Outline of Research 

Our laboratory has challenged the mystery of blood-tissue barriers, separating key tissues from the circulating blood. In particular, the blood-testis barrier (BTB) is known to maintain the homeostatic environment in the seminiferous tubules, that is essential for preserving male reproductive function. Now, we are working on the BTB to the elucidate its drug/nutrient transport mechanisms, and it will be a great contribution to "safe treatment of infectious disease and cancer," "improvement of male infertility," and "prediction and avoidance of testicular toxicity." 

The BTB is formed by Sertoli cells to acts as a physical barrier between the circulating blood and the lumen of the seminiferous tubules, and regulates material transports to contributes to the optimal luminal environment. Therefore, at the BTB, the transport mechanism has a significant impact on spermatogenesis and testicular pathology/physiology, of which elucidation will shed fresh light on the causes of disease and improving drug therapy.

 Our laboratory is conducting research into the following fields of interest: 

1) Transport mechanisms with the BTB model 

2) The physiological and pharmaceutical roles of transport mechanisms at the BTB 

3) New models for evaluating testicular toxicity 

4) Drug delivery systems targeted to testis