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Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences

Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences
:::
Toshiaki Nakano

Toshiaki Nakano

JobTitle： Professor

CurrentJob： Professor of CGU

E-mail： nakano33@mail.cgu.edu.tw

Phone： 407-8190

Education： Ph.D. in Hiroshima University, Japan.

Expertise： Transplantation immunology、Biomarker

Website： http://nakano-lab-cgu.strikingly.com

Lab

Division of Transplant Immunology, Liver Transplantation Center

Research interests

My major research interest is to identify molecular biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutics in liver transplant rejection and tolerance. In our series of experimental liver transplant research using acute rejection and spontaneous tolerance models, I have demonstrated the impact of extracellular histone H1 on liver transplant rejection and the therapeutic potential of corresponding autoantibody in tolerance induction (Transplantation 2004 and 2007; Transplant Immunol 2008; J Immunol 2009; Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2013; Clin Dev Immunol 2013). Based on my present studies, my international collaborators, Hiroshima University and Josai International University, have developed immunosuppressive monoclonal antibody against histone H1 mimotope (SSV mAb). Anti-histone H1 Ab (or SSV mAb) could ameliorate not only rejection but also autoimmune hepatitis (Immunology 2010), sepsis (BioMed Res Int 2015) and type I allergy (PLoS One 2016). Besides, I have recently identified hepatic miR-301a as a rejection-specific biomarker (OMICS 2017). From the screening of the target cell-surface molecules of SSV mAb, GAPDH has been identified and its therapeutic potential for sepsis has been reported (Sci Rep 2014). The moonlight function of GAPDH for termination of immune responses through the induction of M2 macrophages has been reported (Biofactors 2018).

In addition to transplant immunology research, I have organized phototherapy/vitamin D research in a past decade. Briefly, I have established non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) model in rats and demonstrated the therapeutic potential of phototherapy in NASH partly through the induction of vitamin D3 (J Hepatol 2011). This study is the first confirmation of therapeutic potency of phototherapy and Vitamin D3 supplementation in the animal model of fatty liver disease, which clearly builds the basis for subsequent human therapeutic trials in NASH. This finding is highlighted as an Editorial (Geier A. J Hepatol 2011), and leads to perform clinical trial of vitamin D3 for NASH patients in Europe by the editor’s group. In addition to the clinical impact of phototherapy in terms of the elevation of vitamin D3 in NASH patients (POL Nurs Prac Res 2018), we have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of phototherapy in experimental animal models of colitis (J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2014), allergic bronchial asthma (Adv Tech Biol Med 2014;2:1.) and food allergy (under revision).

Furthermore, we have established the animal model for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and demonstrated the impact of circulating exosomal miR-92b on the generation of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, resulting in the development and recurrence of HCC after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). The value of exosomal miR-92b before/after LDLT may predict the risk of posttransplant HCC recurrence (Am J Transplant 2019).

Publication

  1. Nakano T*, Chen CL, Chen IH, Tseng HP, Chiang KC, Lai CY, Hsu LW, Goto S, Lin CC, Cheng YF. Overexpression ofmiR-4669 Enhances Tumor Aggressiveness and Generates an Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Its Clinical Value as a Predictive Biomarker. Int J Mol Sci 2023;24(9):7908.
  2. Chen CC, Nakano T, Hsu LW, Chu CY, Huang KT. Early Lipid Metabolic Effects of the Anti-Psychotic Drug Olanzapine on Weight Gain and the Associated Gene Expression. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2022;18;645-657.
  3. Nakano T*, Chiang KC, Chen CC, Chen PJ, Lai CY, Hsu LW, Ohmori N, Goto T, Chen CL, Goto S*. Sunlight Exposure and Phototherapy: Perspectives for Healthy Aging in an Era of COVID-19. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;18(20):10950.
  4. Chen PJ, Nakano T*, Lai CY, Chang KC, Chen CL, Goto S. Daily full spectrum light exposure prevents food allergy-like allergic diarrhea by modulating vitamin D3 and microbiota composition. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes 2021;7(1):41.
  5. Hsu LW, Huang KT, Nakano T, Chiu KW, Chen KD, Goto S, Chen CL. MicroRNA-301a inhibition enhances the immunomodulatory functions of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells by induction of macrophage M2 polarization. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol 2020;34:2058738420966092.
  6. Lin SH, Ho JC, Li SC, Cheng YW, Yang YC, Chen JF, Hsu CY, Nakano T, Wang FS, Yang MY, Lee CH*, Hsiao CC*. Upregulation of miR-941 in Circulating CD14+ Monocytes Enhances Osteoclast Activation via WNT16 Inhibition in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis. Int J Mol Sci 2020;21(12):4301.
  7. Nakano T*, Chen IH, Wang CC, Chen PJ, Tseng HP, Huang KT, Hu TH, Li LC, Goto S, Cheng YF, Lin CC, Chen CL*. Circulating exosomal miR-92b: Its role for cancer immunoediting and clinical value for prediction of posttransplant hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence. Am J Transplant 2019;19(12):3250-62.
  8. Chiu KW, Goto S, Nakano T, Hu TH, Chen DW, Huang KT, Hsu LW, Chen CL. 2018. Genetic polymorphisms of the hepatic pathways of fatty liver disease after living donor liver transplantation. Liver Int 2018;38(12):2287-93.
  9. Nakano T*, Goto S, Takaoka Y, Tseng HP, Fujimura T, Kawamoto S, Ono K, Chen CL. A novel moonlight function of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) for immunomodulation. Biofactors 2018;44(6):597-608.
  10. Chiu KW, Nakano T, Hu TH, Chen KD, Hsu LW, Eng HL, Cheng YF, Goto S, Chen CL. Association between Subclinical Low Serum 25(OH)D in Donors and Fatty Liver Disease in Recipients after Living Donor Liver Transplantation. BioMed Res Int 2018;2018:4508085.
  11. Chiu KW, Nakano T, Chen KD, Hu TH, Lin CC, Hsu LW, Chen CL, Goto S. Identification of IL-28B genotype modification in hepatocytes after living donor liver transplantation by laser capture microdissection and pyrosequencing analysis. BioMed Res Int 2018;2018:1826140.
  12. Goto S, Nakano T, Chen CL, Chiu KW, Hsu LW, I S, Chen IH, Huang KT, Chen DW, Goto T, Omori N, Sato S, Kai H, Tsuruta W, Kai M, Bahau SP, Takaoka Y, Tane E, Yuyama K, Wano C, Inoue E, Lord R, Iida K. Application of artificial sunlight for the elderly as a possible environmental nursing practice. POJ Nursing Practice & Research 2018;2(1):1-5. (Non-SCI)