The University of Tokyo · Medicine
Professor Masaaki Sato's research lab focuses on advancing thoracic surgery and transplant immunology, with a particular emphasis on understanding the mechanisms of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) following lung transplantation. The lab investigates lymphoid neogenesis and the role of stromal immune cell activation in the development of obliterative bronchiolitis, a major cause of graft failure. Innovative techniques such as Virtual Assisted Lung Mapping (VAL-MAP) are being developed and applied to improve precision in anatomical segmentectomies for early-stage lung cancer and metastatic tumors. The lab integrates clinical surgery with immunological and molecular research to improve long-term outcomes in lung transplant and oncological patients.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Chronic rejection after lung transplantation is manifested as obliterative bronchiolitis (OB). The development of de novo lymphoid tissue (lymphoid neogenesis) may contribute to local immune responses in small airways. Compared with normal lungs, the lung tissue of 13 lung transplant recipients who developed OB demonstrated a significantly larger number of small, airway-associated, peripheral node addressin-positive (PNAd(+)) high endothelial venules (HEVs) unique to lymphoid tissue (p < 0.001).
UMIN 000008031. University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry ( http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ ).
Anatomical segmentectomies play an important role in oncological lung resection, particularly for ground-glass types of primary lung cancers. This operation can also be applied to metastatic lung tumors deep in the lung. Virtual assisted lung mapping (VAL-MAP) is a novel technique that allows for bronchoscopic multi-spot dye markings to provide "geometric information" to the lung surface, using three-dimensional virtual images. In addition to wedge resections, VAL-MAP has been found to be useful
Lymphoid neogenesis associated with CLAD accompanies activation of stromal resident cells and formation of lymphoid-like stroma. Induction of PNAd+ HEV-like vessels occurs before the manifestation of CLAD.
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