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Airways and Alveoli
The respiratory system has evolved as an essential organ for sustaining individual life through gas exchange since living organisms first emerged on the earth. It has also played an important role as an organ that protects our body from foreign substances and pathogens because of its large surface area in contact with the air. As a result of these advances, the lungs have developed a deeply branched structure and are composed of many different types of cells. The lungs are also known as an organ that is difficult to regenerate spontaneously when severely damaged, and there are a number of pulmonary diseases that are difficult to cure. Our research aims to develop therapeutics to treat and overcome intractable lung diseases.
Development Therapeutics for Refractory Lung Diseases
Animal experiments have historically been indispensable for the advancement of medicine. Although their need cannot be denied even today, recent advances in human cell culture techniques are expected to lead to the innovation for replacing animals step by step. However, the opportunities of harvesting primary cells for research purposes from human lungs have been restricted. Therefore, we have been engaged in constructing infrastructure technology for human lung cell supply and applying it to find therapeutics. The flexible techniques of genetic recombination and cell cloning are the major advantages of human iPS cells, and we are seeking for new drug discovery by using human iPS cells.
Regeneration of the Lung as An Organ
When respiratory failure progresses in patients with intractable lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, lung transplantation could be the ultimate option to survive if applicable. Although accumulating number of cases of lung transplantation have been successful, the shortage of donors is a serious problem globally. We are aiming at technological breakthroughs for lung regeneration by cell therapy using iPS cells. We believe we are on the way to lung reconstruction, drawing a picture of new therapeutics using our own iPS cells or HLA-matched ones in the future.
We aim to recover healthy breathing for patients with intractable lung diseases that have been difficult to cure up to now.
We are working on innovation of lung disease models so that we can provide new therapeutics to patients with intractable diseases. With human iPS cell-derived lung cells and their organoids, we wish to develop highly original research. Using these models, we hope to realize discovery of the novel therapeutics and technological breakthrough for regenerative medicine.
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Not only is there an attractive environment where you can concentrate on cutting-edge research, but there are a variety of social events that provide good stimulation.
Let's explore this new field together.
Through new discoveries, you will also change yourself to a good direction. Visualize the future of medicine by utilizing this opportunity to achieve the next step.
