Professor Yuji YAMANASHI【Key Words】signal transduction, mouse model, gene/molecular targeted therapy, neoplasia/immunity, ageing/neuromuscular disorder
The major interest of this laboratory is in molecular signals that regulate a variety of cellular activities. Our aim is to address how dysregulated cellular signals give rise to neoplastic, immune, neural, metabolic, developmental and/or age-related disorders. Our goal is to understand the molecular bases of tumorigenesis and the development of other intractable diseases as a path toward uncovering therapeutic targets. For example, we identified Dok-7 as an essential protein for neuromuscular synaptogenesis and found DOK7 myasthenia, a recessive hereditary neuromuscular synaptopathy. We further demonstrated that elevated Dok-7 expression, or any equivalent method that safely enlarges neuromuscular synapses, has potential as a therapy for a range of neuromuscular disorders with structural defects in neuromuscular synapses.
Currently, we are investigating regulatory mechanisms in protein-tyrosine kinase-mediated signaling pathways, their pathophysiological roles and the potential for therapeutic intervention.
Our website:
http://www.ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp/genetics/html/home.html
