Molecular Cell Engineering

We are studying the production mechanism of antibodies, which are responsible for binding to and eliminating invading pathogens in the immune system. Antibodies have the ability to bind specifically and with high affinity to target antigens, thereby inactivating or eliminating pathogens. Taking advantage of this property, antibodies have been used as research reagents and diagnostic agents for the detection of targets that are present only in trace amounts, as well as medicines for specific diseases. In the immune system, antibodies undergo a process called affinity maturation, in which somatic hypermutations are introduced into the antigen-binding sites of antibodies to improve their binding to the antigen. Our research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms of affinity maturation one by one at the cellular and molecular levels. Based on the mechanisms of antibody production that we have elucidated, we are developing in vitro antibody production technologies that mimic the mechanisms of antibody production in vivo.