Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo The Department of Microbiology

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Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
The Department of Microbiology

Welcome to the homepage of the Department of Microbiology, The University of Tokyo

Toward the Understanding and Control of Respiratory Viruses

Our laboratory, established in September 2022, primarily focuses on paramyxoviruses (including measles virus, mumps virus, and Nipah virus) and pneumoviruses (such as respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus), as well as other respiratory viruses including coronaviruses and influenza viruses. Our goal is to contribute to society by advancing the molecular understanding of virus-induced diseases. In addition, we aim to contribute to cutting-edge medical research through the development of novel technologies related to recombinant viruses. If you are interested in viral infectious diseases or advanced technologies utilizing viruses, please feel free to contact us.

Article about our laboratory: Journal 'Uirus (in Japanese)' published in June 2024


Recruitment page

News & Topics

2025.12.08
Paper
A paper by Mr. Tashiro and Mr. Konishi on the feline morbillivirus has been accepted for publication in an international academic journal.
2025.12.05
Paper
A paper by Ms. Yasukochi, a second-year doctoral student, on intracellular inclusion bodies formed during Nipah virus infection has been accepted for publication in an international scientific journal.
2025.12.05
Paper
Published a collaborative research paper led by JIHS, elucidating a novel viral replication strategy mediated by the matrix protein of paramyxoviruses.
2025.11.09
Lecture
Professor Takeda gave a special lecture on measles at the 57th Ammual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases.
2025.11.08
Conference
Ms. Wang Yuying, a second-year doctoral student, presented at the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Oncolytic Virus Therapy.
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Research

Mechanisms of paramyxovirus replication - Interactions with host factors.
We study disease-causing mechanisms by searching for host factors required for paramyxoviruses such as mumps virus and Nipah virus to multiply in cells and by clarifying their interactions with factors on the viral side.
Mechanism of Activation of Respiratory Viruses by Host Proteases
Many viruses have protein spikes (spike proteins) on the surface of their particles. We have shown that the spike proteins of various respiratory viruses are activated by a protease called TMPRSS2 in host cells.
Studies on the host range of morbilliviruses.
Measles virus is a morbillivirus that infects humans. Other morbilliviruses that infect specific animal species (e.g. cattle, sheep, dogs, cats, dolphins and bats) also exist. We are studying how the host range of these morbilliviruses is determined.
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Illustrations on this website are either created by tutsi925@123RF (Natalia Krechetova) or generated by DALL·E (OpenAI).
For images generated by DALL·E (OpenAI), the copyright and usage rights are held by our laboratory.
© 2024 Department of Microbiology, The University of Tokyo.