• Diabetes induces several complications, including retinopathy and nephropathy. In patients with type 1 diabetes as well as those with type 2 diabetes, pancreatic beta cells have reportedly decreased. Therefore, regeneration therapy of pancreatic beta cells may be very effective for major populations of diabetic patients. We discovered a neuronal network, from the liver, which selectively elicits pancreatic beta cell proliferation (Science 2008, Fig.). In a murine model with insulin-deficient diabetes, stimulation of this network improved diabetes. Thus, building devices which regulate the inter-organ neuronal network may lead to “regenerative therapy” for diabetes which regenerates pancreatic beta cells in the pancreas using patients’ own cells and patients’ own systems. We hope to conduct collaborative research with a willing company for a practical application of this technology.

• Obesity induced the metabolic syndrome, which causes cardiovascular diseases. Obesity has now become a major health concern not only in developed countries but developing countries. However, diet and exercise are still major therapies. We discovered endogenous systems maintaining homeostasis of energy metabolism and revealed several neuronal networks among organs to be responsible for the regulation systems.
• 1) Afferent neuronal signals from adipose tissue regulate appetite and prevent over-eating during obesity development (Cell Metab 2006)
• 2) Neuronal network from the liver enhances basal metabolic rates to prevent obesity development when energy store is increasing (Science 2006) 3) Neuronal network from the liver suppresses adaptive thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (Cell Metab 2012).

On the basis of these original discoveries, we are aiming at developing new drugs and/or building devices which regulate the inter-organ neuronal networks and hope to conduct collaborative research with a willing company for a practical application to obesity therapy.

• The present invention relates to a technique for differentiating iPS cells into target differentiated cells while suppressing tumorigenesis in the iPS cells.　In use of a statin and a differentiation inducer, iPS cells are differentiated into target differentiated cells, whereby iPS cells can be differentiated into differentiated cells in which tumorigenesis is suppressed.

• We provide a technique which can produce induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells with high establishment efficiency and imposes lower burden on patients. iPS cells can be produced efficiently with significantly increased establishment efficiency by selecting cells derived from the oral mucosa and introducing a reprogramming factor, which can induce the reprogramming of the cells into pluripotent stem cells, into the cells.

• Complexity of the cardiac contraction sequence is still not fully understood because the dynamic mechanical excitation process, which directly correlates with contraction, cannot be accurately measured by CT, MRI, SPECT, or conventional ultrasound. By developing a noninvasive novel imaging modality with high temporal and spatial resolutions (US patent 5840028), we have detected the minute mechanical response (velocity component) to the propagation of the action potential in the human heart or to detect the propagation of the vibrations along the heart wall caused by the valve closure (Fig. 2).
• By applying the same procedure to the human arteries, the regional change in wall thickness caused during one cardiac cycle can be measured with high spatial resolution (Fig. 1). From the measurement, the regional elasticity of tissue surrounding atherosclerotic plaque can be determined. By comparing the pathological findings with the distribution of elasticity, elasticity of lipid and that of fibrous tissue were determined. Thus, each point inside the plaque is classified into lipid or fibrous tissue using transcutaneous ultrasound (Fig. 3).

This novel method offers potential as a diagnostic technique for detection of plaque vulnerability with high spatial resolution.
We are prepared to provide academic consultations to companies interested in our research.

• PET and SPECT have very high sensitivity to detect molecule by means of radiation detection, and are considered to be excellent tools for molecular imaging. We are studying and developing data analysis techniques for PET and SPECT data. Using our approaches, we can analyze data in quantitative manner, and obtain physiological functions in living organism.

Pharmaceutical companies who are interested in using PET to evaluate efficacy of new drug. Companies which are related to medical informatics, medical equipments.