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Immunology and Microbiology Lab
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A lab that explores how the immune system decides what counts as "self," starting from regulatory T cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering the autonomous and adaptive principles that regulate the immune system.
The Immunology and Microbiology Lab studies how the immune system determines "self" through its interactions with the environment.
Even organisms that are genetically "non-self," such as gut bacteria, are largely judged by the immune system to be part of "self," and coexist with it rather than being eliminated.
When this mechanism of immune tolerance breaks down, it leads to the onset of autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, allergy, cancer, and infectious diseases.
The lab focuses on regulatory T cells that respond to "self," aiming to elucidate the underlying principles and to apply the resulting findings to the treatment of diseases.
Key terms
- Regulatory T cell
- A T cell that suppresses immune responses and prevents the immune system from attacking the body's own tissues
- Immune tolerance
- A state in which the immune system accepts the body's own tissues and gut bacteria without attacking them
- Foxp3
- A transcription factor that determines the differentiation and function of regulatory T cells. In humans, mutations in it cause autoimmune disease
NewsLab news
A doctoral student won the Best Poster Award at the "Self-Directed Immunology" Research Area Meeting
A doctoral student won a poster award at the Kyoto T Cell Conference 2026
A paper on the molecular identity and function of regulatory T cells was published in Science Immunology
A paper on the differentiation of effector regulatory T cells was published in Immunity
A doctoral student won the Best Presentation Award at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology
ResearchResearch themes
The lab works to clarify how the immune system defines "self" through its interactions with the environment. In particular, it focuses on regulatory T cells, which establish immune tolerance to "self."
*Illustrative imageRegulation of regulatory T cell fate
Regulatory T cells maintain their suppressive function even when the environment changes, for example during inflammation. The lab investigates the epigenetic memory mechanisms that underlie this stability, as well as the plasticity shown by a subset of these cells.
*Illustrative imageAdaptive immune regulation by regulatory T cells
Regulatory T cells control immunity by changing how they use their genes in response to the environment. Using mice carrying Foxp3 mutations found in human diseases as a clue, the lab investigates the mechanisms of this adaptation.
*Illustrative imageOperating principles of the adaptive immune system
Lymphocytes show two kinds of heterogeneity: the genetic diversity of antigen receptors and the diversity of gene expression states. The lab works to elucidate the "linking rules" that determine which cells recognizing which antigens take on which functions.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Immunology and Microbiology Lab consist of faculty, administrative assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorShohei HoriPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorRuka SetoguchiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorAkira NakajimaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorRyuichi MurakamiPublications ↗
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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 - NIAID” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Regulation of regulatory T cell fate: “T Regulatory Cells ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Adaptive immune regulation by regulatory T cells: “FOXP3” AtikaAtikawa / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Operating principles of the adaptive immune system: “HLA-A2” Pdeitiker / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (分子腫瘍薬学教室): “Acute Myeloid Leukemia (M2 type)” Makysm / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (薬品代謝化学教室): “Fluorescence rainbow” Maxim Bilovitskiy / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (機能病態学教室): “Histopathology of amyloid plaque in Alzheimer's disease” Mikael Häggström, M.D. / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (分子薬
物動態学教室): “Medicine Drug Pills on Plate” epSos .de / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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