Research
Faculty Members
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology（Biology）
Shimizu KahoriAssociate professor
After working as a pharmacist and clinical research associate, I entered the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Osaka University and received a Doctoral degree (Ph.D.). Then, I moved to Osaka Ohtani University. I have been an Associate Professor at Osaka University since 2024. I am conducting research to develop gene therapy and vaccines against lifestyle-related diseases and infectious diseases. I would like to work with students to advance our research and to make efforts to nurture the future leaders of pharmaceutical sciences.
Award: The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Incentive Award for Women Scientists (2023)
Research theme
Development of gene therapy and vaccines for lifestyle-related diseases and infectious diseases
Gene therapy is a medical treatment that involves administering genes or genetically modified cells into the body to treat diseases. My research focuses on gene therapy as a novel treatment for lifestyle-related diseases and infectious diseases. In addition, I am working on developing vaccines against these diseases.
Development of novel therapies for lifestyle-related diseases through the regulation of phospholipid biosynthesis.
Phospholipids are the primary components of biological membranes, and alterations in phospholipid levels are thought to have a significant impact on biological homeostasis. I am developing new therapies for lifestyle-related diseases by regulating phospholipid biosynthesis.
Development of novel adenovirus formulations
Adenoviruses are widely used in gene therapy and clinical research as gene transfer vectors and oncolytic viruses. Further improvements are being made to develop adenovirus formulations with enhanced efficacy and safety.
Representative achievements
Shimizu K*, Development of an Improved Adenovirus Vector and Its Application to the Treatment of Lifestyle-Related Diseases, Biol. Pharm. Bull., in press (*corresponding author)
Shimizu K*, Ono M, Mikamoto T, Urayama Y, Yoshida S, Hase T, Michinaga S, Nakanishi H, Iwasaki M, Terada T, Sakurai F, Mizuguchi H, Shindou H, Tomita K, Nishinaka T, Overexpression of lysophospholipid acyltransferase, LPLAT10/LPCAT4/LPEAT2, in the mouse liver increases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, FASEB J., 38 (2):e23425, 2024 (*corresponding author)
Shimizu K*, Nishimuta S, Fukumura Y, Michinaga S, Egusa Y, Hase T, Terada T, Sakurai F, Mizuguchi H, Tomita K, Nishinaka T, Liver-specific overexpression of lipoprotein lipase improves glucose metabolism in high-fat diet-fed mice, PLoS ONE, 17 (9): e0274297, 2022 (*corresponding author)
Shimizu K*, Ogiya Y, Yoshinaga K, Kimura H, Michinaga S, Ono M, Taketomi A, Terada T, Sakurai F, Mizuguchi H, Tomita K, Nishinaka T, ZFAND3 overexpression in the mouse liver improves glucose tolerance and hepatic insulin resistance, Exp. Clin. Endocrinol. Diabetes, 130 (4):254-261, 2022 (*corresponding author)
Shimizu K, Sakurai F, Iizuka S, Ono R, Tsukamoto T, Nishimae F, Nakamura S, Nishinaka T, Terada T, Fujio Y, Mizuguchi H, Adenovirus Vector-Induced IL-6 Promotes Leaky Adenoviral Gene Expression, Leading to Acute Hepatotoxicity, J. Immunol., 206 (2): 410-421, 2021
Shimizu K*, Egusa Y, Nishimuta S, Fukumura Y, Yoshimura M, Inomoto T, Terada T, Tomita K, Nishinaka T, Dietary calamondin supplementation slows the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet, Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr., 72 (3): 335-347, 2021 (*corresponding author)
Shimizu K*, Ono M, Imoto A, Nagayama H, Tetsumura N, Terada T, Tomita K, Nishinaka T, Cranberry Attenuates Progression of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Induced by High-Fat Diet in Mice, Biol. Pharm. Bull., 42 (8): 1295-1302, 2019 (*corresponding author)
Shimizu K*, Okamoto M, Terada T, Sakurai F, Mizuguchi H, Tomita K, Nishinaka T, Adenovirus vector-mediated macrophage erythroblast attacher (MAEA) overexpression in primary mouse hepatocytes attenuates hepatic gluconeogenesis, Biochem. Biophys. Rep., 10: 192-197, 2017 (*corresponding author)
Shimizu K, Sakurai F, Tomita K, Nagamoto Y, Nakamura S, Katayama K, Tachibana M, Kawabata K, Mizuguchi H, Suppression of leaky expression of adenovirus genes by insertion of microRNA-targeted sequences in the replication-incompetent adenovirus vector genome, Mol. Ther. Methods Clin. Dev., 1: 14035, 2014
Shimizu K, Sakurai F, Machitani M, Katayama K, Mizuguchi H, Quantitative analysis of the leaky expression of adenovirus genes in cells transduced with a replication-incompetent adenovirus vector, Mol. Pharm., 8 (4): 1430-1435, 2011
