Tohoku University
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Professor

Prof. Hidetaka Akita

The concept of precision medicine which analyzes genomic information at the individual patient level and utilizes it for treatment, is rapidly expanding. Gene therapy and nucleic acid therapy, which complement and suppresses the expression of disease-related genes, respectively, are expected to become powerful technologies to meet an unmet medical needs. Especially, an RNA vaccine against the SARS-Cov-2 has been approved. This historical success now accelerates the innovation of mRNA-based medicine worldwide. In this presentation, we will show the current topics on the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which are one of the promising drug delivery systems (DDS) for realizing these nucleic acid/mRNA drug discoveries. Especially, I would like to introduce the environment-responsive lipid-like material (SS-cleavable and pH-activated lipid-like material) as a DDS platform for the mRNA and nucleic acids.

Kanazawa University
WPI Nano Life Science Institute
Professor

Prof. Rikinari Hanayama

After graduating from Osaka University Medical School in 1999, I conducted research on the mechanism of apoptosis cell removal under the guidance of Professor Shigekazu Nagata. In 2004, I obtained a PhD. Subsequently, I pursued my postdoctoral research as an HFSP Fellow at Harvard Medical School in the lab of Professor Michael E. Greenberg. Following this, I served as an Assistant Professor at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.

In 2011, I established my research laboratory as an Associate Professor at the WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center of Osaka University and initiated research on exosomes. Since 2015, I have been serving as a Professor in the School of Medicine at Kanazawa University, and from 2017, I have held a concurrent position as a Professor at the WPI Nano Life Science Institute.

In recent years, drug development using extracellular vesicles called exosomes has been accelerating worldwide. We have successfully developed designer exosomes that enhance immune regulatory functions to simultaneously express the antigen-MHC complex necessary for T cell activation, auxiliary signals, and cytokines. Using designer exosomes, we have achieved the efficient production of novel immunoregulatory methods, such as "cytotoxic T cells that specifically attack only cancer cells," and "regulatory T cells that specifically suppress autoimmune diseases," which were previously impossible with existing technologies. By collaborating with domestic companies, we aim to realize the manufacturing of high-functionality and high-quality exosome formulations. Our goal is to contribute to the development of exosome-based drugs originating in Japan that are effective and free from side effects for various diseases, including cancer, infections, autoimmune disorders, and allergies.