal stoma creation in neonates results in growth failure and distal intestinal atrophy. "Recycling stool" consists of stool injection from the proximal limb to the distal limb of a stoma. Because this method may prevent distal bowel atrophy and increase body weight, we investigated the effects of recycling stool upon distal intestinal mucosa by generating an ileostomy model in rats.

METHODS

An ileostomy was created 5 cm proximal to the cecum in male Wistar/ST rats. Discharged stool or saline was injected into the distal limb, twice per day for 7 days. The intestinal adaptation was assessed by measuring the villus height and counting goblet cell number. Proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed by Ki67 and TUNEL immunostaining.

RESULTS

The ratios of the height of the distal villi (D) to the that of proximal villi (P) were 0.97 (median [range] of D and P length: 421 [240-729] μm and 436 [294-638] μm, P<0.05) in the stool-injected group and 0.81 in the saline-injected group (442 [315-641] μm and 548 [236-776] μm, P<0.05). Compared with the saline-injected group, the stool-injected group showed elevated numbers of goblet cells (3.6 [2.0-7.6] vs. 4.9 [2.4-7.5] cells/100-μm villus length) and Ki67-positive cells (26.8% [13.8%-35.4%] vs. 40.1% [31.2%-45.7%]), along with a reduced number of apoptotic cells (5.0 [2.0-14.0] vs. 4.0 [1.0-9.0] cells/100-μm villus length).

CONCLUSIONS

Recycling stool prevented distal intestinal atrophy; this experimental design may facilitate further studies concerning alternative methods to prevent intestinal atrophy and growth failure.

Sensory words may facilitate certain haptic exploratory procedures in facial cosmetics

OBJECTIVE

Many people want to have healthy facial skin. They tend to check their skin's condition by touching their face with their hands. In the cosmetic industry, we need to understand what consumers are perceiving in a tactile sense when touching their own facial skin. The purpose of this study was to investigate these observation methods in order to systematically understand people's haptic exploratory procedures (HEPs).

METHODS

Thirty-four participants living in the United States and twenty-two participants living in Japan freely explored their faces and answered which side felt more closely related to the six tactile adjectives. A new analysis was applied to classify the observed HEPs into six classifications within two categories and three sizes of contact area by experts.

RESULT

It was confirmed that the new task was useful to observe the HEPs for participants from United States and Japan. The US participants' HEPs for 'moisturized' were mainly a middle-sized contact area using a stroking motion. On the other hand, Japanese participants' HEPs for 'moisturized' ('shittori' in Japanese) mainly used a pushing movement. Moreover, the US participants' HEPs for 'soft' included both pushing and stroking, but Japanese participants HEPs for 'soft' ('yawarakai' in Japanese) were again mainly pushing.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that the proposed analysis method enables the systematic understanding of HEPs when checking the skin, along with the cross-cultural differences affecting those procedures. These systematic findings could allow cosmetic formulators to have a better understanding of the tactile sensations consumers themselves are feeling in a variety of different global markets.

Comprehensive analysis of elemental distribution in human skin using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND

Multiple chemical elements play roles in skin homeostasis. The distribution of elements in skin has been studied by X-ray microanalysis methods and fluorescence microscopy using chemical indicators, but the former requires complicated sample preparation steps, while the latter is limited by the availability of suitable chemical indicators.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We applied laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to measure the distributions of thirty-eight elements in human skin.

RESULTS

Among the target elements, nine (calcium: ⁴⁰ Ca, ⁴⁴ Ca, zinc: ⁶⁴ Zn, ⁶⁶ Zn, phosphorus: ³¹ P, potassium: ³⁹ K, sodium: ²³ Na, sulfur: ³⁴ S, copper: ⁶³ Cu, magnesium: ²⁴ Mg, and iron: ⁵⁶ Fe) showed distribution patterns that were consistent with previous reports, and four others (iodine: ¹²⁷ I, barium: ¹³⁸ Ba, strontium: ⁸⁸ Sr, and molybdenum: ⁹⁵ Mo) were detected for the first time in human skin.

