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Molecular Pathology Lab
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A lab exploring at the molecular level how cancer keeps growing.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how cancer keeps growing through induction of stemness.
The Molecular Pathology Lab clarifies abnormalities in cancer cells at the molecular level, aiming to establish methods to specifically damage cancer cells.
The lab focuses on transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), which is activated in many cancer tissues, and on induction of stemness, in which some cancer cells that have stopped proliferating acquire stem cell properties.
Focusing on cancer stem cells that resist treatment as a cause of metastasis and recurrence after therapy, the lab is developing treatments that target the mechanism by which induction of stemness makes cancer stem cells increase rapidly.
On the lab's website, the lab is introduced under the name "Experimental Pathology Lab," and the content here is based on descriptions from around 2023.
Key terms
- Cancer stem cell
- A cell that exists in only very small numbers within a cancer cell population, has the ability to self-renew and differentiate, and is the source of treatment resistance, metastasis, and recurrence
- Induction of stemness
- The process by which some cancer cells that have stopped proliferating acquire stem cell properties
- TGF-β
- A factor that causes different responses, such as suppression of proliferation or induction of cell death, depending on factors such as the differentiation state of the cells it acts on
ResearchResearch themes
The Molecular Pathology Lab aims to clarify what kind of disease cancer is and to establish methods to specifically damage cancer cells. Noting that almost all human cancers have some abnormality in transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling and in the transcriptional regulation of target genes, the lab investigates mainly induction of stemness.
*Illustrative imageHow Cancer Cells Keep Increasing
Induction of stemness, in which some cancer cells that have stopped proliferating acquire stem cell properties, is thought to become more likely in proportion to cell number, so that the cancer cell population grows at an accelerating rate.
*Illustrative imageCells That Cause Recurrence and Metastasis
Cancer stem cells that have stopped proliferating resist anticancer drugs and radiation therapy, and withstand the stress of traveling through the bloodstream. These cells, which survive even after treatment, cause metastasis and recurrence.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping Treatments That Target Induction of Stemness
Treatments that target cancer stem cells are being studied around the world. The lab is developing therapies that target the mechanism by which cancer stem cells rapidly increase, without affecting the mechanisms that maintain the number of normal tissue stem cells.
*Illustrative imageDelaying the Onset of Cancer
It usually takes about 10 to 30 years from the start of malignant transformation until cancer is found at a hospital. The lab considers studying in detail the cancer cells that have stopped proliferating during this period, and searching for ways to slow progression, as a future challenge.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Molecular Pathology Lab consist of faculty, researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2024
- ProfessorGenta Nagae
- Assistant ProfessorYukihide Watanabe
- Assistant ProfessorYukari Okita
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Laminar flow hood 2” TimVickers / Public domain (cropped)
- How Cancer Cells Keep Increasing: “Breast cancer cell (2)” Unknown photographer / Public domain (cropped)
- Cells That Cause Recurrence and Metastasis: “Tumor Mesothelioma2 legend” Stevenfruitsmaak / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Developing Treatments That Target Induction of Stemness: “Cancer Stem Cells” BQmUB2011119 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Delaying the Onset of Cancer: “Mammography machine” Bill Branson (Photographer) / Public domain (cropped)
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