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Okada Lab
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A lab unraveling the mystery of chromatin hidden within the tiny nucleus of the sperm.
AboutAbout the lab
A big mystery hidden in the tiny sperm nucleus
The Okada Lab (Laboratory of Pathology and Development) studies changes in chromatin in germ cells.
In germ cells, which pass genetic information on to the next generation, the environment surrounding the DNA also changes dramatically so that the information is transmitted correctly.
The lab focuses on chromatin, which regulates gene function by changing the higher-order structure of DNA, and investigates how these changes contribute to the maintenance or erasure (resetting) of genetic information.
The lab's research uses mice and biochemical methods.
Key terms
- Epigenetics
- Mechanisms that change how genes function and the properties of cells without changing the DNA base sequence
- Chromatin
- A structure inside the cell nucleus in which DNA is wrapped around proteins such as histones
- Histone
- A protein that DNA wraps around so that it fits inside the nucleus. Modifications of histones influence gene function
- Meiosis
- The cell division that produces sperm and eggs. The number of chromosomes is halved, and paternal and maternal genetic information is mixed
NewsLab news
The lab's team won a Special Award at Life Tech Grand Prix 2025
A student won the MBSJ-EMBO Poster Award, among other awards, at the Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan
A student won the Best Presentation Award at the Summer-school on Epigenetics
ResearchResearch themes
The lab focuses on epigenetics, the mechanisms that regulate gene function without changing the DNA base sequence. It aims to clarify the epigenetic changes that occur when male germ cells proliferate and differentiate into sperm.
*Illustrative imageSperm chromatin and its effects on the next generation
During sperm formation, most histones are replaced by protamines, but the significance of the small number of histones that remain is unknown. The lab investigates the types, modifications, and genomic positions of the remaining histones, as well as their effects on the next generation. It is also advancing research on human sperm in collaboration with assisted reproductive technology clinics.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of the chromosome axis in meiosis
In meiosis, paternal and maternal chromosomes exchange part of their genetic information. The lab investigates how the protein HORMAD1 assembles on the chromosome axis, where many of these exchanges take place, using methods such as knockout mice.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Okada Lab consist of faculty, collaborating researchers, doctoral and master's students, undergraduates, and technical specialists.As of 2026
- ProfessorYuki OkadaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorMasashi HadaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorAsami OjiPublications ↗
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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: “Seminiferous tubule and sperm” Nephron / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Sperm chromatin and its effects on the next generation: “Сперма акридиновый оранжевый” Alexander Klepnev / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of the chromosome axis in meiosis: “Grasshopper meiosis stages” Durbadal's micro observations / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Veterinary Anatomy Lab): “Seminiferous tubule and sperm” Nephron / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Veterinary Pathology Lab): “Aβ deposits macaque neocortex” Tulemo / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Food Pathogenic Microbiology Lab (Tochinai Lab)): “SpragueDawleyRat” Jean-Etienne Minh-Duy Poirrier / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Veterinary Microbiology Lab): “Colorized transmission electron micrograph of Avian influenza A H5N1 viruses” CDC / Cynthia Goldsmith / Public domain (cropped)
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