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Introduction

Multicellular organisms, without exception, possess an immune system that distinguishes between 'self' and 'non-self' and eliminates 'non-self' from the body. The existence of 'non-self' cannot be established without the existence of 'self,' so for the immune system to function properly, it is necessary to establish 'self' during the organism's developmental process. How, then, was this mechanism of establishing 'self' acquired during the course of biological evolution? By pursuing this question, we hope to provide interesting insights from natural science into the philosophical question of 'What is self?'

Achievements

■The immune system and self-recognition in starfish
・Research objective: To determine the timing of immune system maturation and the establishment of immune self in starfish
- Title: Establishment of the immunological self in juvenile Patiria pectinifera post-metamorphosis. Taguchi, M., Minakata, K., Tame, A., Furukawa, R. Front Immunol. 13: 1056027. (2022)
• Research Objective: Identification of factors regulating chemotaxis of immune cells in starfish larvae
- Title: Two macrophage migration inhibitory factors regulate starfish larval immune cell chemotaxis. Furukawa, R., Tamaki, K., Kaneko, H. Immunol Cell Biol. 94. 315-321 (2016)
- Research objective: Identification of factors regulating immune cell migration in starfish larvae
- Title: Starfish ApDOCK protein essentially functions in larval defense system operated by mesenchyme cells. Furukawa, R., Funabashi, H., Matsumoto, M., Kaneko, H. Immunol Cell Biol. 90. 955-965 (2012)
• Research objective: Identification of factors promoting phagocytosis in the immune system of starfish larvae
- Title: Characterization of a scavenger receptor cysteine-rich-domain-containing protein of the starfish, Asterina pectinifera: ApSRCR1 acts as an opsonin in the larval and adult innate immune systems. Furukawa, R., Matsumoto, M., Kaneko, H. Dev Comp Immunol. 36. 51-61 (2012)
• Research objective: Analysis of immune dynamics by mesenchymal cells in starfish larvae
- Title: Defense system by mesenchyme cells in bipinnaria larvae of the starfish. Furukawa, R., Takahashi, Y., Nakajima, Y., Dan-Sohkawa, M., Kaneko, H. Dev Comp Immunol. 33. 205-215 (2009)

■Signal Pathways and Gene Expression Related to Development
• Research Objective: Investigation of the Interspecific Conservation of Sex-Inducing Substances in Parasitic Flatworms
- Title: Sex-inducing effects toward planarians widely present among parasitic flatworms. Kiyono, S., Miyashita, S., Yamaguchi, K., Saito, I., Saito, Y., Manta, S., Ishikawa, M., Natira, M., Watanabe, T., Ito, R., Taguchi, M., Furukawa, R., Ikeuchi, A., Matsuo, K., Kurita, G., Kumagai, T., Shirakashi, S., Ogawa, K., Sakamoto, K., Koyanagi, R., Satoh, N., Sasaki, M., Maezawa, T., Ichikawa-Seki, M., Kobayashi, K. iScience. 26:105776 (2023)
• Research objective: Contribution of TRPA1 channels to thermotaxis in starfish larvae
- Title: Characterization of TRPA channels in the starfish Patiria pectinifera: involvement of thermally activated TRPA1 in thermotaxis in marine planktonic larvae. Saito, S., Hamanaka, G., Kawai, N., Furukawa, R., Gojobori, J., Tominaga, M., Kaneko, H. Satta, Y. Sci Rep. 7. 2173 (2017)
• Research Objective: Function of SLC38A9 and association with d-tryptophan in sexual induction of planarians
- Title: d-Tryptophan enhances the reproductive organ-specific expression of the amino acid transporter homolog Dr-SLC38A9 involved in the sexual induction of planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis. Maezawa, T., Ishikawa M., Sekii, K., Nagamatsu, G., Furukawa, R., Kobayashi, K. Zoological Lett. 7, 4 (2021)
• Research objective: The role of pmar1/phb homeobox genes in endoderm-mesoderm specification in echinoderms
- Title: Pmar1/phb homeobox genes and the evolution of the double-negative gate for endomesoderm specification in echinoderms. Yamazki, A., Morino, Y., Urata, M., Yamaguchi, M., Minokawa, T., Furukawa, R., Kondo, M., Wada, H. Development. 147. dev182139 (2020)
• Research objective: Comparative transcriptomic analysis of asexual and sexual planarians
- Title: ranscriptomic analysis reveals differences in the regulation of amino acid metabolism in asexual and sexual planarians. Sekii, K., Yorimoto, S., Okamoto, H., Nagao, N., Maezawa, T., Matsui, Y., Yamaguchi, K., Furukawa, R., Shigenobu, S., Kobayashi, K. Sci Rep. 9. 6132 (2019)

