SAKURADA Chikai, Ph.D. / Professor

Pharmaceutical Business Sciences Course · Pharmaceutical Information Sciences Course

Department of Pharmaceutical and Medical Business Sciences

Research Topics

1. Development of a new analgesic based on the degradation of pain related neuropeptides.

2. Research on medicinal plants and kampo medicines that are effective for intractable pain.

Refractory pain interferes with daily life and significantly lowers quality of life, learning efficiency, and labor production efficiency. Our group conducts research on elucidation of the pathological mechanism of intractable pain based on plastic changes in the nervous system and development of therapeutic drugs using pharmacological and neuroscientific experimental methods. Research in our group is focused on degradation of endomorphin, an endogenous opioid peptide, and substance P as a pain transmitter or modulator. In addition, we are investigating medicinal plant ingredients and kampo medicines that are effective for intractable pain.

Representative Publications

1. Komatsu T., Katsuyama S., Takano F., Sakurada C., Tsuzuki M., Ogawa K., Kubota A., Morinaga O., Tabata k., Sakurada T., Possible involvement of the μ opioid receptor in the antinociception induced by sinomenine on formalin-induced nociceptive behavior in mice. Neurosci Lett 699, 103-108(2019).

2. Sakurada C., Mizoguchi K., Komatsu T., Sakurada S., Sakurada T., Neuropeptides degradation related to expression of the physiological action of neuropeptides. p.27-44 (edited by F. J. Nyberg) CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group) (2012).

3. Sakurada C., Sakurada S., Hayashi T., Tan-No K., Sakurada T., Degradation of endomorphin-2 at the supraspinal level in mice is initiated by dipeptidyl peptidase IV: an in vitro and in vivo study. Biochem Pharmacol. 66, 653-661(2003).