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Stem Cell Biology Lab
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The lab investigates how neural stem cells in the brain proliferate and differentiate.
AboutAbout the lab
Decoding how the body takes shape, starting from stem cells.
The Stem Cell Biology Lab studies the mechanisms that control the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells, which underlie the shaping of animal bodies, using neural stem cells in the mouse brain.
The lab focuses on the secreted proteins Tsukushi and Akhirin, which it discovered and named, and aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that control where neural stem cells gather in the brain.
The lab found that when live lactic acid bacteria are taken up by human skin cells, the cells acquire pluripotency, and reported that ribosomes are responsible for this change.
The lab also conducts unique research that experimentally tests the endosymbiotic theory, which holds that eukaryotic cells arose when eubacteria infected archaea and began living in symbiosis with them.
Key terms
- Neural stem cell
- A stem cell in the brain that can differentiate into neurons and other cells while proliferating
- Pluripotency
- The ability to differentiate into many different types of cells
- Ribosome
- Normally the cellular machinery that makes proteins. The lab focuses on its additional role in changing the properties of cells
ResearchResearch themes
Using neural stem cells in the mouse brain, the lab studies the mechanisms that control the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. The research rests on three pillars: ribosome-induced conversion of cell fate, and the roles of the secreted proteins Tsukushi and Akhirin.
Changing cell properties with ribosomes
When ribosomes are introduced into terminally differentiated human skin cells, the cells form clusters and show pluripotency. The lab found that when differentiation is induced, these cell clusters can become neurons, hepatocytes, and cardiomyocytes.
The secreted protein Tsukushi
Tsukushi, first reported by the lab, interacts with a variety of signaling molecules that regulate early development and is involved in the formation of the neural plate and somites. Analysis of knockout mice has also revealed its involvement in the formation of neural circuits.
The secreted protein Akhirin
Akhirin, which the lab discovered and named, has been reported to promote eye formation, to act in spinal cord formation and the healing of injury, and to regulate the stem cell niche in the brain. The lab considers it a regulator of the neural stem cell niche in the central nervous system.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Stem Cell Biology Lab include faculty, doctoral and master's students, research students, undergraduates, and international students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKunimasa Ohta
- Assistant ProfessorKeisuke Yamashita
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