CONCLUSION

The method described here requires only slicing into sections to prepare a sample for measurement, so the elemental distributions are minimally disturbed, and comprehensive information can be obtained rapidly. The method is expected to be useful for research in a variety of fields, including skin diseases, aging, and allergenicity.

Dark, loud, and compact sounds induce frisson

Frisson is characterised by tingling and tickling sensations with positive or negative feelings. However, it is still unknown what factors affect the intensity of frisson. We conducted experiments on the stimulus characteristics and individual’s mood states and personality traits. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires, including the Profile of Mood States, Beck Depression Inventory, and Big Five Inventory. They continuously indicated the subjective intensity of frisson throughout a 17-min experiment while listening to binaural brushing and tapping sounds through headphones. In the interviews after the experiments, participants reported that tingling and tickling sensations mainly originated on their ears, neck, shoulders, and back. Cross-correlation results showed that the intensity of frisson was closely linked to the acoustic features of auditory stimuli, including their amplitude, spectral centroid, and spectral bandwidth. This suggests that proximal sounds with dark and compact timbre trigger frisson. The peak of correlation between frisson and the acoustic feature was observed 2 s after the acoustic feature changed, suggesting that bottom-up auditory inputs modulate skin-related modalities. We also found that participants with anxiety were sensitive to frisson. Our results provide important clues to understanding the mechanisms of auditory–somatosensory interactions.

Proximal Binaural Sound Can Induce Subjective Frisson

Auditory frisson is the experience of feeling of cold or shivering related to sound in the absence of a physical cold stimulus. Multiple examples of frisson-inducing sounds have been reported, but the mechanism of auditory frisson remains elusive. Typical frisson-inducing sounds may contain a looming effect, in which a sound appears to approach the listener's peripersonal space. Previous studies on sound in peripersonal space have provided objective measurements of sound-inducing effects, but few have investigated the subjective experience of frisson-inducing sounds. Here we explored whether it is possible to produce subjective feelings of frisson by moving a noise sound (white noise, rolling beads noise, or frictional noise produced by rubbing a plastic bag) stimulus around a listener's head. Our results demonstrated that sound-induced frisson can be experienced stronger when auditory stimuli are rotated around the head (binaural moving sounds) than the one without the rotation (monaural static sounds), regardless of the source of the noise sound. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that several acoustic features of auditory stimuli, such as variance of interaural level difference (ILD), loudness, and sharpness, were correlated with the magnitude of subjective frisson. We had also observed that the subjective feelings of frisson by moving a musical sound had increased comparing with a static musical sound.

Expression Levels of Long Non-Coding RNAs Change in Models of Altered Muscle Activity and Muscle Mass

Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic organ that is necessary for homeostasis and health of the human body. The size of skeletal muscle changes in response to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli. Although protein-coding RNAs including myostatin, NF-κβ, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), have pivotal roles in determining the skeletal muscle mass, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass remains to be elucidated. Here, we performed expression profiling of nine skeletal muscle differentiation-related lncRNAs (DRR, DUM1, linc-MD1, linc-YY1, LncMyod, Neat1, Myoparr, Malat1, and SRA) and three genomic imprinting-related lncRNAs (Gtl2, H19, and IG-DMR) in mouse skeletal muscle. The expression levels of these lncRNAs were examined by quantitative RT-PCR in six skeletal muscle atrophy models (denervation, casting, tail suspension, dexamethasone-administration, cancer cachexia, and fasting) and two skeletal muscle hypertrophy models (mechanical overload and deficiency of the myostatin gene). Cluster analyses of these lncRNA expression levels were successfully used to categorize the muscle atrophy models into two sub-groups. In addition, the expression of Gtl2, IG-DMR, and DUM1 was altered along with changes in the skeletal muscle size. The overview of the expression levels of lncRNAs in multiple muscle atrophy and hypertrophy models provides a novel insight into the role of lncRNAs in determining the skeletal muscle mass.

