Division of Stem Cell Biology and Histology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
http://www.nm-gcoe.med.tohoku.ac.jp/english/investigators/dezawa/

Tissue stem cells are present in every adult tissue and generally exist in a dormant state. When a tissue undergoes stress or is in a critical state, the inherent stem cells are activated by an as yet-to-be-defined signal to re-enter the cell cycle for self-renewal and differentiation into cells that aid in reconstruction of that tissue. In this manner, tissue stem cells participate in maintenance of homeostasis at the cell- or tissue-level. In our research, we seek to clarify how the signals aroused from neighboring cells or from other tissues regulate the maintenance, proliferation and differentiation of tissue stem cells, and how the tissue stem cell network is related to the maintenance of vital tissue functions. Our ultimate goal is to develop stem cell biology from a new perspective. By identifying multi-potential stem cells contained in the bone marrow stromal cell population that can be experimentally manipulated to differentiate into cells that have the potential to trans-differentiate and contribute to the repair of other tissue types, we believe we are making unique contributions to stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.