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Kon Lab
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The lab studies carcinogenesis through the mechanisms by which normal cells eliminate cancer-causing mutant cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how the body responds when cancer cells arise.
The Kon Lab studies the responses that occur when cancer cells arise in the body, including "cell competition," in which normal cells recognize and eliminate cancer-causing mutant cells.
People are exposed every day to carcinogenic stress such as ultraviolet light, chemical substances, and viral infection, and it is estimated that thousands of cancer-causing mutant cells arise each day.
In addition to cell competition, the lab uses cultured cells and mice to study the interactions between cancer cells and normal stromal cells, and the mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis induced by cancer cells.
Prof. Sakae, an Assistant Professor, is working on research on sex differences in cell competition.
Key terms
- Cell competition
- A phenomenon in which, when cells with different characteristics coexist, their interaction results in one surviving and the other being eliminated.
- Mouse model of cell competition
- A mouse in which cancer-causing mutations can be induced in a small number of intestinal epithelial cells. It was developed to study cell competition within the mammalian body.
NewsLab news
A master's student received an Excellent Poster Presentation Award at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan
Published a review article on the mechanism by which cancer cells invade through cell-cell interactions
A student received the Presentation Award at the 96th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Tissue Culture
Discovered that cancer cells exploit cell competition to invade; published in Nature Communications
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies carcinogenesis, focusing on the responses in the body when cancer cells arise. Many questions remain unresolved in the study of tumor development, such as which cells in which tissues and organs are prone to becoming cancerous, and what happens to a cell immediately after it becomes cancerous.
Elimination of cancer-causing mutant cells by cell competition
Using a mouse model of cell competition in which cancer-causing mutations can be induced in a small number of intestinal epithelial cells, the lab studies cell competition within the mammalian body. The lab investigates how the accumulation of genetic mutations changes the function of cell competition, and how the type (degree of differentiation) of intestinal epithelial cells relates to the efficiency of their elimination.
Interactions between cancer cells and normal stromal cells
What happens between cancer cells and normal stromal cells when cancer cells appear in stromal tissue is still unknown. By analyzing the interactions between cancer cells of various degrees of malignancy and normal stromal cells in cultured cells and in mice, the lab aims to clarify the role of stromal tissue in carcinogenesis.
Lymphangiogenesis induced by cancer cells
Malignant cancer cells metastasize to distant organs through veins and lymphatic vessels, but the mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis induced by cancer cells are poorly understood. Using a mouse model in which cancer cells metastasize selectively through the lymphatic system, the lab works to clarify this mechanism and to develop anticancer drugs that target lymphatic invasion.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kon Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, special research students, technical assistants, and administrative secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorShunsuke Kon
- Assistant ProfessorYuta Sakae
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