Dr Takanori Kitamura

Senior Lecturer

Biography

Background

I graduated from Hokkaido University (Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine) in Japan in 2000. Subsequently, I completed a PhD study regarding diabetes in Hokkaido University in 2003. I then relocated to Kyoto University (Graduate School of Medicine) and worked as an assistant professor for 7 years. During this time, I studied roles of myeloid cells in invasion and metastasis of colon cancer using mouse models. In 2010, I moved to Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NY, and studied macrophage promoting tumour metastasis in mouse models of breast cancer. In 2013, I relocated to Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh as a Chancellor’s fellow and started my own research regarding the suppressive effects of tumour-associated macrophages on cytotoxic lymphocytes, in particular natural killer (NK) cells. I am currently engaged in research on breast and gynaecological cancers as a senior lecturer in CRH. Additionally, I have been working at R(D)SVS to do collaborative research focusing on tumour immunity in canine cancer.      

 

Research summary

Breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers, sometimes grouped together as pan-gynaecological cancers, significantly affect women's reproductive health through their lifetimes. While the mortality rate for pan-gynaecological cancers detected at an early stage is generally low, those detected at a late stage are often difficult to cure with existing therapies. Consequently, there are clinical needs to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat advanced cancers, alongside the efficient and reliable diagnostic methods for detecting these malignancies in their benign stages.

Most tumours, including the pan-gynaecologic cancers, contain not only malignant tumour cells but also many non-malignant cells called stromal cells. These stromal cells include tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs), neutrophils (TANs), fibroblasts, cytotoxic T cells, and natural killer (NK) cells and constitute a diverse network that can either foster or impede tumour development and progression. Our research endeavours to understand the characteristics and functions of these stromal cells and thereby pioneer ground-breaking diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for pan-gynaecological cancers.

Current research interests

We are particularly interested in the characteristics of various subpopulations of TAMs within pan-gynaecological cancers and their impacts on anti-tumour immune responses and therapeutic outcomes. Our current research interests are as follows: 1) Exploring the distinctive phenotype of TAM subpopulations across different stages of tumours, as well as their involvements in the tumour progression. By this study, we aim to elucidate biomarkers to predict the progression and therapy response of pan-gynaecologic cancers. 2) Investigating the molecular mechanisms through which TAMs exert suppressive effects on the anti-tumour functions of CD8+ T cells and NK cells. By dissecting these pathways, we seek to uncover novel targets for improvement of immunotherapies. 3) Comparative analysis of the tumour microenvironment across breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers, aiming to identify both shared and distinct features. By discerning similarities and differences in the composition and dynamics of the tumour microenvironment among these pan-gynaecological cancers, we aim to obtain insights that can inform tailored therapeutic strategies for each malignancy.

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