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Cell Dynamics Science Lab
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The lab studies, through the lens of physics, how cells move together as a group and form shapes.
AboutAbout the lab
The last remaining frontier: the cell.
The Cell Dynamics Science Lab studies how cells move together as a group and what shapes they form.
Epithelial cells such as those of the skin stay firmly attached to their neighbors while moving in the same direction. The lab follows this mechanism under the microscope.
It has also become clear that the stiffness and viscosity of the culture substrate, which serves as the scaffold for cells, change the shape of cell groups and the behavior of cancer cells.
Bringing a physics perspective to biology, the lab investigates how three-dimensional shapes are formed and how cancer invasion works.
Key terms
- Epithelial cells
- Cells that cover the surface of the skin and internal organs without gaps and act as a barrier protecting the body
- Invasion
- The spread of cancer cells from the original tumor into the surrounding tissue, as if seeping into it
- Culture substrate
- The base that serves as a scaffold when growing cells. Its stiffness and viscosity change how cells behave
NewsLab news
Assistant Professor Ishihara received the Excellence Award at the 8th Young Researchers' Meeting of the Cancer and Metabolism Research Society
A paper by Professor Haga and colleagues was published in Cell Structure and Function
A paper by Professor Haga and colleagues was published in STAR Protocols
Assistant Professor Ishihara received the Japanese Cancer Association Encouragement Award
A paper by Professor Haga and colleagues was published in Materials Today Nano
ResearchResearch themes
Cells do not move one by one. They move as groups attached to their neighbors and build the shape of the body. The lab studies this collective migration, the formation of three-dimensional shapes, and the mechanisms of cancer cell invasion.
*Illustrative imageCollective Migration and Leader Cells
In a group of epithelial cells attached to one another, large "leader cells" appear at the front and guide the surrounding cells in the same direction. When a leader cell was removed with a needle, the collective migration stopped.
*Illustrative imageFolding Movement of Epithelial Cells
When a second layer of gel is placed on top of a sheet of cells spread on a gel, the sheet folds back and forms a tube. By following this process in cross-sectional videos, the lab confirmed that cell movement and softness of the surroundings are necessary.
*Illustrative imageCollective Invasion of Cancer Cells
The lab cultured squamous cell carcinoma cells inside a collagen gel and reproduced how they spread as a group while dissolving the material around them. When the activity of a protein called integrin β1 was blocked, the movement of the group stopped.
*Illustrative imageThree-Dimensional Shapes Made by Cells
A group of cells and the culture substrate that serves as its scaffold influence each other and form three-dimensional shapes. The lab is investigating the idea that shapes like a tulip hat form because the culture substrate is viscous.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Cell Dynamics Science Lab include faculty, secretaries, technical assistants, and students in the doctoral program, the master's program, and the undergraduate program.
- ProfessorHisashi Haga
- Assistant ProfessorSeiichiro Ishihara
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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: “CellAdhesion” Michltm / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Collective Migration and Leader Cells: “Probing Leader Cells in Endothelial Collective Migration (a frame from supplementary video s2 of srep22707)” Yang Y, Jamilpour N, Yao B, Dean Z, Riahi R, Wong PK / CC BY 4.0 (frame taken from a video, cropped)
- Folding Movement of Epithelial Cells: “Mitotic MDCKs” Ian P Newton & Paul L Appleton / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Collective Invasion of Cancer Cells: “4T1 cell line” Marta Šlaufová / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Three-Dimensional Shapes Made by Cells: “Kidney Organoids ( )” National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences from Bethesda, MD / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (形態機能学II): “Arabidopsis thal kz1” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (細胞培養工学研究室
（室蘭臨海実験所） ): “CSIRO ScienceImage 905 Undaria pinnatifida Japanese kelp” division, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (構造生物化学研究室): “Lysozyme Protein Crystal in Hanging-Drop Crystallization” Rohit Sharma / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (黒岩・千頭・ヤン研究室): “Chicken embryo” Mjeltsch / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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