A stimulating environment for immunology

摘要

The Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC) at Osaka University is a prestigious research community directed by Shizuo Akira, a very highly cited immunologist. Designated one of the nine World Premier International Research Centers by the Japanese government, IFReC is a hub for researchers eager to extend the frontiers of immunology. Akira's team is focusing on two main areas of research - identifying the mechanisms of messenger-RNA regulation by analysing phe-notypes that cause inflammation and immune responses; and studying differentiation in several macrophage subsets. The team made the fascinating discovery of a'metabolic'mouse, which was simultaneously thin and had lipodystrophy (a disproportionate distribution of body fat) as a result of defective differentiation of a specific type of macrophage. This finding demonstrates the role of these macrophages in maintaining peripheral tissue, such as fat cells.