Annual Report 2019

Department of Functional Analysis

Fumitaka Takeshita, Megumi Miyagi

Introduction

 The Department of Functional Analysis carries out work from functional analysis to development of scientific basis medicine, diagnosis, and pre-clinical studies in cooperation with other departments in the Fundamental Innovative Oncology Core Center (FIOC).

The Team and What We Do

1) We have supported the project in the FIOC for the establishment of cancer patients’ derived xenografts and cell lines.

2) We have provided training and counseling for techniques for the development of cancer model animals and in vivo imaging to research groups inside and outside the institute.

3) We investigated the long non-coding RNA and analyzed its function, which is involved in the recurrence and/or the acquisition of resistance to anticancer drugs in breast cancer.

4) We have explored the proteins that could be used for the delivery of nucleic acid medicine.

Research activities

1) It was suggested that one long non-coding RNA was identified in the breast cancer tissue of the patient who relapsed and is involved in maintaining breast cancer stem cells and the dormant state of breast cancer cells.

2) For the purpose of application to the delivery of nucleic acid medicine, we identified some secretory proteins that are taken up by cancer cells.

3) In our laboratory, evaluation of treatments with cancer model studies and imaging for the gene medicine molecules such as microRNA are done by making good use of an imaging device that detects luminescence and fluorescence from living animals.

Education

 We provide guidance on animal experiments for trainees and young researchers.

Future prospects

 We aim to obtain peptide sequences and aptamers that can be applied to the delivery of nucleic acid medicine.