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This note reviews the work done by Ju-shey Ho, currently Professor Emeritus at California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA, on the systematics of symbiotic copepods from aquatic animals in Japanese waters. Since 1980, he has reported 110 species of symbiotic copepods from Japanese fish and marine invertebrates, including those representing one new family, seven new genera and 41 new species, and has greatly contributed to clarifying the symbiotic copepod fauna of Japan. Research using symbiotic copepods as bioindicators of the phylogeny and evolution of host animals was conducted by him for the first time in Japan. He also made significant contributions to the taxonomy and biology of caligid copepods, a group that poses a serious threat to the aquaculture industry, found on farmed fish in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A redescription of the caligid copepodLepeophtheirus acutusHeegaard, 1943 is provided based on mature adults of both sexes collected from two new elasmobranch hosts, the Alfred mantaManta alfredi(Krefft, 1868) and the whale sharkRhincodon typusSmith, 1828, held in sea pens off Okinawa-jima Island, Japan.Lepeophtheirus acutuscan be distinguished from other congeners by a combination of adult female characters that includes: (1) abdomen about one-third length of cephalothorax; (2) sternal furca with long, apically pointed tines; (3) leg 2 endopod with a row of large denticles and a spiniform projection on the distolateral corner of the first and second segments, respectively; (4) leg 3 endopod with six setae on the distal segment; and (5) leg 4 exopod with an armature of I-0; III. This report also confirms the observation of previous workers thatL.acutusis a pathogen of elasmobranchs held in captivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes four new species ofColobomatusHesse, 1873 and redescribesColobomatus colletteiCressey, 1977 andColobomatus pupaIzawa, 1974 based on females collected from the sensory canals of seven finfish species from off the Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan.Colobomatus pteroisisp. nov. fromPterois volitansis unique in having a mid-lateral pair of cephalic processes;Colobomatus acanthurisp. nov. fromAcanthurus olivaceuspossesses a short neck between the head and first pair of thoracic processes and tiny spinules and three claws apically on the cephalic, thoracic and genital processes;Colobomatus gymnocraniisp. nov. fromGymnocranius griseushas an anterior pair of papillose thoracic processes that are twice as long as the posterior pair of spinulose processes;Colobomatus absenssp. nov. fromPterocaesio digrammais unique in lacking a posterior pair of thoracic processes. New host and locality records forC. colletteiandC. pupaare also reported herein.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BEB140D5-8936-4B47-B8B9-738BFABF37E1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A redescription of the chondracanthid copepodPseudacanthocanthopsis secunda(Yamaguti and Yamasu, 1960) is provided based on adult females collected from the Indian perch,Apogon lineatusTemminck and Schlegel, 1842, captured in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, and the East China Sea off Japan and Korea, along with additional material from the fine-patterned pufferTakifugu poecilonotus(Temminck and Schlegel, 1850) and red seabreamPagrus major(Temminck and Schlegel, 1843) captured in the Seto Inland Sea. The male ofP. secundais also described for the first time. Our results revealed thatP. secundais a valid member ofPseudacanthocanthopsis, and it can be distinguished from the other three congeners by having one ventrolateral and two anterior pairs of rounded head processes, a reniform trunk, a double row of teeth along the concave margin of the mandible and a lateral swelling on the leg 1 protopod in the female.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7AD5211F-66EF-464A-B9C9-E21C19ECFDC7 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Most cases of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis are found in the Southern hemisphere. Our purpose was to investigate the first outbreak of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis in Japan among healthy, immunocompetent soccer players from the same team during a 1-month period., Case Presentation: This study is an observational case series. The medical records were analyzed for five cases with microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis who presented within September 2022. All five cases were males between 28 and 36 years old. These previously healthy individuals belonged to the same football team. Their eyes were considered susceptible to contaminated water or dirt from the turf at game and practice sites. All cases involved unilateral conjunctivitis, with scattered round white lesions that showed positive fluorescein staining in the corneal epithelium. All cases experienced diminution of vision in the affected eye. In three cases, direct smears showed spores of approximately 2-3 μm in diameter. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of corneal scrapes revealed partial amplification of microsporidial 18 S ribosomal RNA gene in four cases. Sequences of PCR products from all four cases showed 100% identity with strains of Vittaforma corneae previously reported from an outbreak in Singapore. All cases were treated with topical therapy, including voriconazole, fluorometholone, and levofloxacin. Four eyes underwent corneal scraping. After treatment, all eyes healed without residual opacities., Conclusions: Only a few sporadic case reports of this disease have previously been reported in Japan. We detected V. corneae in our case series, representing what appears to be the first outbreak of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis in Japan. Exposure to contaminated water or soil, in addition to inadequate sanitary facilities, represents a potential source of infection. Further investigations to clarify the characteristics of microsporidia seem warranted., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Fingolimod (FTY720) has previously shown clinical efficacy in phase II/III studies of predominantly Caucasian populations with multiple sclerosis (MS)., Objectives: To report six-month efficacy and safety outcomes in Japanese patients with relapsing MS treated with fingolimod., Methods: In this double-blind, parallel-group, phase II study, 171 Japanese patients with relapsing MS were randomized to receive once-daily fingolimod 0.5 mg or 1.25 mg, or matching placebo for six months. The primary and secondary endpoints were the percentages of patients free from gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced lesions at months 3 and 6, and relapses over six months, respectively; safety outcomes were also assessed., Results: 147 patients completed the study. Higher proportions of patients were free from Gd-enhanced lesions at months 3 and 6 with fingolimod (0.5 mg: 70%, p = 0.004; 1.25 mg: 86%, p < 0.001) than with placebo (40%). Odds ratios for the proportions of relapse-free patients over six months favoured fingolimod versus placebo but were not significant. Adverse events related to fingolimod included transient bradycardia and atrioventricular block at treatment initiation, and elevated liver enzyme levels., Conclusions: This study demonstrated the clinical efficacy of fingolimod for the first time in Japanese patients with MS, consistent with the established effects of fingolimod in Caucasian patients.

