We aim to elucidate molecular mechanisms regulating cardiomyocyte maturation.
With an efficient, directed cardiac differentiation method, we are able to obtain cardiomyocytes from pluripotent stem cells. However, such cardiomyocytes were immature as fetal cardiomyocytes, which limits the potential of stem cell derived cardiomyocytes being a platform to study human heart diseases.
We will elucidate the molecular mechanisms and provide a platform to recaptulate human heart diseases in vitro.
We are working on to model cardiac myopathy and malformation in vivo and/or in vitro.
In a collabolation with Drs. Koitabashi (Gunma U), Nishizono (Kanazawa Med U), and other researchers of Jichi Medical Unviersity, we are generating animal models harvoring SNVs that found in congenital heart diseases and cardiac myopathy.
As a part of an AMED-sponsored project, we are establishing a number of patient-derived iPS cell lines for mitochondrial diseases and neural disorders in collabolation with Dr. Murayama (Juntendo U) and our pediatrics department.
To analyze the physiological function of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes, we are developing new tools and techniques for sarcomere shortining with live-imaging, which may facilitate the cardiomyopathy study.
These studies will provide novel perspectives in heart diseases.
