Biopharmaceutics
Lavoratory of Cell Engineering
Cell differentiation and signal environment
Our body contains approximately 37 trillion cells consisting of about 200 of different cell types. Therefore, development of multicellular organism is a process of increasing the number and type of cells, and organizing them to function as an integrated system. In this cell differentiation process, signal environment; a combination of various inter cellular signals, plays an important role. We are focusing on retinoic acid signal, which play key roles in many fundamental biological processes such as antero-posterior axis formation, specification of organs and tissue, and maintenance of homeostasis, with primally emphasis on the regulation mechanism under various signal environment. Recent study also includes application of stem cell biology to environmental science and conservation biology.