Kyoto University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Yuki Takahashi's research lab focuses on the biology and pharmacokinetics of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), particularly their role in intercellular communication and disease progression. The lab employs advanced labeling and tracking technologies to study sEV secretion, clearance, and biodistribution in vivo, with a special emphasis on how surface properties—such as phosphatidylserine expression—influence their circulation time and immune evasion. Key research directions include engineering sEVs for therapeutic applications, understanding tumor-derived exosome interactions in cancer progression, and developing quantitative kinetic models for sEV homeostasis in blood. The lab also explores the use of sEVs as natural drug delivery vehicles by modifying their internal and surface components.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are important mediators of cell-cell communication with respect to diverse physiological processes. To further understand their physiological roles, understanding blood sEV homoeostasis in a quantitative manner is desired. In this study, we propose novel kinetic approaches to estimate the secretion and clearance of mouse plasma-derived sEVs (MP-sEVs) based on the hypothesis that blood sEV concentrations are determined by a balance between the secretion and cle
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles released by various cell types and play roles in cell-cell communication. Several studies indicate that cancer cell-derived exosomes play important pathophysiological roles in tumor progression. Biodistribution of cancer cell-derived exosomes in tumor tissue is an important factor for determining their role in tumor proliferation; however, limited studies have assessed the biodistribution of exosomes in tumor tissues. In the present study, we examined the effe
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small membrane vesicles secreted from cells and have great potential as drug delivery carriers. Surface proteins on EV membranes might play roles in pharmacokinetics. One method which can be used to study the role of surface membrane of EV is to modify the inner space of EV. In the present study, we constructed a plasmid DNA expressing a fusion protein of Gag protein derived from Moloney murine leukemia virus (Gag) and Gaussia luciferase (gLuc) (Gag-gLuc) to modi
Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are important mediators of intercellular communication with respect to diverse pathophysiological processes. Here, we determined novel phosphatidylserine (PS)-deficient sEV subpopulations as a major somatic cell-derived sEV subpopulation in blood because of long blood circulation half-life through escape from macrophage uptake. PS<sup>(-)</sup>-sEVs were identified in various cultured cells as a minor population. However, as a result of rapid uptake of PS<sup>
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