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Ogura Lab
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The lab uses 5-aminolevulinic acid to make cancer glow so it can be detected, and to treat it.
AboutAbout the lab
Using a molecule found in the body to detect and treat cancer.
The Ogura Lab conducts research on 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a safe, naturally occurring substance derived from living organisms.
When ALA is administered to cancer cells, a substance that emits red fluorescence accumulates in the cancer.
Taking advantage of this property, the lab conducts basic research on a method of diagnosing cancer and on photodynamic therapy, which kills cancer cells by shining light on them.
The lab also investigates the various physiological effects of ALA on the body, aiming to contribute to medical applications.
Key terms
- 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)
- A substance derived from living organisms that serves as the starting material for making substances essential to life, such as hemoglobin in red blood cells
- Photodynamic therapy
- A treatment that kills cancer cells by shining light on a substance that has accumulated in the cancer
- Mitochondria
- Small organelles inside cells that use oxygen to produce energy
ResearchResearch themes
The lab conducts research aimed at medical applications of ALA, a substance derived from living organisms. Making full use of gene analysis, protein analysis, and metabolite analysis, it investigates cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as the effects of ALA on metabolic activity.
*Illustrative imageCancer diagnosis with ALA
When ALA is administered, its metabolite accumulates in cancer. This diagnostic method has begun to be used in clinical practice, but the detailed mechanism is not yet understood, so the lab is investigating the mechanism of the accumulation.
*Illustrative imageCancer treatment with light
It is known that shining the appropriate light on the metabolite accumulated in cancer kills the cancer. The lab conducts basic research to obtain the best possible effect from this photodynamic therapy.
*Illustrative imageEffects of ALA on metabolism
The lab has found that administering ALA to a living body increases the activity of aerobic respiration in mitochondria. ALA is expected to serve as a drug that can overcome the decline in this activity caused by aging and lifestyle-related diseases.
MembersFaculty
The Ogura Lab consists of faculty members and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2025
- Associate ProfessorShun-Ichiro OguraPublications ↗
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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: “Fluorescence of porphyrine” Sunmosk / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Cancer diagnosis with ALA: “A City in 3D - Tumor and Stromal Cells Claim Their Space” YantsenY / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Cancer treatment with light: “Photodynamic therapy 2” Ed Mkh / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Effects of ALA on metabolism: “DAPIMitoTrackerRedAlexaFluor488BPAE” IP / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (中村・岡田研究室): “Boron neutron capture therapy (bnct) illustration” Pat Kenny (Illustrator) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (越川研究室): “Cancer cells” Dr. Cecil Fox (Photographer) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (門之園研究室): “Antibody IgG1 surface” Tokenzero / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (加藤研究室): “Takifugu poecilonotus by DaijuAzuma” Daiju Azuma / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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