Dynamics and Perception in the Thermal Grill Illusion

A basic challenge in perception research is to understand how sensory inputs from physical environments and the body are integrated in order to facilitate perceptual inferences. Thermal perception, which arises through heat transfer between extrinsic sources and body tissues, is an integral part of natural haptic experiences, and thermal feedback technologies have potential applications in wearable computing, virtual reality, and other areas. While physics dictates that thermal percepts can be slow, often unfolding over timescales measured in seconds, much faster perceptual responses can occur in the thermal grill illusion. The latter refers to a burning-like sensation that can be evoked when innocuous warm and cool stimuli are applied to the skin in juxtaposed fashion. Here, we show that perceptual response times to the thermal grill illusion decrease systematically with perceived intensity. Using results from behavioral experiments in combination with a physics-based description of tissue heating, we develop a simple model explaining the perception of the illusion through the evolution of internal tissue temperatures. The results suggest that improved understanding of the physical mechanisms of tissue heating may aid our understanding of thermal perception, as exemplified by the thermal grill illusion, and might point toward more efficient methods for thermal feedback.

Lack of association of ovariectomy-induced obesity with overeating and the reduction of physical activities

Obesity commonly occurs in postmenopausal women, increasing the risk of various diseases. Estrogen can prevent obesity by activating lipid metabolism and suppressing depressive behavior. However, the reasons for obesity in postmenopausal women are not clearly elucidated. To mimic the effect of estrogen decline in postmenopausal women, we analyzed the behavior and the lipid metabolism-related genes, PPARγ and CD36 in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. The OVX mice showed increased visceral fat mass and PPARγ and CD36 expression in the visceral fat. In contrast, they were not significantly affected in terms of physical activity and food intake. Further, subcutaneous supplementation of estrogen effectively suppressed the increase in subcutaneous and visceral fat mass in OVX mice. We conclude that obesity in postmenopausal women is unlikely to be caused by overeating and reduction in physical activity, and subcutaneous supplementation of estrogen is an effective strategy to prevent obesity in postmenopausal women.

Myogenin promoter-associated lncRNA Myoparr is essential for myogenic differentiation

Promoter-associated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate the expression of adjacent genes; however, precise roles of these lncRNAs in skeletal muscle remain largely unknown. Here, we characterize a promoter-associated lncRNA, Myoparr, in myogenic differentiation and muscle disorders. Myoparr is expressed from the promoter region of the mouse and human myogenin gene, one of the key myogenic transcription factors. We show that Myoparr is essential both for the specification of myoblasts by activating neighboring myogenin expression and for myoblast cell cycle withdrawal by activating myogenic microRNA expression. Mechanistically, Myoparr interacts with Ddx17, a transcriptional coactivator of MyoD, and regulates the association between Ddx17 and the histone acetyltransferase PCAF Myoparr also promotes skeletal muscle atrophy caused by denervation, and knockdown of Myoparr rescues muscle wasting in mice. Our findings demonstrate that Myoparr is a novel key regulator of muscle development and suggest that Myoparr is a potential therapeutic target for neurogenic atrophy in humans.

A New Treatment for Dialysis-Related Amyloidosis with β 2-Microglobulin Adsorbent Column

Dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) is characterized by the presence of β 2-microglobulin (β 2-m) in the plasma. In order to eliminate β 2-m from the circulating blood, the β 2-m selective adsorbent for direct hemoperfusion (DHP) was developed. A DHP column (BM-01), containing 350 ml of the adsorbent, was subjected to clinical trials. The column was connected with a PAN (AN69) membrane dialyzer in series and used 3 times a week for 1 week (11 patients), 4 weeks (5 patients), 6 months (1 patient) and 12 months (2 patients). The percent reduction (%) of β 2-m was for 16 patients (for 1 or 4 weeks), more than 65, and for 3 patients (for more than 6 months), 76.5 ± 4.9, 73.5 ± 5.7, 72.2 ± 6.2. At the end of each session, β 2-m plasma levels were found to be below 10 mg/L, with 3.4 mg/L being the lowest. The total amounts of β 2-m removed were 172.5 ± 22.3, 257.0 ± 75.6, 157.6 ± 32.2 and 429.8 mg/session at max. Two out of these three patients had a favorable effect on joint symptoms and ocular fundus. It can be concluded that this selective adsorption therapy may delay the progression of DRA, and is worth considering for wide application.

