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Microbiology and Immunology感染生体防御学講座
Staffs
- Professor : Krisana Asano
- Assistant professor : Phawinee Subsomwong
- Assistant : Tomoaki Kawai
Research Aims
With rapid advances of medical technologies, it was temporarily thought that infectious diseases were brought under control. However, emerging and re-emerging infectious epidemics have returned and become a major problem in the 21st century. In order to combat infectious diseases, development of new vaccination strategy with effective, stable and low-cost vaccines is needed especially in developing countries. Our research aims to improve and develop novel vaccines for preventing bacterial infections. We focused on identification of novel pathogenic molecules from bacteria which effectively trigger host cell signal transductions during pathogen and host cell interaction.
In particular, the opportunistic infections of multidrug resistant bacteria are widely re-emerged in the past decade, resulting a difficulty of treatment. The multidrug resistant bacteria which are commonly found after misuse and overuse of antibiotics are rapidly spread in healthcare facilities and also community worldwide. In the healthy hosts, almost of drug resistant bacteria act as symbionts which have behavior of normal flora. However, they become pathogens causing opportunistic infections in the immunocompromised hosts. In comparison to the true pathogens, the interaction between the opportunistic pathogens and hosts is more complicated. Our research aims to clarify this complicated interaction mechanism which will lead to a novel protection and treatment strategy for an avoidance of antibiotic use and occurrence of multidrug-resistance bacteria.
Current Research Topics
- Analysis of the molecular mechanisms in which the opportunistic bacteria use to avoid host immune response and persist within the host
- Identification of novel molecules from opportunistic bacteria which effectively impair host immune response and trigger infection
- Analysis of interaction between opportunistic pathogens which are commonly found in chronic wound
- Development of a vaccine against opportunistic bacterial infection