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Molecular Immunology Lab
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The lab studies how immune receptors detect foreign invaders and abnormalities in the body.
AboutAbout the lab
Immune sensors that distinguish foreign invaders from abnormalities in the body
The Yamasaki Lab, in the Division of Molecular Immunology at the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, studies immune receptors, the part of the body's protective immune system that quickly detects the invasion of foreign invaders and abnormalities in the body.
The lab has discovered members of the lectin receptor family that recognize pathogens and damaged self components, and it aims to apply this to methods for efficiently enhancing immunity and to treatments for diseases caused by excessive immune reactions.
The lab also investigates the selection mechanisms that operate as T cells develop in the thymus, and the T cell response to SARS-CoV-2.
Graduate students are accepted from the Graduate School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences.
Key terms
- Immune receptor
- A molecule that quickly detects the invasion of foreign invaders and abnormalities in the body
- Lectin receptor
- A family of immune receptors that recognize pathogens and damaged self components
- T cell receptor (TCR)
- The receptor of T cells. Through selection during development in the thymus, a diverse and specific collection (repertoire) of receptors is formed
NewsLab news
A doctoral student wins a Poster Award at the 27th Immunology Summer School
A student is selected for the Osaka University Outstanding Research Award for Female Graduate Students
A student receives the Ikuya Yano Award at the 14th ITAM Workshop
A student wins the Best Presentation Award at the 54th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology
The mechanism by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis survives by exploiting immune receptors is clarified
ResearchResearch themes
The lab focuses on elucidating the functions of immune receptors, the part of the body's protective immune system that quickly detects the invasion of foreign invaders and abnormalities in the body. It investigates the recognition of foreign substances by lectin receptors, how T cells distinguish self as they develop, and the T cell response to SARS-CoV-2.
*Illustrative imageRecognition of foreign substances by lectin receptors
The lab has discovered members of the lectin receptor family that recognize pathogens and damaged self components. It aims to apply these findings to methods for boosting immunity more efficiently and to treatments for diseases caused by excessive immune responses.
*Illustrative imageHow T cells distinguish self during development
Cells in the thymus combine a lenient selection (β-selection) with a stringent selection to produce a T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire that is both diverse and specific. The lab seeks to clarify how the body skillfully controls these two selections.
*Illustrative imageT cell response to SARS-CoV-2
Using single-cell sequence analysis, the lab identified T cell types that had expanded in patients who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2. These T cells target parts of the spike protein that are conserved across variants, and the lab regards these parts as candidate antigens for booster vaccination.
MembersFaculty
The Yamasaki Lab's members consist of a professor, an associate professor, a lecturer, project researchers, project technical staff, doctoral and master's students, secretaries, and visiting faculty and researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorSho Yamasaki
- Associate ProfessorNorikazu Yabuta
- LecturerEri Ishikawa
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “T Lymphocyte, also known as a T cell (yellow color)” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Recognition of foreign substances by lectin receptors: “Trimeric Xenopus embryonic epidermal lectin CRD” Kwangkanont / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- How T cells distinguish self during development: “T cell negative selection” Immcarle64 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- T cell response to SARS-CoV-2: “Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV- )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Malaria Immunology Lab): “Malaria falciparum ring forms” Dr Graham Beards / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Host Defense Lab): “Peritoneal fluid sediment in Wright Staining” Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Immunology and Allergy Lab): “T Lymphocyte known as a T cell - 2231” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cellular Immunotherapy Lab): “Architektur eines chimären Antigenrezeptors (CAR)” Michels, A., Hartmann, J. & Buchholz, C.J. / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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