Promethazine Hydrochloride Inhibits Ectopic Fat Cell Formation in Skeletal Muscle

Fatty degeneration of skeletal muscle leads to muscle weakness and loss of function. Preventing fatty degeneration in skeletal muscle is important, but no drug has been used clinically. In this study, we performed drug repositioning using human platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRα)-positive mesenchymal progenitors that have been proved to be an origin of ectopic adipocytes in skeletal muscle. We found that promethazine hydrochloride (PH) inhibits adipogenesis in a dose-dependent manner without cell toxicity. PH inhibited expression of adipogenic markers and also suppressed phosphorylation of cAMP response-element binding protein, which was reported to be a primary regulator of adipogenesis. We established a mouse model of tendon rupture with intramuscular fat deposition and confirmed that emerged ectopic adipocytes are derived from PDGFRα⁺ cells using lineage tracing mice. When these injured mice were treated with PH, formation of ectopic adipocytes was suppressed significantly. Our results show that PH inhibits PDGFRα⁺ mesenchymal progenitor-dependent ectopic adipogenesis in skeletal muscle and suggest that treatment with PH can be a promising approach to prevent fatty degeneration of skeletal muscle.

Prognostic significance of the prognostic nutritional index in esophageal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Nutritional status is one of the most important issues faced by cancer patients. Several studies have shown that a low preoperative nutritional status is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with various types of cancer, including esophageal cancer (EC). Recently, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and/or radiotherapy have been accepted as the standard treatment for resectable advanced EC. However, NAC has the potential to deteriorate the nutritional status of a patient. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the nutritional status for EC patients who underwent NAC. We retrospectively reviewed 66 squamous cell EC patients who underwent NAC consisting of docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil followed by subtotal esophagectomy at Nara Medical University Hospital between January 2009 and August 2015. To assess the patients' nutritional status, the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) before commencing NAC and prior to the operation was calculated as 10 × serum albumin (g/dl) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood (per mm3). The cutoff value of the PNI was set at 45. A multivariable analysis was performed to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). The mean pre-NAC and preoperative PNI were 50.2 ± 5.7 and 48.1 ± 4.7, respectively (P = 0.005). The PNI decreased following NAC in 44 (66.7%) patients. Before initiating NAC, 9 (13.6%) patients had a low PNI, and 12 (18.2%) patients had a low PNI prior to the operation. The pre-NAC PNI and preoperative PNI were significantly associated with the OS (P = 0.013 and P = 0.004, respectively) and RFS (P = 0.036 and P = 0.005, respectively) rates. The multivariable analysis identified the preoperative PNI as an independent prognostic factor for poor OS and RFS, although the pre-NAC PNI was not an independent predictor. Our results suggest that the preoperative PNI is a useful marker for predicting the long-term outcomes of EC patients undergoing NAC and subsequent subtotal esophagectomy. Therefore, patients with a low preoperative nutritional status may be at a higher risk of EC recurrence.

Distinctive molecular responses to ultraviolet radiation between keratinocytes and melanocytes

Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the major risk factor for skin carcinogenesis. To gain new insights into the molecular pathways mediating UVR effects in the skin, we performed comprehensive transcriptomic analyses to identify shared and distinctive molecular responses to UVR between human keratinocytes and melanocytes. Keratinocytes and melanocytes were irradiated with varying doses of UVB (10, 20 and 30 mJ/cm(2) ) then analysed by RNA-Seq at different time points post-UVB radiation (4, 24 and 72 h). Under basal conditions, keratinocytes and melanocytes expressed similar number of genes, although they each expressed a distinctive subset of genes pertaining to their specific cellular identity. Upon UVB radiation, keratinocytes displayed a clear pattern of time- and dose-dependent changes in gene expression that was different from melanocytes. The early UVB-responsive gene set (4 h post-UVR) differed significantly from delayed UVB-responsive gene sets (24 and 72 h). We also identified multiple novel UVB signature genes including PRSS23, SERPINH1, LCE3D and CNFN, which were conserved between melanocyte and keratinocyte lines from different individuals. Taken together, our findings elucidated both common and distinctive molecular features between melanocytes and keratinocytes and uncovered novel UVB signature genes that might be utilized to predict UVB photobiological effects on the skin.

