Multidisciplinary research of human pluripotent stem cells for application to cell therapy and drug discovery

Abstract

We are recently developing novel technologies for large-scale production of high-quality human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) by development of defined and robust adhesion molecules for hPSCs as well as other culture technologies. We are also working on control of stem cells with chemical compounds and micro-fabricated materials for growth and differentiation of ES/iPS cells in collaboration with chemical biology groups and micro-engineering groups. So far, we have identified novel small molecules which can induce efficient and robust cardiomyocyte differentiation from many human ES and iPS cell lines in completely defined and xeno-free conditions. Finally, we have created and investigated various model cells from human ES and iPS cell lines. They include neurodegenerative disease model cells, such as Alzheimer, ALS and Huntington disease models, which are produced by genetic modification of stem cell lines and differentiation into relevant cells in each disease.