• T2DB: a web database for long non-coding RNA genes in type II diabetes (Noncoding RNA, 2023)

     

    In the collaboration with Professor Uchida, Aalborg University, Denmark, the study of Type II diabetes (T2D) has focused on long non-coding RNA and revealed its significance in mechanism of the disease.

  • The role of RNA methylation in the regulation of pancreatic cancer stem cells (Oncology Letters, 2023)

     

    Given that cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for chemotherapy and radiation resistance and cancer metastasis, we updated recent studies of CSCs in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which are involved in several key pathways, thus providing new insights into efficient medical approaches of PDAC.

  • Cancer-specific tissue-resident memory T-cells in colorectal cancer (Br. J. Cancer, 2023)

     

    In the collaboration with Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan (Professors Eguchi and Doki), Dr. Kitakaze perform the comprehensive single cell analysis to study cancer-specific tissue-resident memory T-cells in colorectal cancer, and elucidated the significance of novel transcriptional cascade mechanism, as innovative therapeutic targets. 

  • m6 RNA methylation: An emerging common target in the immune response to cancer and severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection (Exp Med, 2022)

     

    In academia-industry collaboration, Dr. Sato has focused on the emerging roles of m6A RNA modification and has noted that it could be useful not only for the early detection of cancer but also for SARS-CoV-2 screening during a global pandemic.

  • Emerging roles of long noncoding and circular RNAs in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (Front Physiol, 2022)

     

    In the collaboration with Osaka University, Japan and Aalborg University, Denmark, Dr. Sato has focused on the emerging roles of long noncoding and circular RNAs in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. They discussed the roles of ncRNAs in PDAC and highlight how these ncRNAs can be used to detect and control this intractable cancer.

     

  • Pancreatic cancer research beyond DNA mutations (Biomolecules, 2022)

     

    In the academia-industry collaboration, Dr. Saro has focused on the mechanism of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which is beyond DNA mutations. Given that PDAC is caused by genetic mutations in four genes: KRAS proto-oncogene and GTPase (KRAS), tumor protein P53 (TP53), cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A), and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (SMAD4), they noted the multifaced characteristics of PDAC, including cancer cell metabolism, mesenchymal cells including cancer-associated fibroblasts and immune cells, and metagenomics, which extend to characterize various biomolecules including RNAs and volatile organic compounds. The optimal combination of these new technologies is expected to help treat PDAC.

  • Targeting the regulation of aberrant protein production pathway in gastrointestinal cancer treatment (Front Oncol, 2022)

     

    In the collaboration with Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan (Professors Eguchi and Doki), Dr. Sato has focused on the novel mechanism of endogenous functional RNAs acting as damage-associated molecular patterns for the process of the regulation of the aberrant protein production (RAPP). Given that unshielded 7SL1 in exosomes possesses an immune stimulatory property, it has been applied to the chimeric antigen receptor therapy against intractable solid cancer. Recent progress in RAPP knowledge in gastrointestinal cancer therapy are noteworthy.

  • Circulating cancer-associated extracellular vesicles as detection and recurrence biomarkers for pancreatic cancer (Cancer Science, 2022)

     

    In the collaboration with Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan (Dr. Yoshioka and Professor Ochiya), new biomarkers were studied for pancreatic cancer. These results indicated that the biomarkers have the potential to detect pancreatic cancer and small recurrent tumors.

  • RNA Modification in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (Biomedicines, 2022)

    Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by damage to the intestinal mucosa. Some populations with IBD show a cancer-prone phenotype. Recent studies have provided insight into the involvement of RNA modifications in the specific pathogenesis of IBD through regulation of RNA biology in epithelial and immune cells. We note a new awareness of RNA modification in the targeting of IBD and related diseases.

  • N6-methyladenosine methylation-regulated PLK1 cell cycle as a potential target of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Scientific Reports, 2022)

     

    In the international collaboration with Department of Radiation Oncology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan (Professor Ogawa), Dr. Tatekawa studied the mechanism of RNA modification. Given that methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), a N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase has a favorable effect on tumors, we report that polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is an important hub gene in the RNA methylation, suggesting that PLK1 is essential for cell cycle maintenance and is a new therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer.