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Biological Function Lab
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A lab that uncovers the mechanisms of dramatic cellular phenomena that occur in the living body.
AboutAbout the lab
Visualizing and uncovering dramatic cellular phenomena.
The Morishita Lab in the Biological Function Division studies the molecular mechanisms and physiological significance of dramatic cellular phenomena that occur in the living body, as well as related diseases.
In the lens, for example, cells destroy their nuclei and mitochondria all at once and are reborn as transparent tissue.
Beyond intracellular degradation, the lab is widening its scope to cell fusion, terminal differentiation, and aging.
It uses model organisms such as zebrafish and mice, combined with technologies such as omics.
Key terms
- Organelle
- A structure inside a cell that has its own role, such as the nucleus or mitochondria
- Selective autophagy
- A type of autophagy in which cells recognize and remove only the targets that should be degraded
- Epigenome
- The mechanisms that determine how the genome is used. It is rewritten during terminal differentiation and aging
NewsLab news
An undergraduate student received the Excellent Presentation Award at the 65th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cataract Society and the 52nd Lens Research Meeting
Assistant Professor Eto received the Excellent Presentation Award at the 65th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cataract Society and the 52nd Lens Research Meeting
Assistant Professor Eto received the Young Investigator Excellent Presentation Award from the Japan Society for Cell Biology
ResearchResearch themes
In living organisms, dramatic phenomena occur: cells degrade their nuclei and organelles all at once, partially fuse with neighboring cells, or change their characteristics greatly and stop dividing. The lab works to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and physiological significance of these phenomena, as well as related diseases.
*Illustrative imageLarge-scale intracellular degradation
In tissues such as the lens and skin, cells lose their nuclei and organelles such as mitochondria all at once. In the lens, a mechanism has been found in which the lipid-degrading enzyme PLAAT breaks down damaged membranes, and the lab is analyzing why membranes become damaged and how nuclei are destroyed.
*Illustrative imageSelective autophagy
The lab analyzes selective autophagy, in which cells recognize and remove only the targets that should be degraded. Using p62 and other factors as clues, it studies how this selection occurs in tissues in the living body and how it relates to organ homeostasis. Focusing on its relationship to large-scale intracellular degradation, the lab aims to clarify what diseases result when it breaks down.
*Illustrative imageCell fusion
Fusion between cells is well known in fertilization and muscle formation, but in the body there is also a kind of fusion in which cells do not become completely one and are only partially connected. The lab analyzes the molecules that cause this partial cell fusion and how it relates to tissue function.
*Illustrative imageTerminal differentiation and aging
Cells in the lens and skin change in the course of terminal differentiation into cells with completely different characteristics and stop dividing. Aged cells also change greatly in character, and the lab investigates the epigenomic rewriting behind this using epigenome analysis technologies and model organisms.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Morishita Lab consist of faculty, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, technical staff, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorHideaki Morishita
- Assistant ProfessorKan Etoh
- Assistant ProfessorFumiya Okawa
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Eukayotic Cell (430x maginification)” Jlipuma1 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Large-scale intracellular degradation: “P. urativorans 70S ribosome with Balon and RaiA” Helena-Bueno, K., Rybak, M.Y., Gagnon, M.G., Hill, C.H., Melnikov, S.V. / CC0 (cropped)
- Selective autophagy: “Autophagosomes” Genericuser / Public domain (cropped)
- Cell fusion: “Schematic of satellite cell myogenesis and markers typical of each stage” Zammit PS, Partridge TA, Yablonka-Reuveni Z. / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Terminal differentiation and aging: “Cellular senescence” Velichko Artem / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cell Physiology Lab): “Epithelioid cells of mice in the cell culture” ArkhipovSergey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Multi-omics Analysis Lab): “30nm Chromatin Structures” Zephyris at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Systematic Anatomy Lab): “Giant Puffer fish skin pattern” Chiswick Chap / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medical Engineering Lab): “Tube à Rayon X dans un hôpital au Bénin 05” Adoscam / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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