Yousuke Takahama, Ph.D.

Yousuke Takahama, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator
Experimental Immunology Branch

The current interest of our laboratory is to understand molecular mechanisms (1) that build functionally competent thymus microenvironments, which are capable of supporting the production and selection of T cells, (2) that govern thymic selection to establish a functionally competent repertoire of mature T cells, and (3) that position developing T cells to localize within the thymus microenvironments for T cell repertoire formation.

Areas of Expertise

1) thymus biology
2) thymic epithelial cells
3) thymus development
4) T cell development
5) T cell repertoire selection
6) T cell self-tolerance

Contact Info

Yousuke Takahama, Ph.D.
Center for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute
Building 10, Room 4B10
Bethesda, MD 20892
Ph: 240-858-3223
yousuke.takahama@nih.gov
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The questions we would like to address in the next few years include how diverse microenvironments are formed in the thymus. How the thymic microenvironment contributes to the establishment of self-tolerance in T cells is another important question. We also would like to study the mechanisms involved in how developing T cells localize multiple thymic microenvironments for T cell repertoire formation and how positive selection in the thymic microenvironment fine-tunes antigen responsiveness in T cells.

NIH Scientific Focus Areas:
Developmental Biology, Genetics and Genomics, Immunology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Selected Recent Publications

  1. Cellularity of thymic epithelial cells in the postnatal mouse.
    Sakata M, Ohigashi I, and Takahama Y.
    J Immunol. 200: 1382-1388 , 2018. [ Journal Article ]
  2. Essential role of CCL21 in establishment of central self-tolerance in T cells.
    Kozai M, Kubo Y, Katakai T, Kondo H, Kiyonari H, Schaeuble K, Luther SA, Ishimaru N, Ohigashi I, and Takahama Y.
    J Exp Med. 214: 1925-1935, 2017. [ Journal Article ]
  3. Generation of diversity in thymic epithelial cells.
    Takahama Y, Ohigashi I, Baik S, and Anderson G.
    Nat Rev Immunol. 17: 295-305, 2017. [ Journal Article ]
  4. A human PSMB11 variant affects thymoproteasome processing and CD8+ T cell production.
    Ohigashi I, Ohte Y, Setoh K, Nakase H, Maekawa A, Kiyonari H, Hamazaki Y, Sekai M, Sudo T, Tabara Y, Sawai H, Omae Y, Yuliwulandari R, Tanaka Y, Mizokami M, Inoue H, Kasahara M, Minato N, Tokunaga K, Tanaka K, Matsuda F, Murata S, and Takahama Y.
    JCI Insight. 2: 93664, 2017. [ Journal Article ]
  5. Foxn1-β5t transcriptional axis controls CD8+ T cell production in the thymus.
    Uddin MM, Ohigashi I, Motosugi R, Nakayama T, Sakata M, Hamazaki J, Nishito Y, Rode I, Tanaka K, Takemoto T, Murata S, and Takahama Y.
    Nat Commun. 8: 14419, 2017. [ Journal Article ]

Yousuke Takahama received his Ph.D. from Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. He was a Visiting Fellow and Visiting Associate in the Experimental Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute, where he studied thymocyte development and selection. He then started working on the biology of thymic microenvironments at Syntex Institute of Immunology and the University of Tsukuba in Japan. In 1999, he was appointed a Professor of Experimental Immunology, University of Tokushima. In 2018, he moved back to the United States to establish a new laboratory as a Senior Investigator in Experimental Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute. He is a founding organizer of the Global Thymus Network. His main interests are the development and function of the thymus and thymic epithelial cells, especially with regard to the repertoire selection of T lymphocytes.

Name Position
Alison Jacques B.S. Biologist (Contr.)
Amy Palin Ph.D. Biologist (Contr.)
Yu Tanaka M.D. Postdoctoral Fellow (Visiting)
Melina Frantzeskakis Postbaccalaureate Fellow (CRTA)
Xuan Xie Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow (Visiting)