Low-load Slow Movement Squat Training Increases Muscle Size and Strength but Not Power

We tested a hypothesis that low-load squat training with slow movement and tonic force generation (LST) would increase muscle size and strength but not necessarily power. Healthy young men were assigned to LST [50% one-repetition maximum (1-RM) load, 3 s for lowering/lifting without pause: n=9] or low-load normal speed (LN: 50% 1-RM load, 1 s for lowering/lifting with 1-s pause; n=7) groups. Both groups underwent an 8-week squat training program (10 repetitions/set, 3 sets/day, and 3 days/week) using the assigned methods. Before and after the intervention, quadriceps femoris muscle thickness, maximal torque during isometric hip extension and knee extension, 1-RM squat, lifting power from squatting position and rate of electromyography rise (RER) in knee extensors during the task, leg extension power and vertical jump height were measured. After the intervention, the LN group showed no changes in all the variables. The LST group significantly (P<0.05) increased muscle thickness (6-10%), isometric hip extension torque (18%) and 1-RM squat (10%), but not isometric knee extension torque, lifting power and RER, leg extension power and vertical jump height. These results suggest that LST can increase muscle size and task-related strength, but has little effect on power production during dynamic explosive movements.

REPEATED INTRANODAL LYMPHANGIOGRAPHY FOR THE TREATMENT OF LYMPHATIC LEAKAGE

Treatment of patients with chylous or non-chylous lymphatic leakage can be difficult. An approach using therapeutic lymphangiography can reduce the lymphatic leakage, but it seldom stops the leakage immediately and subsequent conservative treatment is necessary. We report three cases in which intranodal lymphangiography was performed multiple times to inhibit lymphatic leakage. In each case, the lymph node was punctured under ultrasound guidance using a 23-gauge needle and lipiodol was injected manually at a rate of 1 ml/3 min. The procedure was repeated twice in two cases of gastrointestinal carcinoma and four times in one case of lymphoma. In all three cases, the postoperative lymphatic leakage stopped after the repeated intranodal lymphangiography.

Frontiers in epidermal barrier homeostasis--an approach to mathematical modelling of epidermal calcium dynamics

Intact epidermal barrier function is crucial for survival and is associated with the presence of gradients of both calcium ion concentration and electric potential. Although many molecules, including ion channels and pumps, are known to contribute to maintenance of these gradients, the mechanisms involved in epidermal calcium ion dynamics have not been clarified. We have established that a variety of neurotransmitters and their receptors, originally found in the brain, are expressed in keratinocytes and are also associated with barrier homeostasis. Moreover, keratinocytes and neurons show some similarities of electrochemical behaviour. As mathematical modelling and computer simulation have been employed to understand electrochemical phenomena in brain science, we considered that a similar approach might be applicable to describe the dynamics of epidermal electrochemical phenomena associated with barrier homeostasis. Such methodology would also be potentially useful to address a number of difficult problems in clinical dermatology, such as ageing and itching. Although this work is at a very early stage, in this essay, we discuss the background to our approach and we present some preliminary results of simulation of barrier recovery.

