Nerve Regeneration Group

P.I. Koh-Hei Sonoda, Yusuke Murakami, and Mitsuru Arima

It is a dream of an ophthalmologist to regenerate photoreceptor cells damaged by retinal diseases such as retinal detachment and diabetic retinopathy.
In recent years retinal regenerative medicine using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells cells has attracted much attention, but we aim to develop retinal regeneration therapy by direct reprogramming, i.e. nerve regeneration therapy not dependent on cell transplantation. The strategy of future retinal regeneration therapy that we consider is to perform radical therapy for the causative disease and retinal regeneration therapy at the same time by injection of medicine into the vitreous at the end of surgery.
We have already developed a method to change astrocytes and Müller cells into progenitor cells by stimulation with a cocktail of small molecular compounds under in vitro environment and then induce differentiation into neurons. Now we are conducting comprehensive compound screening to select the combination of cocktails that lead to more efficient differentiation into neuronal cells.
Young researchers interested in our research, please contact us at any time!

Selected publications

1. Rhodopsin-positive cell production by intravitreal injection of small molecule compounds in mouse models of retinal degeneration　Fujii Y, Arima M, Murakami Y, Sonoda KH; PLoS One. 18(2):e0282174, 2023/02/23
2. Changes in metabolic proteins in ex vivo rat retina during glutamate-induced neural progenitor cell induction.
   Tokuda K, Kuramitsu Y, Baron B, Kitagawa T, Tokuda N, Kobayashi M, Kimura K, Sonoda KH, Nakamura K.
   Mol Cell Biochem. 2016 Aug;419(1-2):177-84.
3. Up-regulation of DRP-3 long isoform during the induction of neural progenitor cells by glutamate treatment in the ex vivo rat retina.
   Tokuda K, Kuramitsu Y, Byron B, Kitagawa T, Tokuda N, Kobayashi D, Nagayama M, Araki N, Sonoda KH, Nakamura K.
   Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015 Aug 7;463(4):593-9.