Department of Molecular and Tumor Pathology

Yasufumi OMORI M.D. & Ph.D.

A Greeting from the Professor

One of the important missions of our department is the education and training of pathologists who can excel in the field of anatomic and surgical pathology. We provide well-organised programmes on autopsy and diagnostic pathology for postgraduate students so that they can become experts in pathology after the course. These programmes are now contributing to the provision of high-level medical service for the inhabitants of Akita Prefecture through our affiliated hospitals.

The researches we are promoting are on cancer biology and liver pathophysiology. The roles of cell-cell communication in tumour suppression as well as, to the contrary, in cancer development and progression have long been intensively studied in our department. Among different cell-cell communication tools, our particular attention is paid to gap junction, connexin, cell adhesion molecules, and miRNA-containing exosomes. Our members successfully demonstrated cell-cell communication-mediated phenotypic changes of human cancer and/or cancer cells and their mechanisms as published in Cancer Sci 2003, J Dermatol Sci 2004, Carcinogenesis 2004, Oncogene 2005, Int J Cancer 2007, Cell 2007, J Membr Biol 2007, Cancer Sci 2010, J Biol Chem 2012, J Cell Sci 2012. More recently, we have found that cell junction proteins such as connexins and integrins could regulate self-renewal of cancer stem cells (Int J Cancer 2011, J Clin Invest 2013). In the field of liver pathophysiology, we revealed molecular mechanisms of hepatic sinusoid development (Cell Tissue Res 2007), apoptosis of hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (Am J Pathol 2006), bile duct development and ductular reaction of hepatocytes in liver injury (Am J Pathol 2005, Am J Pathol 2012, J Cell Biochem 2013), and regulation of hepatic stellate cell activation (Am J Pathol 2009).

Some of our ongoing studies are being realised under the collaboration with not only Japanese institutes but foreign laboratories (Oslo University, Norway and Copenhagen University, Denmark). It would be my great pleasure that many of you share interests with us and would propose a collaborative research.

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