Visiting Scientist: Professor Junji Hamuro, PhD

Cultured human corneal endothelial cells: miRNA for qualification of the quality of cHCECs

Abstract for Discussion at the Tuesday Weekly Seminar Meeting:

MiRNA expression profiles among a variety of morphologically different cultured human corneal endothelial cells (cHCECs) revealed a clear distinction among them. The only miR capable of discriminating a CD44- subpopulation (SP) from SPs with CD44++~CD44+++ phenotypes was identified as miR34a. Interestingly, for cases of advanced gutatta, upregulated miRs from the 378 family in the corneal endothelium dramatically decreased in the tissues with lower ECD, providing new insight on pathogenesis of Fuch’s dystrophy.

Information about Professor Hamuro:

Prof. Hamuro graduated from Kyoto University in 1967 with a degree in Chemistry, after which he did research work at the National Cancer Center, Tokyo. His Post Doctorate was done from 1976-1978 with H. Wagner & M. Roellinghoff at the Institute of Medical Microbiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Mainz. Prof. Hamuro’s research specialties are Immunology & Inflammation, Cytokines, and Regenerative Medicine of the Corneal Endothelium. He was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Immunology of the Technical University of Munich in 2007, at the Department of Pathology of the University of Pennsylvania from 1987-89, and at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg in 2002. He currently he does co-research with Prof. Shigeru Kinoshita in the Department of Ophthalmology at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan.