The University of Osaka · Medicine
Professor Ryohei Yamamoto's research lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular defense responses, particularly the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway, which regulates the expression of cytoprotective genes in response to oxidative stress and electrophilic insults. The lab investigates the roles of ubiquitin ligases, redox-sensitive cysteine residues in Keap1, and transcription factor dynamics involving small Maf and CNC proteins in disease pathogenesis. Additionally, the lab explores the clinical implications of lifestyle factors—such as sleep duration, meal frequency, and exercise—on chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression and metabolic health, with a strong emphasis on translational outcomes like end-stage kidney disease and mortality. Their work bridges molecular biology with clinical epidemiology to identify novel therapeutic targets and preventive strategies in renal and metabolic diseases.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Keap1 and Cul3 constitute a unique ubiquitin E3 ligase that degrades Nrf2, a key activator of cytoprotective genes. Upon exposure to oxidants/electrophiles, the enzymatic activity of this ligase complex is inhibited and the complex fails to degrade Nrf2, resulting in the transcriptional activation of Nrf2 target genes. Keap1 possesses several reactive cysteine residues that covalently bond with electrophiles in vitro. To clarify the functional significance of each Keap1 cysteine residue under ph
Shorter (≤5 hour) and longer (>8 hour) sleep duration and poor sleep quality (PSQI global score ≥6) were associated with ESKD in patients with CKD.
Small Maf transcription factors possess a basic region-leucine zipper motif through which they form homodimers or heterodimers with CNC and Bach proteins. Different combinations of small Maf and CNC/Bach protein dimers bind to cis-acting DNA elements, collectively referred to as Maf-recognition elements (MAREs), to either activate or repress transcription. As MAREs defined by function are often divergent from the consensus sequence, we speculated that sequence variations in the MAREs form the ba
Although multiple studies have identified skipping breakfast as a risk factor for weight gain, there is limited evidence on the clinical impact of skipping lunch and dinner on weight gain. This retrospective cohort study including 17,573 male and 8860 female university students at a national university in Japan, assessed the association of the frequency of breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the incidence of weight gain (≥10%) and overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2), using annual parti
Patients with MCD and MN had a higher mortality, especially infection-related mortality, than ESKD. Nephrologists should pay more attention to infections in patients with primary nephrotic syndrome.
Aerobic exercise of 3-12 months' duration improved obesity, high blood pressure, and low exercise capacity in overweight/obese patients with CKD, but it had no significant effect on GFR and proteinuria. Well-designed large RCTs with a longer follow-up period are needed to evaluate the efficacy of aerobic exercise in patients with CKD.
Background and objectives Previous studies suggested that intravenous methylprednisolone possibly accelerates remission of proteinuria in adult-onset minimal change disease; its impact on relapse of proteinuria is unknown. Design, setting, participants, & measurements This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 125 adult-onset minimal change disease patients diagnosed by kidney biopsy between 2000 and 2009 and treated initially with corticosteroid in five nephrology centers in Japan par
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