LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Vascular Matrix Biology (TARA) Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab investigates how vascular cells and tissue stem cells respond to the extracellular environment.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering how organisms survive through their responses to the extracellular environment
The Yanagisawa Lab studies how cells respond to changes in their surrounding environment (the extracellular environment), focusing on vascular cells and tissue stem cells.
Building on knowledge and experimental systems related to the extracellular matrix, the main component of the extracellular environment, the lab aims to clarify the molecular mechanisms of cellular responses to environments that change with aging and disease.
To lead to new diagnostic technologies and the discovery of therapeutic targets, the lab also collaborates with researchers in imaging, bioengineering, and glycoengineering.
On the lab's website, it is presented under the name "Hiromi Yanagisawa Lab."
Key terms
- Extracellular matrix
- Material located outside cells that is the main component of the extracellular environment. It supports tissues and acts on cells.
- Tissue stem cells
- Cells found within tissues that can both produce more cells like themselves and turn into several types of cells.
- Mechanotransduction
- The process by which cells sense mechanical stimuli, such as forces acting on blood vessels, and convert them into chemical signals.
NewsLab news
Review article co-authored with Dr. Suowen Xu published online
Paper from a collaboration published in Communications Biology
Associate Professor Kenichi Kimura receives the Otaka Award from the Japanese Society for Connective Tissue Research
Follow-up paper on a mouse model of aortic dissection published
ResearchResearch themes
Cells in our bodies receive cues from the extracellular environment and maintain the body's condition by changing their cytoskeleton and functions. Focusing on vascular cells and tissue stem cells, this lab examines at the molecular level how cells respond to environmental changes, and explores the link to tissue dysfunction.
*Illustrative imageVascular Mechanotransduction
The lab studies how vascular cells sense the force of the heartbeat and convert it into chemical signals. It combines mouse models of cardiovascular disease with stretch experiments, live imaging, and genome editing to elucidate this mechanism.
*Illustrative imageUnderstanding the Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
The lab studies how mesenchymal stem cells, a type of tissue stem cell, behave in the body in health, in disease, and during wound healing. By clarifying properties such as self-renewal, differentiation, migration, and tissue regeneration, it aims to realize more effective regenerative medicine.
*Illustrative imageMouse Model of Aortic Aneurysm and the Search for Treatments
The lab created mice in which fibulin-4, an extracellular matrix protein abundant in the blood vessel wall, is deleted only in vascular smooth muscle cells, causing ascending aortic aneurysm. It examines the intracellular signaling pathways at each stage of aneurysm enlargement to search for targets for new drugs.
*Illustrative imageRegulation of Skin Stem Cells
Using mouse skin as a model, the lab studies the basic properties of tissue stem cells and how they are regulated. It has found that the epidermis contains stem cell populations with different properties, and is exploring how they are regulated during development, maintenance, wound healing, and aging.
MembersFaculty
The Yanagisawa Lab consists of faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, collaborators, lab assistants, and administrative staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorHiromi Yanagisawa
- Assistant ProfessorKeiichi Asano
- Assistant ProfessorErna Raja
- Assistant ProfessorMarina Sanaki-Matsumiya
- Associate ProfessorKenichi Kimura
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Vascular Matrix Biology (TARA) Lab
Molecular Neurobiology LabSchool of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of MedicineGenes and molecules controlling nervous system development a…
Regenerative Medicine Lab (TMRC)School of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of MedicineMechanisms of muscle regeneration by skeletal muscle stem ce…Vascular Structure and Function Regeneration LabSchool of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of MedicineVascular remodeling mechanisms based on adventitial progenit…Genome Biology LabSchool of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of MedicineElucidation of carcinogenesis mechanisms and identification …The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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.
- Top image: “Technicians examine tissue culture” Unknown photographer / Public domain (cropped)
- Vascular Mechanotransduction: “Bovine Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells Fluorescent Image” Erin Rod / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Understanding the Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells: “Human Stem Cells ( )” National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences from Bethesda, MD / Public domain (cropped)
- Mouse Model of Aortic Aneurysm and the Search for Treatments: “Blood cell crossing vascular sinus wall - TEM” Louisa Howard, Roy Fava / Public domain (cropped)
- Regulation of Skin Stem Cells: “Epidermis, papillary dermis and reticular dermis” Original by Kilbad. Derivative by Mikael Häggström, M.D. Author info - Reusing images- Conflicts of interest: None Mikael Häggström, M.D.Consent note: Consent from the patient or patient's relatives is regarded as redundant, because of absence of identifiable features (List of HIPAA identifiers) in the media and case information (See also HIPAA case reports guidance). / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Neurobiology Lab): “Rattus norvegicus silver nitrate stained and pseudocolored cortical neurons” Micromural123 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Regenerative Medicine Lab (TMRC)): “Attractive man lifting dumbbell weight for exercise in fitness gym” Nenad Stojkovic / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.