Science Portrait: Dr. Akihiko Nishikimi

This is a Science Portrait of Dr. Akihiko Nishikimi, Chief of the Biosafety Division, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG), in Obu, Aichi-ken. He studied and received his Ph.D. at Kyoto University. Then, after several other research positions, he worked at (the predecessor of) the NCGG in Obu from 2000-to-2005. This was followed by another career elsewhere, after which he returned in 2019 to become chief of the Biosafety Division of the Research Institute of the NCGG.

Dr. Nishikimi’s father, Prof. Morimitsu Nishikimi, is a friend of Prof. Toshiharu Nagatsu of Fujita Health University, and, after being asked by Prof. Nagatsu, he suggested that because of the close distance between Obu and Toyoake it could be nice if his son would give us a presentation.

We are very honored that Friday, Sept. 24, 17:30, Dr. Akihiko Nishikimi will give a presentation to the ICMS Seminar Club. He will introduce the Research Institute of the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG) and, also, speak about his research on drug discovery for immunosenescence. About his CV and his science he provided the below information and the text “My Science.” Listening and discussing with him will be a great opportunity for researchers at Fujita to learn more about the NCGG and immunosenescence. For additional information about Dr. Akihiko Nishikimi, see Researchmap or Google Scholar.

                                               

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

EDUCATION:

B.S.                 Animal Science, March 1994 – Kyoto University

M.S.                Animal Science, March 1996 – Kyoto University

Ph.D.               Applied Biosciences, May 1999 – Kyoto University

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

1999-2000                Post-doctoral Fellow, Division of Reproductive Physiology, Graduate

School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan

2000                       Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, School of

Medicine, Osaka City University, Japan

2000-2004                Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Basic Gerontology, National

Institute of Longevity Sciences, Japan

2004-2005                Post-doctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Experimental Animal Model

Research, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology,

Japan

2005-2013                Research Associate (2005-2007) and Assistant Professor

(2007-2013), Department of Immunobiology and Neuroscience,

Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Japan

2013-2019                Associate Professor, Department of Biosciences, School of Science,

Kitasato University, Japan

2019 – current          Chief, Biosafety Division, Research Institute, National Center for

Geriatrics and Gerontology, Japan

 

CURRENT RESEARCH:

● Molecular mechanisms of immunosenescence and age-related inflammation.

● Regulation of inflammation and auto-immune diseases.

● Signal transduction regulating activation and motility of immune cells.

  

PUBLICATIONS:

Dr. Nishikimi has >30 publications, some of which in top-journals (Science, Blood, Nature Communications, Developmental Cell). For introducing himself he selected the below eight publications as representative:

1. Nishikimi A, Koyama Y, Ishihara S, Kobayashi S, Tometsuka C, Kusubata M, Kuwaba K, Hayashida O, Hattori S, Katagiri K. Collagen-derived peptides modulate CD4+ T-cell differentiation and suppress allergic responses in mice. Immun Inflamm Dis. 2018; 6: 245-255.

2. Ushijima M, Uruno T, Nishikimi A, Sanematsu F, Kamikaseda Y, Kunimura K, Sakata D, Okada T, Fukui Y. The Rac activator DOCK2 mediates plasma cell differentiation and IgG antibody production. Front Immunol. 2018; 9: 243.

3. Nishikimi A, Ishihara S, Ozawa M, Etoh K, Fukuda M, Kinashi T, Katagiri K. Rab13 acts downstream of the kinase Mst1 to deliver the integrin LFA-1 to the cell surface for lymphocyte trafficking. Sci Signal. 2014; 7: ra72.

4. Sanematsu F, Nishikimi A, Watanabe M, Hongu T, Tanaka Y, Kanaho Y, Côté JF, Fukui Y. Phosphatidic acid-dependent recruitment and function of the Rac activator DOCK1 during dorsal ruffle formation. J Biol Chem. 2013; 288: 8092-8100.

5. Nishikimi A, Uruno T, Duan X, Cao Q, Okamura Y, Saitoh T, Saito N, Sakaoka S, Du Y, Suenaga A, Kukimoto-Niino M, Miyano K, Gotoh K, Okabe T, Sanematsu F, Tanaka Y, Sumimoto H, Honma T, Yokoyama S, Nagano T, Kohda D, Kanai M, Fukui Y. Blockade of inflammatory responses by a small-molecule inhibitor of the Rac activator DOCK2. Chem Biol. 2012; 19: 488-497.

6. Nishikimi A, Fukuhara H, Su W, Hongu T, Takasuga S, Mihara H, Cao Q, Sanematsu F, Kanai M, Hasegawa H, Tanaka Y, Shibasaki M, Kanaho Y, Sasaki T, Frohman MA, Fukui Y. Sequential regulation of DOCK2 dynamics by two phospholipids during neutrophil chemotaxis. Science. 2009; 324: 384-387.

7. Kunisaki Y, Nishikimi A (co-first author), Tanaka Y, Takii R, Noda M, Inayoshi A, Watanabe K, Sanematsu F, Sasazuki T, Sasaki T, Fukui Y. DOCK2 is a Rac activator that regulates motility and polarity during neutrophil chemotaxis. J Cell Biol. 2006; 174: 647-652.

8. Nishikimi A, Meller N, Uekawa N, Isobe K, Schwartz MA, Maruyama M. Zizimin2: a novel, DOCK180-related Cdc42 guanine nucleotide exchange factor expressed predominantly in lymphocytes. FEBS Lett. 2005; 579: 1039-1046.

 

(the following text is written by Dr. Nishikimi)

 

My Science

         I studied animal science at Kyoto University and majored in animal reproduction in graduate school. After obtaining my Ph.D., I joined Mistuo Maruyama’s lab at National Institute for Longevity Science at Obu (the present National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology; NCGG) and changed my field to immunology. There I cloned DOCK11, a Cdc42 activator predominantly expressed in the immune system. I then moved to Yoshinori Fukui’s lab at Kyushu University and continued studying the roles of DOCK family protein in immune cells. I also engaged in a drug discovery project targeting DOCK proteins. After my carrier at Kitasato University as an associate professor, I returned to NCGG as a principal investigator in 2019.

         My laboratory focuses on the mechanism of age-related dysfunction and dysregulation of the immune system. Along with aging, age-associated T cells and B cells, which respond non-specifically and cause chronic inflammation, accumulate in the body. We are analyzing the properties of these age-related lymphocytes and developing methods to restore immune competence and prolong normal immune functions for healthy aging.