Moderators
Taguchi, Kensei
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine,
- Research Institute of Medical Mass Spectrometry, Kurume University School of Medicine
Dr. Kensei Taguchi is an M.D./Ph.D. primary investigator with a broad background as both a clinical physician and a basic science in Kurume University School of Medicine. While PhD training, he investigated the pathological role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and the receptor for AGEs (RAGE), known to induce cellular senescence, and created a molecular-targeted agent against RAGE employing DNA aptamer techniques. During postdoc training in Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, he determined that cyclin G1, an atypical cyclin, is implicated in G2-M arrest of proximal tubules that developed senescence-associated secretion phenotype, leading to kidney fibrosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD). In addition, he investigated the pathogenesis of interleukin-22 in the early stages of acute kidney injury (AKI). After moving back to Japan, he has focused on the changes in metabolic profiles and subsequent senescent phenotypes of damaged proximal tubules in the transition to CKD after AKI.