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Pathological Neuroscience Lab
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A lab investigating the mechanisms of ALS and Alzheimer's disease through glial cells.
AboutAbout the lab
From understanding ALS and Alzheimer's disease to treatment.
The Pathological Neuroscience Lab aims to clarify the pathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which damages motor neurons, and Alzheimer's disease, a leading cause of dementia, and to develop new treatments.
The lab creates and analyzes model mice and cultured cells carrying disease-related genes, and applies the results to understanding the mechanisms of sporadic, non-hereditary forms of these diseases.
It has shown that abnormalities in the glial cells surrounding neurons accelerate the progression of neurodegeneration in ALS.
The lab is recruiting graduate students (master's and doctoral programs), and undergraduate students and research students can also take part in its research.
Key terms
- ALS
- A disease in which motor neurons are damaged. Its formal name is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Glial cells
- Cells surrounding neurons, including microglia and astrocytes
- TDP-43
- An RNA-binding protein that accumulates in the lesions of sporadic ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration
NewsLab news
A study on the link between obesity and Alzheimer's disease, examined through brain lipid metabolism, was published in Scientific Reports
A researcher won the Best Poster Award at the 36th International Symposium on ALS/MND
An Assistant Professor won the Best Presentation Award at the Young Researchers' Meeting of the Japan Society for Dementia Research
A study on the link between male hormones and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease was published in Scientific Reports
ResearchResearch themes
Many causative genes of hereditary neurodegenerative diseases have been found, but the mechanisms of onset and progression remain unclear. Focusing on ALS and Alzheimer's disease, the lab uses model mice and cultured cells to examine the pathological changes in neurons and in glial cells separately, with the aim of building therapeutic strategies.
*Illustrative imageNeuroinflammation and glia–immune interactions
The lab investigates whether disease progression can be slowed by controlling the glial cells activated in the lesions of ALS and Alzheimer's disease and infiltrating immune cells such as T cells. It analyzes model mice for ALS and for Alzheimer's disease separately.
*Illustrative imageRegulation of pathology by innate and adaptive immunity
By analyzing ALS mice lacking MyD88 and TRIF, key molecules of Toll-like receptors, which are sensors of innate immunity, the lab found that loss of TRIF shortens survival. It is now examining the effects on brain pathology in mice with an altered systemic immune environment.
*Illustrative imageSearch for factors that switch microglial activation states
Using the concepts of activation states as clues, namely neurotoxic M1, neuroprotective M2, and DAM, which is said to be common across diseases, the lab searches for factors that switch the activation state of microglia. The goal is to identify groups of molecules that slow disease progression.
*Illustrative imageTDP-43 abnormalities and the mechanism of ALS onset
The lab studies what disturbances the RNA-binding protein TDP-43, which accumulates in the lesions of sporadic ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration, causes in motor neurons. Using experiments in cultured cells and mice, it aims to clarify the mechanisms that give rise to TDP-43 abnormalities.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Pathological Neuroscience Lab are faculty, researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, technical assistants, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorKoji Yamanaka
- Associate ProfessorFumito Endo
- LecturerOkiru Komine
- Project Assistant ProfessorNoe Kawade
- Project Assistant ProfessorKanako Shinno
- Project Assistant ProfessorMai Horiuchi
- Project Assistant ProfessorKasumi Maekawa
- Project Assistant ProfessorShohei Sakai
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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: “Shaking incubator for culture tubes” real name: Matylda Sęk pl.wiki: Cygaretka commons: Cygaretka / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Neuroinflammation and glia–immune interactions: “Microglia and neurons” GerryShaw / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Regulation of pathology by innate and adaptive immunity: “PAMPs and PRRs in the Innate Immune System” Immcarle105 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Search for factors that switch microglial activation states: “Spinal cord gray matter immunofluorescence staining, confocal imaging” Wisstock / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- TDP-43 abnormalities and the mechanism of ALS onset: “PDB 2cqg EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (分子代謝医学分野): “Pipette de laboratoire sur fond blanc au Bénin 02” Adoscam / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (神経系分野): “Close-up of a lab technitian adjusting a microscope glass slide” Shixart1985 / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (システム神経薬理学分野): “Axio Imager with Colibri.2 LED Lightsource for Fluorescence Illumination ( )” ZEISS Microscopy from Germany / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (内分泌代謝分野): “(20250417) Blood glucose meter 08” Roy Zuo / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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