Graduate School and School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Osaka

Research

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Faculty Members

Regulatory Science for Pharmaceuticals and?Medical Devices（Medical and Health Sciences）

Niwa YukiAssistant professor

March 2016: Ph.D. in Science at Keio University
April 2015-March 2018: Research Associate, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
April 2018-January 2019: Postdoctoral Fellow, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
February 2019-March 2024: Researcher, Eisai Co., Ltd.
April 2024-November 2025: Specially appointed Assistant professor, Graduate School/School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Osaka
November 2025: Current position

Research theme

Drug discovery for cancer targeting epithelial barrier

Because approximately 90% of cancer are derived from epithelial cells, epithelial barrier molecules are considered to be one of the promising targets for cancer. Therefore, I am focusing of the epithelial barrier molecules, especially the claudin family, and studying the possibility of drug discovery for cancer targeting claudins.

Development of a novel placental barrier model to evaluate drug permeability

The placenta functions not only as a barrier that prevents nonspecific influx of substances, but also as a hormone-secreting organ essential for maintaining pregnancy. In pharmacotherapy during pregnancy, it is important to consider the potential effects of drugs on the fetus resulting from placental transfer. Therefore, I am working on the development of an evaluation system for drug permeability across the placenta, aiming to contribute to the establishment of safe pharmacotherapy during pregnancy.

Representative achievements

Identification of amino acids essential for angulin-1/3 binding of the tricellular tight junction binder, angubindin-1.
Taiki Kuzu, Yumi Iwashita, Keisuke Tachibana, Itsuki Nishino, Yuki Niwa, Atsuko Uyeda, Kazuki Matsuo, Masahiro Nagahama, Masuo Kondoh
FEBS Open Bio, in press, 2025

URL:https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2211-5463.70113

An in vitro safety evaluation model for assessing the effects of a chemical drug on the human intestinal barrier integrity using genetically modified Caco-2 cells expressing drug-metabolizing enzymes.
Lin Bai, Shuko Sakimura, Yuki Niwa, Hiroyuki Mizuguchi, Shinichiro Maeda, Kenji Ikemura, Masahiro Okuda, Masuo Kondoh
Toxicol. Lett., 410, 113-120, 2025

URL:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378427425001043?via%3Dihub

Liposome-Encapsulated Eribulin Shows Enhanced Antitumor Activity over Eribulin for Combination Therapy with Anti–PD-1 Antibody.
Yuki Niwa, Keito Adachi, Kimiyo Tabata, Ryoga Ishida, Koichiro Hotta, Tomomi Ishida, Yuji Mano, Yoichi Ozawa, Yukinori Minoshima, Yasuhiro Funahashi, Taro Semba
Mol. Cancer Ther., 22, 499–510, 2023

URL:https://aacrjournals.org/mct/article/22/4/499/719015/Liposome-Encapsulated-Eribulin-Shows-Enhanced

Antitumor Activity of Eribulin After Fulvestrant Plus CDK4/6 Inhibitor in Breast Cancer Patient-derived Xenograft Models.
Yuki Niwa, Makoto Asano, Takayuki Nakagawa, Damien France, Taro Semba, Yasuhiro Funahashi
Anticancer Res., 40, 6699-6712, 2020

URL:https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/40/12/6699.long

Identification and characterization of collagen-like glycosylation and hydroxylation of CCN1.
Yudai Ishizawa, Yuki Niwa, Takehiro Suzuki, Ryota Kawahara, Naoshi Dohmae, Siro Simizu

URL:https://academic.oup.com/glycob/article/29/10/696/5533477?login=true

Integrin β1 is an essential factor in vasculogenic mimicry of human cancer cells.
Ryota Kawahara, Yuki Niwa, Siro Simizu
Cancer Sci., 109, 2490-2496, 2018

URL:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cas.13693

Topological analysis of DPY19L3, a human C-mannosyltransferase.
Yuki Niwa, Yoshihiko Nakano, Takehiro Suzuki, Mizuo Yamagishi, Kei Otani, Naoshi Dohmae, Siro Simizu
FEBS J., 285, 1162-1174, 2018

URL:https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/febs.14398

Identification of DPY19L3 as the C-mannosyltransferase of R-spondin1 in human cells.
Yuki Niwa, Takehiro Suzuki, Naoshi Dohmae, Siro Simizu
Mol. Biol. Cell, 27, 744-756, 2016

URL:https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.E15-06-0373?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

O-fucosylation of CCN1 is required for its secretion.
Yuki Niwa, Takehiro Suzuki, Naoshi Dohmae, Siro Simizu
FEBS Lett., 589, 3287-3293, 2015

URL:https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/j.febslet.2015.09.012

Determination of cathepsin V activity and intracellular trafficking by N-glycosylation.
Yuki Niwa, Takehiro Suzuki, Naoshi Dohmae, Kazuo Umezawa, Siro Simizu
FEBS Lett., 586, 3601-3607, 2012

URL:https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/j.febslet.2012.08.001

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