Shigehisa Aoki, MD, PhD

The goal of my research is to clarify the role of mesenchymal paracrine effect and characterize the phenotype of these mesenchymal cell types in epidermal regeneration. In the skin, dermal fibroblasts are essential for keratinocyte growth and differentiation, both in vivo and in vitro. In addition to dermal fibroblasts and mesenchymal cell types of mature adipocytes and preadipocytes derived from the subcutaneous tissue, we have previously shown that, BMSCs also promoted the reorganization of the epidermal layer, keratinocyte growth and differentiation (Aoki S, Mol Biol Cell, 2004). Recently, I demonstrated that non-skin mesenchymal cell types derived from heart, spleen, lung, liver and kidney also support the epidermal regeneration of keratinocytes. These mesenchymal cells expressed the common mesenchymal marker vimentin, but they heterogeneously displayed the mesenchymal stem cell markers and the myofibroblast marker. Our results suggest that these vimentin-positive mesenchymal cells, unlike mesenchymal stem cells and myofibroblasts, mainly participate in cutaneous tissue regeneration (Aoki S, Pathol Int, 2009).

Kazuyoshi Uchihashi, MD, Ph. D.

ヒト骨髄脂肪細胞と前脂肪細胞 (H-E染色)：ヒト骨髄脂肪組織片を2週間、コラーゲンゲル3次元培養した。成熟脂肪細胞の周囲に小脂肪滴を有する前脂肪細胞が新生している。本実験系を用いて、前脂肪細胞を含む骨髄脂肪組織由来間葉系細胞の細胞動態、各種薬剤に対する反応性および他種細胞との相互作用の解析を行っている。骨粗鬆症や特発性大腿骨頭壊死の病因・病態の解明、新規治療法の開発を目指している。