Laboratory of Applied Therapeutics

The ultimate goal of six-year education system for pharmacy students is to developclinical pharmacists who are presently required in clinical practice:

• They can suggest most suitable medicines and medications to doctors, havingsufficient knowledge of them.
• They have sufficient ability to be turned to for advice from doctors.
• They can make a quick decision, which is required in daily clinical practice.
• They can find questions and problems for each patient's in the ward and at thepharmacy counter, as well as those for the hospital and the pharmacy, thenactively investigate and resolve them.

To achieve this goal, this laboratory takes the lead in education of evaluation ofpharmacotherapy, as well as conducts pre-training for practical training for fourth-yearstudents and provides guidance on practical training for fifth-year students incollaboration with other laboratories in Center for Education & Research on ClinicalPharmacy. Additionally, we conduct researches on evaluation of existingpharmacotherapy and development of new pharmacotherapy. We believe that theseresearches will also help students of this laboratory reach the goal by developing theability to think things through.

1. Visualization and analysis of adverse reactions of anticancer agents using the self-organizing map (SOM)

Anticancer agents cause a variety of adverse reactions. Because sources of druginformation such as package inserts (PIs) provide primarily document-based andnumerical information, it is not easy to obtain a complete picture of drugs with similareffects, or to understand differences among drugs. We use the self-organizing map(SOM) technique to visualize the adverse reactions indicated on PIs of anticancer agentsand analyze them.
[This is a collaborative research with Department of Medical and PharmaceuticalInformation Science, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University.]

2. Researches to address questions and problems in clinical practice

We conduct researches on the questions and problems for patients or medicalfacilities, which pharmacists or fifth-year students have, in cooperation with the medicalfacilities they belong to.

3. Anticancer molecular mechanisms of the biguanide metformin

The results of many preclinical, epidemiological and clinical studies suggested that thebiguanide metformin, an oral hypoglycemic agent, has inhibitory effects on cancer cellgrowth and proliferation, and causes reduction of cancer incidence in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Because the anticancer molecular mechanisms of metformin have notbeen fully elucidated, we are investigating this subject using thyroid cancer cell lines.[This is a collaborative research with Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, AtomicBomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University]

Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University.]

4. Rapid detection of pathogens and their antibiotic resistance markers using PCRcoupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS)

Because identification of bacterial pathogens requires time for organisms to grow,empiric antimicrobial treatment is administered based on an assessment of likelyorganisms when infection is suspected. If the empiric antimicrobial is not effective for thecausal pathogens, the infection may become worse. So the rapid detection of pathogensand their antibiotic resistance markers is desirable. We are examining the application ofPCR/ESI-MS to this purpose.
[This is a collaborative research with Department of Microbiology and InfectiousDiseases, Faculty of Medicine, Toho University]

5. Analysis of mechanism leading to apoptosis induction by anticancer reagents

Apoptosis is characterized by specific changes in cell morphology, namely, reduction incell volume, condensation of chromatin in the nucleus, and digestion of chromatin intoDNA fragments. Apoptosis has been implicated in a variety of biological processes, suchas the elimination of damaged cells, regulation of the immune system, andembryogenesis. Several recent studies have demonstrated the importance of apoptosis inanticancer therapies, and various chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs, such as cisplatin,adriamycin, and taxol, have been shown to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Cells thatundergo apoptosis are recognized and engulfed by macrophages, thereby allowing thecells to be removed without inducing an inflammatory reaction. Therefore, the induction ofapoptosis in cancer cells has become an indicator of the effect of anticancer agents, andagents with strong apoptosis-inducing activity are expected to have potential clinicalapplications. We investigate the possible mechanism of apoptosis induction by anticanceragents.