Department of Pharmacology

Link to Japanese pages

Department Overview

The heart, an essential organ in humans, beats about once per second, continuously supplying oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Various ion-regulating proteins such as ion channels, ion transporters, and Ca2+ sensor proteins that regulate these functions are present. These proteins are highly expressed not only in the heart but also in the brain and nervous system, contributing to the regulation of excitability and higher functions such as memory and learning. Abnormalities in these proteins are known to cause various cardiac and neurological disorders, including arrhythmias, heart failure, and memory impairments (Figure 1). Despite known correlations with physiological functions and pathological states, many proteins remain poorly understood, especially those that are upregulated only during disease or in immature stages, leaving intriguing questions unanswered.

Since 2020, under the leadership of Professor Tomoe Nishitani (working name: Tomoe Y. Nakamura), the Department of Pharmacology has been researching novel physiological functions of these ion-regulating proteins in the cardiovascular, nervous, and metabolic systems, their links to pathological conditions, and their mechanisms, aiming to apply these findings to drug therapies. The department is also well-equipped for experimental research (Figure 2). For more details on the professor's previous research, please visit

https://scholar.google.co.jp/citations?user=SYEk6r8AAAAJ&hl=ja

On the other hand, the Department of Pharmacology has been conducting research on pain control, pharmacological effects of analgesics, and pathophysiology of brain diseases for many years. Recently, studies have focused on molecular bases of somatosensory abnormalities of pain and mental/neurodegenerative diseases. Ion signaling plays a significant role in these areas, and there are interesting findings regarding the cardiotoxicity of neuroactive drugs. Future research will integrate these areas, using human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and neurons, to broadly explore the molecular basis of human cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and neurological disorders involving pain.

Dr. I-Shan Chen is conducting research on the structure-activity relationship of