■Epigenetics and methylation
• Research objective: Analysis of the extent of short-term fluctuations in epigenetic age under normal conditions
- Title: Evaluation of short-term epigenetic age fluctuation. Komaki, S., Ohmomo, H., Hachiya, T., Sutoh, Y., Ono, K., Furukawa, R., Umekage, S., Otsuka-Yamasaki, Y., Minabe, S., Takashima, A., Tanno, K., Sasaki, M., Shimizu, A. Clin Epigenet. 14, 76 (2022)
• Research Objective: Investigation of the longitudinal dynamics of DNA methylation and its potential as an indicator in clinical epigenetics
- Title: Longitudinal DNA methylation dynamics as a practical indicator in clinical epigenetics. Komaki, S., Ohmomo, H., Hachiya, T., Sutoh Y., Ono, K., Furukawa, R., Umekage, S., Otsuka-Yamasaki, Y., Tanno, K., Sasaki, M., Shimizu. A. Clin Epigenet. 13, 219 (2021).
• Research Objective: Construction of an integrated database encompassing DNA methylation, gene expression, and genomic diversity
- Title: iMETHYL: an integrative database of human DNA methylation, gene expression, and genomic variation. Komaki, S., Shiwa, Y., Furukawa, R., Hachiya, T., Ohmomo, H., Otomo, R., Satoh, M., Hitomi, J., Sobue, K., Sasaki, M., Shimizu, A. Human Genome Var. 5. 18008 (2018)
• Research objective: Cell type-specific epigenome-wide association analysis
- Title: An epigenome-wide association study based on cell type-specific whole-genome bisulfite sequencing: Screening for DNA methylation signatures associated with bone mass. Komaki, S., Ohmomo, H., Hachiya, T., Furukawa, R., Shiwa, Y., Satoh, M., Endo, R., Doita, M., Sasaki, M., Shimizu, A. Integr Mol Med. 4(5). 1-7 (2017)
- Title: Genome-wide identification of inter-individually variable DNA methylation sites improves the efficacy of epigenetic association studies. Hachiya, T., Furukawa, R., Shiwa, Y., Ohmomo, H., Ono, K., Katsuoka, F., Nagasaki, M., Yasuda, J., Fuse, N., Kinoshita, K., Yamamoto, M., Tanno, K., Satoh, M., Endo, R., Sasaki, M., Sakata, K., Kobayashi, S., Ogasawara, K., Hitomi, J., Sobue, K., Shimizu, A. npj Genomic Medicine. 2. 11 (2017)
• Research objective: To investigate the extent to which DNA methylation contributes to the dynamics of gene expression in human cells
- Title: Intraindividual dynamics of transcriptome and genome-wide stability of DNA methylation. Furukawa, R., Hachiya, T., Ohmomo, H., Shiwa, Y., Ono, K., Suzuki, S., Satoh, M., Hitomi, J., Sobue, K. and Shimizu, A. Sci Rep. 6. 26424 (2016)

■Clinical and personalized applications
・Research objective: Evaluation of genetic predisposition to ischemic stroke using a polygenic risk score
- Title: Genetic Predisposition to Ischemic Stroke: A Polygenic Risk Score. Hachiya, T., Kamatani, Y., Takahashi, A., Hata, J., Furukawa, R., Shiwa, Y., Yamaji, T., Hara, M., Tanno, K., Ohmomo, H., Ono, K., Takashima, N., Matsuda, K., Wakai, K., Sawada, N., Iwasaki, M., Yamagishi, K., Ago, T., Ninomiya, T., Fukushima, A., Hozawa, A., Minegishi, N., Satoh, M., Endo, R., Sasaki, M., Sakata, K., Kobayashi, S., Ogasawara, K., Nakamura, M., Hitomi, J., Kita, Y., Tanaka, K., Iso, H., Kitazono, T., Kubo, M., Tanaka, H., Tsugane, S., Kiyohara, Y., Yamamoto, M., Sobue, K., Shimizu, A. Stroke. 48. 253-258. (2017).

Areas of Research

・Comparative Immunology
・Developmental Biology
・Evolutionary Biology
・Other

Social Contributions

・Enhancing understanding of immune systems in invertebrates could lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms that establish individuality.
・Understanding inflammation control mechanisms in starfish could advance medical treatments for inflammatory diseases.
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