Keio University · Medicine
Professor Eiji Kobayashi's research lab specializes in regenerative medicine and translational biomedical research, with a focus on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), particularly synovium-derived MSCs, for tissue repair in osteoarthritis and cartilage defects. The lab develops advanced animal models—such as transgenic luciferase-expressing rats and genetically modified pigs—to enable real-time, non-invasive imaging of stem cell behavior and to refine preclinical studies in accordance with the 3R principles. Their work also explores neuroprotective mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease, particularly the role of astrocytes in cognitive resilience despite pathological burden. The lab integrates cutting-edge imaging technologies with stem cell biology to advance regenerative therapies and medical device development.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
KRN7000, a compound with a novel alpha-galactosylceramide structure, showed potent tumor growth inhibitory activities in B16-bearing mice and markedly stimulated lymphocytic proliferation in allogeneic mixed leukocyte reaction, suggesting that KRN7000 is a biological response modifier. To confirm this suggestion, we examined the abilities of KRN7000 to enhance in vitro and in vivo natural killer (NK) activities, and found that KRN7000 enhanced in vitro and in vivo NK activities, and its potency
Osteoarthritis in the knees, which can be caused by meniscal defect, constitutes an increasingly common medical problem. Repair for massive meniscal defect remains a challenge owing to a lack of cell kinetics for the menisci precursors in knee joint. The synovium plays pivotal roles during the natural course of meniscal healing and contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with high chondrogenic potential. Here, we investigated whether intra-articular injected synovium-MSCs enhanced meniscal regene
To improve the welfare of experimental animals, investigators seek to respect the 3R principle (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement). Even when large animal studies are essential before moving to clinical trials, it is important to look for ways to reduce the number of experimental animals used. At the Center for the Development of Advanced Medical Technology, we consider 'medical' pigs to be ideal preclinical model systems.We have been using both wild-type and genetically modified pigs. We b
Leaving a synovial MSC suspension in cartilage defects for 10 min made it possible for cells to adhere in the defect in a porcine cartilage defect model. The cartilage defect was first covered with membrane, then the cartilage matrix emerged after transplantation of synovial MSCs.
We propose on the basis of these findings that the luciferase-Tg rat system with modern optical imaging offers a new platform for a better understanding of stem cell biology and transplantation.
Although the cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is believed to be caused by amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), several postmortem studies have reported cognitive normal subjects with AD brain pathology. As the mechanism underlying these discrepancies has not been clarified, we focused the neuroprotective role of astrocytes. After examining 47 donated brains, we classified brains into 3 groups, no AD pathology with no dementia (N-N), AD pathology with no deme
These results suggest that aberrant expression of CXCL17 in tumor cells recruits immature myeloid-derived cells and promotes tumor progression through angiogenesis.
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