Faculty Profile

Research Faculty

Tohru Ikuta, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

tikuta@mcg.edu

institutional faculty profile

• National Examination for Medical Licenses, Japan, 1977
• M.D. certified by the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine, Japan, 1987

• Anemic disorders such as sickle cell disease and the thalassemias

• The molecular basis of leukemia

• The development of stem cell therapies for hematological disorders

• The clinical application of nitric oxide for sickle cell disease

My laboratory has been studying mechanisms that regulate the expression of genes in erythroid-lineage cells, with a primary focus on anemic disorders such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia. We are currently focusing on: 

• Molecular mechanisms by which human hemoglobin gene expression is regulated during development. We are particularly interested in the signaling mechanisms that regulate fetal hemoglobin expression, which occurs in fetuses and in patients with sickle cell disease or thalassemia. We speculate that the expression of fetal hemoglobin is regulated in erythroid cells by extracellular signals. We are interested in characterizing signals that are required for fetal hemoglobin synthesis as well as characterizeing cis-acting elements and transcription factors which are regulated by such signals. 
• Developing new therapeutics for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. We are specifically interested in the roles of phosphodiesterases in regulating expression of human beta-like hemoglobin genes, particularly fetal hemoglobin. Our recent studies show that cyclic nucleotides play an important role in up-regulating the expression of fetal hemoglobin. It is thus possible that phosphodiesterase inhibitors may be used as novel fetal hemoglobin inducers.
• Mechanisms that govern the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease and thalassemia. Although it is known that the clinical severity of these anemic disorders is quite heterogeneous among patients, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We will identify single nucleotide polymorphisms of the genes that might play roles in regulating the pathophysiology of these disorders.

• 43 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals
• 20 peer-reviewed abstracts (in past 5 years)

• Scientific Director, MCG Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, 2004

• NCMHD Southeast Sickle Cell Center of Excellence, 2009

• M.D., Kyushu University School of Medicine, Japan, 1977
• Internship, Medicine, Karatsu Red Cross Hospital, Japan, 1978
• Residency, First Department of Medicine, Kyushu University School of Medicine, Japan, 1983
• Ph.D., Graduate School of Kyushu University, Japan, 1987
• Post-graduate Training, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 1987
• Post-graduate Training, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, 1994