Research Director: Dr. Masayuki Yamamoto
(Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University)
Research Term: 2002-2007

The Yamamoto Environmental Response project is contemplating how the human body responds to the toxic effects of food and oxygen, both environmental factors, using certain genes and proteins in our cells for detoxification. The project has identified transcriptional factor Nrf2 that coordinately regulates the inducible expression of the antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes. The goal is to understand how our body senses oxidative stress by toxic chemicals, and to identify the sensors involved. An attempt is also being made to understand how the body detects low levels of oxygen and responds to it. Erythropoietin, a hormone essential for red blood cell production, is also being investigated.