Overview (Research)
Research
Regenerative medicine using stem cells
In 2018, doctor trial of cell transplantation therapy for Parkinson's disease using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) began at Kyoto University. Similar clinical trials using iPS cells or ES cells are also being launched in North America, Europe, and South Korea. There are many issues that need to be clarified, such as the development of donor cells, as well as determining optimal patient and transplant methods for safer and more effective treatment. Regenerative Medicine primarily conducts research into regenerative medicine for Parkinson's disease, particularly in the control of post-transplant immune responses. In addition to Parkinson's disease, we are also conducting translational research close to clinical practice, with a view to regenerative medicine for the central nervous system and other organs.
Clinical application
Our hospital has experts in various clinical fields, and the infrastructure for clinical trials is in place. Taking advantage of this advantage, we will promote the clinical application of regenerative medicine at our hospital. First, while promoting regenerative medicine for Parkinson's disease in the field of neurology, which is our area of specialization, we will build a foundation that can respond to regenerative medicine, which is expected to increase in number in the future, in other areas as well.
News
Recruitment
Topics
- 2025.08
- A paper on immune responses in iPS cell transplantation therapy for Parkinson's disease, "Control of immune response in an iPSC-based allogeneic cell therapy clinical trial for Parkinson's disease," has been published in Cell Stem Cell.
- 2025.07
- Joey Takemasa and Russell have joined the team as technical staff.
- 2025.04
- The paper on the results of the iPS cell transplantation treatment for Parkinson's disease (doctor-initiated clinical trial) in which Morimi participated at Kyoto University entitled "Phase I/II trial of iPS-cell-derived dopaminergic cells for Parkinson's disease," has been published in Nature magazine.
- 2024.11
- Morimi has been appointed Director of the Cell Therapy Center at our hospital.
- 2024.9
- A book co-authored by Morimi et al., "The future: Stem cells? Current clinical trials using stem cells for dopaminergic cell replacement" (Elsevier), has been published.
- 2024.4
- A review article by Morimi et al. entitled "Dopaminergic Cell Replacement for Parkinson's Disease: Addressing the Intracranial Delivery Hurdle" has been published in J Parkinsons Dis.
- 2023.8
- A review article by Morimi, ``The Past and Future of Cell Transplant Therapy for Parkinson's Disease'' (Nippon Clinical 81(8) 1259-1264) was published in the journal Nippon Clinical.
- 2023.2.27
- A review paper Cell therapy for Parkinson's disease with induced pluripotent stem cells. by Minoru Mori was published online in Inflammation & Regeneration.
https://rdcu.be/c6wtX
- 2021.6.3
- Evading the Immune System: Immune Modulation and Immune Matching in Cell Replacement Therapies for Parkinson's Disease.
Staff Introduction (Members)
Last updated: August 4, 2025
(Director) Asuka Morizane, MD, PhD
| Graduation year | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Areas of expertise and qualifications | Japanese neurosurgeon Board Certified Surgeon The Japanese Society for Neuroendovascular Therapy Specialist |
| Concurrent posts, etc. | Doctor of Medicine Kyoto University Delegate of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine |
(Technical staff)Joey Takemasa Russell, BS
List of publications (Publication)
Publication List
- Morizane, A., Yamasaki Y., Shindo T., Anazawa T. et al. Control of immune response in an iPSC-based allogeneic cell therapy clinical trial for Parkinson's disease. Cell Stem Cell (2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.07.012
- Sawamoto, N., Doi, D., Nakanishi, E., Sawamura, M., et al. Phase I/II trial of iPS-cell-derived dopaminergic cells for Parkinson's disease. Nature, 641, 971–977. (2025) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08700-0.
- Paul, G., Morizane, A., Kirkeby, A., Takahashi, J., and Henchcliffe, C. The future: Stem cells? Current clinical trials using stem cells for dopaminergic cell replacement. In International Review of Movement Disorders: Device-Aided Therapies in Parkinson's disease, (Elsevier)(7) 191–220 (2024).