Mechanotransduction in epidermal Merkel cells

The cellular and molecular basis of vertebrate touch reception remains least understood among the traditional five senses. Somatosensory afferents that innervate the skin encode distinct tactile qualities, such as flutter, slip, and pressure. Gentle touch is thought to be transduced by somatosensory afferents whose tactile end organs selectively filter mechanical stimuli. These tactile end organs comprise afferent terminals in association with non-neuronal cell types such as Merkel cells, keratinocytes, and Schwann cells. An open question is whether these non-neuronal cells serve primarily as passive mechanical filters or whether they actively participate in mechanosensory transduction. This question has been most extensively studied in Merkel cells, which are epidermal cells that complex with sensory afferents in regions of high tactile acuity such as fingertips, whisker follicles, and touch domes. Merkel cell-neurite complexes mediate slowly adapting type I (SAI) responses, which encode sustained pressure and represent object features with high fidelity. How Merkel cells contribute to unique SAI firing patterns has been debated for decades; however, three recent studies in rodent models provide some direct answers. First, whole-cell recordings demonstrate that Merkel cells are touch-sensitive cells with fast, mechanically activated currents that require Piezo2. Second, optogenetics and intact recordings show that Merkel cells mediate sustained SAI firing. Finally, loss-of-function studies in transgenic mouse models reveal that SAI afferents are also touch sensitive. Together, these studies identify molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction in Merkel cells, reveal unexpected functions for these cells in touch, and support a revised, two-receptor site model of mechanosensory transduction.

Epidermal Merkel cells are mechanosensory cells that tune mammalian touch receptors

Touch submodalities, such as flutter and pressure, are mediated by somatosensory afferents whose terminal specializations extract tactile features and encode them as action potential trains with unique activity patterns. Whether non-neuronal cells tune touch receptors through active or passive mechanisms is debated. Terminal specializations are thought to function as passive mechanical filters analogous to the cochlea's basilar membrane, which deconstructs complex sounds into tones that are transduced by mechanosensory hair cells. The model that cutaneous specializations are merely passive has been recently challenged because epidermal cells express sensory ion channels and neurotransmitters; however, direct evidence that epidermal cells excite tactile afferents is lacking. Epidermal Merkel cells display features of sensory receptor cells and make 'synapse-like' contacts with slowly adapting type I (SAI) afferents. These complexes, which encode spatial features such as edges and texture, localize to skin regions with high tactile acuity, including whisker follicles, fingertips and touch domes. Here we show that Merkel cells actively participate in touch reception in mice. Merkel cells display fast, touch-evoked mechanotransduction currents. Optogenetic approaches in intact skin show that Merkel cells are both necessary and sufficient for sustained action-potential firing in tactile afferents. Recordings from touch-dome afferents lacking Merkel cells demonstrate that Merkel cells confer high-frequency responses to dynamic stimuli and enable sustained firing. These data are the first, to our knowledge, to directly demonstrate a functional, excitatory connection between epidermal cells and sensory neurons. Together, these findings indicate that Merkel cells actively tune mechanosensory responses to facilitate high spatio-temporal acuity. Moreover, our results indicate a division of labour in the Merkel cell-neurite complex: Merkel cells signal static stimuli, such as pressure, whereas sensory afferents transduce dynamic stimuli, such as moving gratings. Thus, the Merkel cell-neurite complex is an unique sensory structure composed of two different receptor cell types specialized for distinct elements of discriminative touch.

Identification and characterization of PDGFRα+ mesenchymal progenitors in human skeletal muscle

Fatty and fibrous connective tissue formation is a hallmark of diseased skeletal muscle and deteriorates muscle function. We previously identified non-myogenic mesenchymal progenitors that contribute to adipogenesis and fibrogenesis in mouse skeletal muscle. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a human counterpart to these progenitors. By using PDGFRα as a specific marker, mesenchymal progenitors can be identified in the interstitium and isolated from human skeletal muscle. PDGFRα⁺ cells represent a cell population distinct from CD56⁺ myogenic cells, and adipogenic and fibrogenic potentials were highly enriched in the PDGFRα⁺ population. Activation of PDGFRα stimulates proliferation of PDGFRα⁺ cells through PI3K-Akt and MEK2-MAPK signaling pathways, and aberrant accumulation of PDGFRα⁺ cells was conspicuous in muscles of patients with both genetic and non-genetic muscle diseases. Our results revealed the pathological relevance of PDGFRα⁺ mesenchymal progenitors to human muscle diseases and provide a basis for developing therapeutic strategy to treat muscle diseases.

