Backgrounds

Hematopoietic stem cells are essential to the life of an organism, sending blood to the organs and spawning the immune cells that fight cancer and infectious diseases. In Japan, a society that is experiencing demographic aging, what is needed is the development of new medical technologies to ensure sources for bone marrow transplants and blood transfusions. Further, the growth and metastasis of cancer cells has been found to share the same molecules used by hematopoietic stem cells.

This project seeks to develop methods for efficiently producing hematopoietic stem cells, platelets, and immune cells from iPS cells as well as new cancer therapies that target stem cell genes.

Objectives

• To develop methods for producing hematopoietic stem cells, platelets, and immune cells efficiently via the in vitro culture of iPS cells
• To develop a new cancer drug specifically tailored to suppress the proliferation of acute leukemia cells
• To develop new anti-cancer agents targeting molecules used in cancer cell metastasis