A new species of the Macrochironidae Humes & Boxshall, 1996 (Copepoda: Cyclopoida), Pseudomacrochiron aureliae n. sp., is described based on adult specimens extracted from the gastrovacular cavity of the scyphistomae of Aurelia sp. (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) collected in the Seto Inland Sea and Ise Bay off the coast of Japan. The new species differs from its congeners by having the following combination of characters: a caudal ramus with a length to width ratio of 3.1; an accessory flagellum on caudal setae II, III and VI; three apical setae on the maxillule; only setae I and II on the maxillary basis; two short spines on the female maxilliped claw (endopod); an armature of III, I, 4 on the terminal exopodal segment of leg 3; an armature of I, II, 2 on the terminal endopodal segment of leg 3; an armature of II, I, 4 on the terminal exopodal segment of leg 4; and a short free exopodal segment of leg 5 (length to width ratio of 1.4) armed with a long seta and short spine. P. aureliae n. sp. is the first member of the genus reported from off Japan and from the scyphistomae of its scyphozoan host.

Two new copepod species of the genus Taeniacanthus Sumpf, 1871 (Cyclopoida: Taeniacanthidae) are described from boxfishes (Aracanidae and Ostraciidae) caught in the Indo-West Pacific region: T. larsonae n. sp. from Ostracion nasus Bloch in the Arafura Sea and off Australia and Tetrosomus concatenatus (Bloch) off Japan; and T. thackerae n. sp. from O. immaculatus Temminck & Schlegel off Palau, O. rhinorhynchos Bleeker off Australia, Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus) and Ostracion sp. off Japan, and Kentrocapros aculeatus (Houttuyn) in the East China Sea. T. larsonae n. sp. differs from its congeners by having several rows of spinules on the large pectinate process of the antenna and by differences in the shape of the sclerotised plates on the rostral area and structure of the maxilliped. T. thackerae n. sp. can be distinguished from its congeners by differences in the shape of the sclerotised plates on the rostral area, the structure of the maxilliped and ornamentation pattern of legs 1-4. Supplemental information for the female of Taeniacanthus ostracionis (Richiardi, 1870) and T. moa (Lewis, 1967), as well as the first description of the male of T. moa, are also provided based on new material collected from ostraciid hosts caught in the Arafura Sea and off Australia, Indonesia and Japan. The four taeniacanthid species reported from boxfishes exhibit variable levels of host-specificity and have broad geographical ranges within the Indo-West Pacific region.

The siphonostomatoid copepod Pseudohatschekia branchiostegi Yamaguti, 1939 is redescribed in detail based on specimens of both sexes collected from the gill filaments of three species of Branchiostegus Rafinesque (Teleostei: Malacanthidae) captured in Japanese waters. Descriptions of two naupliar stages and the infective copepodid stage of P. branchiostegi are also provided for the first time, and P. mebaru Yamaguti, 1939 is recognised herein as a junior synonym of P. branchiostegi. The latter copepod species represents a new family, the Pseudohatschekiidae fam. nov., of the Siphonostomatoida characterised by the following apomorphies: (a) two free pedigerous somites present between the cephalothorax and the genital complex; (b) a chelate antenna bearing two digitate processes and a thin cuticular covering; (c) a unilobate maxillule, with the palp completely fused to the endite and represented by a surface seta; (d) a rounded process furnished with pectinate membranes on the apex of the maxillary basis; (e) 2-segmented rami on legs 1-3; and (f) the absence of leg 4. It is also now evident that P. branchiostegi is a relatively common and abundant parasite of Branchiostegus spp. in the Far East.