Myostatin signaling regulates Akt activity via the regulation of miR-486 expression

Myostatin, also known as growth and differentiation factor-8, is a pivotal negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass and reduces muscle protein synthesis by inhibiting the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. However, the precise mechanism by which myostatin inhibits the IGF-1/Akt/mTOR pathway remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the global microRNA expression profile in myostatin knockout mice and identified miR-486, a positive regulator of the IGF-1/Akt pathway, as a novel target of myostatin signaling. In myostatin knockout mice, the expression level of miR-486 in skeletal muscle was significantly increased. In addition, we observed increased expression of the primary transcript of miR-486 (pri-miR-486) and Ankyrin 1.5 (Ank1.5), the host gene of miR-486, in myostatin knockout mice. In C2C12 cells, myostatin negatively regulated the expression of Ank1.5. Moreover, canonical myostatin signaling repressed the skeletal muscle-specific promoter activity of miR-486/Ank1.5. This repression was partially mediated by the E-box elements in the proximal region of the promoter. We also show that overexpression of miR-486 induced myotube hypertrophy in vitro and that miR-486 was essential to maintain skeletal muscle size both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, inhibition of miR-486 led to a decrease in Akt activity in C2C12 myotubes. Our findings indicate that miR-486 is one of the intermediary molecules connecting myostatin signaling and the IGF-1/Akt/mTOR pathway in the regulation of skeletal muscle size.

External negative electric potential accelerates exocytosis of lamellar bodies in human skin ex vivo

Exocytosis of lamellar bodies at the uppermost nucleated layer of the epidermis is a crucial process for epidermal permeability barrier homoeostasis. We have previously suggested that skin surface electric potential might be associated with barrier homoeostasis. Thus, we hypothesized that the potential might drive exocytosis of lamellar bodies. In this study, we tested this idea by applying negative electric potential (-0.5 V) to human skin samples ex vivo for 2 h and observing the ultrastructure of the uppermost layer. The secretion of lamellar bodies was accelerated in the potential-applied skin, compared to that in untreated control skin. Multiphoton observation indicated that extracellular lipid domains were more extensive in treated skin than in control skin. Moreover, the calcium ion gradient was greater at the uppermost layer of the epidermis of treated skin, compared to that in control skin. These results indicate that electric potential may regulate lamellar body secretion in healthy human skin.

CO2 microbubble contrast enhancement in x-ray angiography

AIM

To demonstrate that carbon dioxide (CO2) microbubble contrast enhancement depicts blood vessels when used for x-ray examinations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Microbubbles were generated by cavitation of physiological saline to which CO2 gas had been added using an ejector-type microbubble generator. The input pressure values for CO2 gas and physiological saline that produced a large quantity of CO2 microbubbles were obtained in a phantom. In an animal study, angiography was performed in three swine using three types of contrast: CO2 microbubbles, conventional CO2 gas, and iodinated contrast medium. For CO2 microbubble contrast enhancement, physiological saline, and CO2 gas were supplied at the input pressures calculated in the phantom experiment. Regions of interest were set in the abdominal aorta, external iliac arteries, and background. The difference in digital values between each artery and the background was calculated.

RESULTS

The input pressures obtained in the phantom experiment were 0.16 MPa for physiological saline and 0.5 MPa for CO2 gas, with physiological saline input volume being 8.1 ml/s. Three interventional radiologists all evaluated the depictions of all arteries as "present" in the CO2 microbubble contrast enhancement, conventional CO2 contrast enhancement, and iodinated contrast enhancement performed in three swine. Digital values for all vessels with microbubble CO2 contrast enhancement were higher than background values.

CONCLUSIONS

In x-ray angiography, blood vessels can be depicted by CO2 microbubble contrast enhancement, in which a large quantity of CO2 microbubbles is generated within blood vessels.