- Maheshwari S, Akram H, Bulstrode H, Kalia SK, Morizane A, Takahashi J, Natalwala A., Dopaminergic Cell Replacement for Parkinsonʼs Disease: Addressing the Intracranial Delivery Hurdle. J Parkinsons Dis. 14 (3), 415-435 (2024)
- Morizane, A. Cell therapy for Parkinson's disease with induced pluripotent stem cells.Inflamm Regener 43 (16), (2023)
- Adachi H, Morizane A, Torikoshi S, Raudzus F, Taniguchi Y, Miyamoto S, et al.,Pretreatment with Perlecan Conjugated Laminin E8 Fragment Enhances Maturation ofGrafted Dopaminergic Progenitors in Parkinson’s Disease Model. Stem Cells Transl Med 11,767-777 (2022)
- Hiramatsu S, Morizane A, Kikuchi T, Doi D, Yoshida K, Takahashi J., Cryopreservation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Dopaminergic Neurospheres for Clinical Application. J Parkinsons Dis. 12 (3), 871-884 (2022)
- Morizane A, & Takahashi J., Evading the Immune System: Immune Modulation and Immune Matching in Cell Replacement Therapies for Parkinson's Disease. J Parkinson Dis. 11 (s2): S167-S172 (2021)
- Nakano-Kobayashi, A., Fukumoto, A., Morizane, A., Nguyen, DT, Le, TM, Hashida, K., Hosoya, T., Takahashi, R., Takahashi, J., Hori, O. & Hagiwara, M. Therapeutics potentiating microglial p21-Nrf2 axis can rescue neurodegeneration caused by neuroinflammation. Sci Adv 6, (2020).
- Doi, D., Magotani, H., Kikuchi, T., Ikeda, M., Hiramatsu, S., Yoshida, K., Amano, N., Nomura, M., Umekage, M., Morizane, A. & Takahashi, J. Pre-clinical study of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived dopaminergic progenitor cells for Parkinson's disease. Nat Commun 11, 3369 (2020).
- Sakai, Y., Nakamura, T., Okamoto, I., Gyobu-Motani, S., Ohta, H., Yabuta, Y., Tsukiyama, T., Iwatani, C., Tsuchiya, H., Ema, M. ., Morizane, A., Takahashi, J., Yamamoto, T. & Saitou, M. Induction of the germ cell fate from pluripotent stem cells in cynomolgus monkeys†. Biol Reprod 102, 620-638 (2020).
- Kitahara, T., Sakaguchi, H., Morizane, A., Kikuchi, T., Miyamoto, S. & Takahashi, J. Axonal Extensions along Corticospinal Tracts from Transplanted Human Cerebral Organoids. Stem Cell Reports 15, 467-481 (2020) ).
- Sunohara, T., Morizane, A., Matsuura, S., Miyamoto, S., Saito, H. & Takahashi, J. MicroRNA-Based Separation of Cortico-Fugal Projection Neuron-Like Cells Derived From Embryonic Stem Cells. 13, 1141 (2019).
- Ueki, J., Nakamori, M., Nakamura, M., Nishikawa, M., Yoshida, Y., Tanaka, A., Morizane, A., Kamon, M., Araki, T., Takahashi, MP, Watanabe , A., Inagaki, N. & Sakurai, H. Myotonic dystrophy type 1 patient-derived iPSCs for the investigation of CTG repeat instability. Sci Rep 7, 42522 (2017).
- Morizane, A., Kikuchi, T., Hayashi, T., Mizuma, H., Takara, S., Doi, H., Mawatari, A., Glasser, MF, Shiina, T., Ishigaki, H., Itoh , Y., Okita, K., Yamasaki, E., Doi, D., Onoe, H., Ogasawara, K., Yamanaka, S. & Takahashi, J. MHC matching improves engraftment of iPSC-derived neurons in non- Human primates. Nature Communications 8, 385 (2017).
- Kikuchi, T., Morizane, A., Doi, D., Okita, K., Nakagawa, M., Yamakado, H., Inoue, H., Takahashi, R. & Takahashi, J. Idiopathic Parkinson's disease patient-derived Induced pluripotent stem cells function as midbrain dopaminergic neurons in rodent brains. J Neurosci Res 95, 1829-1837 (2017).
- Kikuchi, T., Morizane, A., Doi, D., Magotani, H., Onoe, H., Hayashi, T., Mizuma, H., Takara, S., Takahashi, R., Inoue, H., Morita, S., Yamamoto, M., Okita, K., Nakagawa, M., Parmar, M. & Takahashi, J. Human iPS cell-derived dopaminergic neurons function in a primate Parkinson's disease model. Nature 548, 592-596 (2017).
- Sano, N., Shimogawa, T., Sakaguchi, H., Ioroi, Y., Miyawaki, Y., Morizane, A., Miyamoto, S. & Takahashi, J. Enhanced axonal extension of subcortical projection neurons isolated from murine embryonic cortex using neuropilin-1. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 11, 123 (2017).
