M. Kasahara

Drug metabolic activity as a selection factor for pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatic progenitor cells

This study isolates and expands hepatic progenitor cells from human ESCs by selecting for drug-metabolizing activity, enabling a stable supply of functional liver cells for therapy and drug testing.

Somatic mutation rates scale with time not growth rate in long-lived tropical trees

This study finds that somatic mutation rates in tropical trees scale with time, not growth rate, showing a constant mutation rate per year across species with different growth rates.

Single-nucleotide substitution determines pollen production in Japanese cedar

This study identifies a single-nucleotide substitution in the TKPR1 gene that determines pollen production in Japanese cedar and suggests its potential application in creating pollen-free plants.

Hypothesis: Colony-forming activity of pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells for stem cell assay

The paper hypothesizes that colony-forming units in liver (CFU-L) can quantify the engraftment and functionality of hepatocyte-like cells derived from pluripotent stem cells.

Drug metabolism activity is a Critical Intrinsic Selector for Hepatocytes to elongate cell lifespan by using a cell-killing antibiotic

This study develops a method to expand human hepatocytes in vitro using a cell-killing antibiotic, enabling long-term culture and stable supply for drug research.

Puromycin selection of cells with a high expression of the cytochrome P450 CYP3A4 gene activity from a patient with drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and their lifespan prolongation using a combination of CDK4R24C, cyclin D1 and TERT

The paper generates an immortalized hepatocyte cell line with high CYP3A4 expression from a DILI patient and shows its prolonged lifespan and drug-metabolism capacity.

Ammonia-based enrichment and long-term propagation of zone I hepatocyte-like cells

This study shows that ammonia treatment enriches hepatocyte-like cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells, which can be propagated long-term in vitro while maintaining liver-specific gene expression.

Proteolytic Cleavage by Matriptase Exacerbating Kidney Injury: a Novel Therapeutic Target

This study identifies Matriptase cleavage of Podocin as a mechanism of podocyte injury in CKD, suggesting Matriptase inhibition as a therapeutic strategy.

Immortalization of human zone I hepatocytes from biliary atresia with CDK4R24C, cyclin D1, and TERT for cytochrome P450 induction testing

The paper describes the creation of an immortalized hepatocyte cell line, HepaMN, from biliary atresia tissue and demonstrates its utility for cytochrome P450 induction testing.