Softness sensor system for simultaneously measuring the mechanical properties of superficial skin layer and whole skin

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Few attempts have been made to distinguish the softness of different skin layers, though specific measurement of the superficial layer would be useful for evaluating the emollient effect of cosmetics and for diagnosis of skin diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We developed a sensor probe consisting of a piezoelectric tactile sensor and a load cell. To evaluate it, we firstly measured silicone rubber samples with different softness. Then, it was applied to human forearm skin before and after tape-stripping. A VapoMeter and skin-surface hygrometer were used to confirm removal of the stratum corneum. A Cutometer was used to obtain conventional softness data for comparison.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Both the piezoelectric tactile sensor and the load cell could measure the softness of silicone rubber samples, but the piezoelectric tactile sensor was more sensitive than the load cell when the reaction force of the measured sample was under 100 mN in response to a 2-mm indentation. For human skin in vivo, transepidermal water loss and skin conductance were significantly changed after tape-stripping, confirming removal of the stratum corneum. The piezoelectric tactile sensor detected a significant change after tape-stripping, whereas the load cell did not. Thus, the piezoelectric tactile sensor can detect changes of mechanical properties at the skin surface. The load cell data were in agreement with Cutometer measurements, which showed no change in representative skin elasticity parameters after tape-stripping. These results indicate that our sensor can simultaneously measure the mechanical properties of the superficial skin layer and whole skin.

Follistatin-derived peptide expression in muscle decreases adipose tissue mass and prevents hepatic steatosis

Myostatin, a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, plays a potent inhibitory role in regulating skeletal muscle mass. Inhibition of myostatin by gene disruption, transgenic (Tg) expression of myostatin propeptide, or injection of propeptide or myostatin antibodies causes a widespread increase in skeletal muscle mass. Several peptides, in addition to myostatin propeptide and myostatin antibodies, can bind directly to and neutralize the activity of myostatin. These include follistatin and follistatin-related gene. Overexpression of follistatin or follistatin-related gene in mice increased the muscle mass as in myostatin knockout mice. Follistatin binds to myostatin but also binds to and inhibits other members of the TGF-β superfamily, notably activins. Therefore, follistatin regulates both myostatin and activins in vivo. We previously reported the development and characterization of several follistatin-derived peptides, including FS I-I (Nakatani M, Takehara Y, Sugino H, Matsumoto M, Hashimoto O, Hasegawa Y, Murakami T, Uezumi A, Takeda S, Noji S, Sunada Y, Tsuchida K. FASEB J 22: 477-487, 2008). FS I-I retained myostatin-inhibitory activity without affecting the bioactivity of activins. Here, we found that inhibition of myostatin increases skeletal muscle mass and decreases fat accumulation in FS I-I Tg mice. FS I-I Tg mice also showed decreased fat accumulation even on a control diet. Interestingly, the adipocytes in FS I-I Tg mice were much smaller than those of wild-type mice. Furthermore, FS I-I Tg mice were resistant to high-fat diet-induced obesity and hepatic steatosis and had lower hepatic fatty acid levels and altered fatty acid composition compared with control mice. FS I-I Tg mice have improved glucose tolerance when placed on a high-fat diet. These data indicate that inhibiting myostatin with a follistatin-derived peptide provides a novel therapeutic option to decrease adipocyte size, prevent obesity and hepatic steatosis, and improve glucose tolerance.

Surface texture can bias tactile form perception

The sense of touch is believed to provide a reliable perception of the object's properties; however, our tactile perceptions could be illusory at times. A recently reported tactile illusion shows that a raised form can be perceived as indented when it is surrounded by textured areas. This phenomenon suggests that the form perception can be influenced by the surface textures in its adjacent areas. As perception of texture and that of form have been studied independently of each other, the present study examined whether textures, in addition to the geometric edges, contribute to the tactile form perception. We examined the perception of the flat and raised contact surface (3.0 mm width) with various heights (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 mm), which had either textured or non-textured adjacent areas, under the static, passive and active touch conditions. Our results showed that texture decreased the raised perception of the surface with a small height (0.1 mm) and decreased the flat perception of the physically flat surface under the passive and active touch conditions. We discuss a possible mechanism underlying the effect of the textures on the form perception based on previous neurophysiological findings.