Cancer Research Institute of Kanazawa University

　Each cell composing our body is programmed to kill itself when necessary. Apoptosis is a common type of such programmed cell death. To prevent oncogenesis, cells often die by apoptosis when their genes are severely damaged by radiation, oxidative stress, etc. Many chemotherapeutic agents also induce apoptosis in tumor cells.
　Meanwhile, recently, it was revealed that dying and/or dead cells release a variety of inflammatory factors. Because many cells were killed in tumors by hypoxia, anti-tumor immune responses, or therapeutic treatments, it can be assumed that dead cell-derived inflammatory factors contribute to the generation of inflammatory environment of tumor tissues, and hence play an important role in the tumor development. In addition, several novel modes of programmed cell death that are clearly distinct from apoptosis have been discovered.
　In our laboratory, we are studying the molecular mechanisms of induction and execution of programmed cell death, and dead cell-derived inflammatory factors, aiming to find new strategy to induce programmed death of tumor cells that is greatly effective for tumor eradication.