当研究室は、ES細胞、iPS細胞（多能性幹細胞）を用いて、様々な神経疾患の病態を培養皿の上で再現し、病気の原因の解明と治療法の開発を目指した研究を進めています。特に患者さんの細胞から作成するiPS細胞（疾患特異的iPS細胞）は、病気で障害される細胞（例えば神経細胞）へと分化誘導することで、従来の動物モデル（マウスなど）に比べて、より忠実に患者さんの病態を再現できる可能性があり、有効な治療法開発への応用が期待されます。当研究室では、ES細胞やiPS細胞から分化誘導した神経細胞や神経幹細胞を用いて、神経発生メカニズムの解明や神経再生治療に向けた基礎的研究も進めています。
Using ES cells and iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells), our laboratory reproduces the pathology of various neurological diseases on a culture dish, and conducts research aimed at elucidating the causes of the diseases and developing treatments. In particular, iPSCs (disease-specific iPSCs) generated from patients' cells can be induced to differentiate into cells (e.g., neural cells and muscle cells) that are damaged by the disease, and thus have the potential to reproduce the pathology of patients more faithfully than conventional animal models (e.g., mice), are expected to be applied to the development of effective therapies. In our laboratory, we are also conducting basic research to elucidate the mechanisms of neural development and to develop neuroregenerative therapy using neurons and neural stem cells (NSCs) differentiated from ES cells and iPSCs.