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Stem Cell Medicine Lab
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A lab studying the principles of blood through the niche and metabolism of hematopoietic stem cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Reading the timing of hematopoietic stem cells, from quiescence to regeneration
The Division of Stem Cell Medicine (Takubo Lab) starts from hematopoietic stem cells, which produce blood, and the niche that surrounds them, and studies where, in what metabolic state, and when cells change their fate.
By combining single-cell analysis, metabolic analysis, culture and gene editing of hematopoietic stem cells, bone marrow imaging, and AI, the lab investigates the principles of stem cell homeostasis, aging, and disease.
Building on these findings, the lab aims to establish culture systems in which the bone marrow environment is reconstructed outside the body for hematopoietic stem cells, and to extend this work to regenerative medicine, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and disease therapies.
The lab conducts research at two sites: Tohoku University in Sendai, and the Department of Hematopoietic System Research at the National Institute of Global Health and Medicine, Japan Institute for Health Security, in Tokyo.
Key terms
- Hematopoietic stem cell
- A cell that gives rise to blood cells. Found in the bone marrow, it can both replicate itself and differentiate into blood cells.
- Niche
- The surrounding environment that encloses stem cells and supports their state. In the bone marrow, blood vessels, mesenchymal cells, and other cells play this role.
- Metabolic resilience
- The ability of a cell to maintain its function even when its metabolic state changes because of aging or stress.
- Homing
- The process by which transplanted stem cells reach the bone marrow and become established there.
NewsLab news
Paper with Associate Professor Kobayashi as first author published in Science Advances
Review article reexamining hematopoietic stem cell aging from a metabolic perspective now available
Paper with Senior Researcher Morikawa as first author published in Nature Communications
Paper by Assistant Professor Watanuki, Associate Professor Kobayashi, and colleagues analyzing the metabolism of aged hematopoietic stem cells now available
ResearchResearch themes
The Division of Stem Cell Medicine studies whether hematopoietic stem cells, which continuously produce blood, choose quiescence, self-renewal, or differentiation. The lab aims to clarify when, where, and how that choice is made, understanding it as a dynamic system in which the niche, metabolism, and time are linked.
*Illustrative imageStem Cells and the Niche
The lab analyzes the structure and function of the bone marrow niche that supports hematopoietic stem cells, including blood vessels, mesenchymal cells, and megakaryocytes. It studies how the niche is remodeled in aging, infection, transplantation, and tumors, and aims to establish culture systems that reproduce the in vivo environment outside the body.
*Illustrative imageMetabolic Resilience
By combining single-cell analysis, metabolic measurements, and flux analysis, the lab captures states such as glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration. It analyzes the molecular principles by which function is maintained or lost, including the metabolic resilience shown by aged hematopoietic stem cells.
*Illustrative imageSpatiotemporal Dynamics of Hematopoiesis
Using in vivo bone marrow imaging and whole-bone-marrow imaging, the lab visualizes and quantifies the arrangement of hematopoietic stem cells and their microenvironment, as well as the changes that accompany homing after transplantation. It aims to achieve an integrated understanding of the relationships among position, time, metabolism, and cell fate.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Stem Cell Medicine lab consist of faculty, senior researchers and researchers, graduate students, research students, clinical residents, a lab manager, and visiting researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorKeiyo Takubo
- Associate ProfessorHiroshi Kobayashi
- Assistant ProfessorShintaro Watanuki
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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: “Onion cells under the fluorescence microscope 2” Kateryna Kot / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Stem Cells and the Niche: “Follicular Lymphoma in Bone Marrow ( )” Ed Uthman from Houston, TX, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Metabolic Resilience: “Test tubes in biochemistry lab” Kateryna Kot / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Hematopoiesis: “Confocal microscope and PC monitor used for intravital microsopy” Aleanora / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Biochemistry Lab): “Rotor for microtubes of an Eppendorf Centrifuge 5430” Karbohut / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Modomics Medicine Lab (Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer)): “NHGRI researcher uses a pipette to remove DNA from a micro test tube” Maggie Bartlett, NHGRI / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Radiation Biology Lab): “LinearAccelerator” ja:User:Martin~jawiki / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Genome Preventive Medicine Lab (Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization)): “Laboratory microcentrifuge tubes and pipette tips 02” Gannu03 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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