Realizing a healthy, active, aged society and creating a sustainable society

New Research Results

Poor Sleep as Indicated by Saliva

Researchers at AIST, in collaboration with Ibaraki University, have developed a technique to determine chronic poor sleep using saliva.
Sleep disorders are known to increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders such as depression and lifestyle-related diseases. However, while daily sleep conditions can be measured objectively with relative ease using simple devices, the diagnosis of chronic sleep disorders is difficult, and methods such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and sleep diaries rely mainly on the subjectivity of the examinee.
In order to search for non-invasive biomarkers to determine chronic poor sleep, we collected saliva from 50 subjects with no sleep problems with a PSQI score of 2 or less and 50 subjects with poor sleep with a PSQI score of 6 or more and conducted metabolome analysis using CE-FTMS. Based on the concentration information of 683 metabolites that could be detected in the saliva, Random Forest Analysis (a form of machine learning) was conducted to identify six metabolites that are important for discriminating between subjects with no sleep problems and those with poor sleep. Using these, we created a discrimination model and found that we were able to discriminate between those with poor sleep as determined by PSQI scores with consistency of 86.6%.
This achievement not only enables objective and non-invasive evaluation of chronic poor sleep but also has the potential to evaluate changes in daily sleep status, which is considered difficult with the PSQI. In the future, reagent kits and simple devices for measuring metabolites that serve as biomarkers will be developed and established as a self-care technology for sleep, which will be used to monitor the quality of sleep in daily life and for health management at home, at work, and in facilities for the elderly.

Development of non-invasive biomarkers to determine chronic poor sleep

Determines the Degree of Antibody Denaturation by Color

Researchers at AIST and Keio University have developed a luminescent substrate (luciferin) that reacts with IgG, an antibody widely used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, and changes its emission color according to the structure of IgG.
Antibodies play a role in recognizing and eliminating viruses and bacteria in vivo and are widely used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. However, antibodies are easily affected by the environment during the manufacturing, storage, and use processes, and their original functions are lost when they are denatured.
In this study, we discovered for the first time that IgG, a type of antibody, has "pseudo-luciferase activity" that catalyzes the luminescent reaction of luciferin. We also developed a denaturing detection technology for IgG that utilizes this activity. Since the emission wavelength of this newly designed and synthesized luciferin changes according to the structure of IgG, the degree of IgG denaturation can be easily and quantitatively evaluated by measuring it. This method has higher sensitivity than the conventional fluorescence analysis method, and since the measurement can be completed within 3 minutes by simply mixing the newly developed luciferin, it is expected to contribute to quality control of antibody drugs related to IgG and to the development of diagnostic agents.

An analog of natural luciferin changes its emission color to reflect the conformational state of antibodies

Open Innovation Laboratory

Since FY 2016, as a part of the “Open Innovation Arena concept” promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), AIST has created the concept of “open innovation laboratories” (OILs), collaborative research bases located on university campuses, and has been engaged in their provision. We are planning to establish more than ten OILs by FY 2020.

AIST will merge the basic research carried out at universities, etc. with AISTʼs goal-oriented basic research and applied technology development, and will promote bridging research and evelopment and industry by the establishment of OILs.