Ph.D. / Senior Associate Professor
Expertise: Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Email: someya [at] juntendo.ac.jp
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Selected papers:
Someya et al. Purification of the 260 kDa cytosolic complex involved in the Superoxide production of guinea pig neutrophils. FEBS Letters (1993). LINK
Someya et al. ARF-GEP(100), A guanine nucleotide-exchange protein for ADP-ribosylation factor 6. PNAS (2001). LINK
Someya et al. Glucosamine Downregulates the IL-1 beta-Induced Expression of Proinflammatory Cytokine Genes in Human Synovial MH7A Cells by O-GlcNAc Modification-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms. PLoS One (2016). LINK
Biography:
Dr. Akimasa Someya graduated from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, and received master’s degree in 1983. He also received PhD at Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in 1990. Since 1983, he has been studying the regulation of cellular functions, especially inflammation, at Juntendo University. Early in his career, He studied the production mechanism of superoxide in neutrophils and eosinophils. Superoxide is produced via the activation of NADPH oxidase, complex of superoxide-producing enzyme. He identified novel 39kDa NADPH oxidase component, later named p40phox, and studied the role of p40phox in superoxide production. Subsequently, He studied the small GTP-binding protein ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) while studying abroad at National Institute of Health in USA, and discovered 100 kDa ARF6 specific activation factor, ARF-guanine nucleotide exchange protein (GEP), ARF-GEP100. He revealed that ARF-GEP100 is involved in the regulation of phagocytosis, apoptosis, cell adhesion, and cell migration. He also studied the anti-inflammatory effect of glucosamine (GlcN), a dietary supplement, and investigated in detail that GlcN inhibits the NF-κB signaling pathway through O-N-acetylglucosamine modification. In 2021, he started the research to elucidate the molecular mechanism of senescence.