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Yoshioka Lab／BIKEN Innovative Vaccine Research Alliance Laboratories  Vaccine Creation Group

Most protein antigens such as non-living macromolecules or protein-subunit antigens evoke weak or undetectable adaptive immune responses. Therefore, to develop effective vaccines it is necessary to develop vaccine adjuvants and antigen delivery carriers. In addition, to develop optimal (in terms of efficacy and safety) vaccines for clinical application, it is important to understand the mechanism by which vaccines act on the immune system. In this regard, our research is focused on optimizing vaccines through drug delivery systems and safety science. Our specific research projects are:
1) Development of vaccine adjuvants using comprehensive screening methods.
2) Development of antigen delivery carriers and adjuvants using nanotechnology.
3) To use these adjuvants and delivery carriers to develop vaccines for infectious diseases.

Staff

  • SA Prof.: Yasuo Yoshioka (concur.)
  • SA Assoc. Prof.: Toshiro Hirai (concur.)
  • Postdoc. : Taiki Ito (concur.)

Website

Publications

  • (1)  Inflammatory mediators of mRNA vaccine-induced adverse reactions in mice. Honda K. et. al. Mol Ther. (2026)S1525-0016(26)00023-7.
    (2)  mRNA vaccine expressing enterovirus D68 virus-like particles induces potent neutralizing antibodies and protects against infection. Kunishima Y. et. al. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. (2025)36(4):102731.
    (3)  Modulating Immunogenicity and Reactogenicity in mRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle Vaccines through Lipid Component Optimization. Kawaguchi Y. et. al. ACS Nano. (2025)19(30):27977-28001.
    (4)  Hypertonic intranasal vaccines gain nasal epithelia access to exert strong immunogenicity. Hashimoto S. et. al. Mucosal Immunol. (2025)S1933-0219(25)00032-7.
    (5) Low-inflammatory lipid nanoparticle-based mRNA vaccine elicits protective immunity against H5N1 influenza virus with reduced adverse reactions. Kawai A. et. al. Mol Ther. (2025)33(2):529-547.
    (6)  Recombinant RSV G protein vaccine induces enhanced respiratory disease via IL-13 and mucin overproduction. Kawahara E. et. al. NPJ Vaccines. (2024)9(1):187.
    (7)  Lipid Nanoparticle with 1,2-Di-O-octadecenyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane as a Component Lipid Confers Potent Responses of Th1 Cells and Antibody against Vaccine Antigen. Kawai A. et. al. ACS Nano. (2024)18(26):16589-16609.
    (8)  Intranasal immunization with an RBD-hemagglutinin fusion protein harnesses preexisting immunity to enhance antigen-specific responses. Kawai A. et. al. J Clin Invest. (2023)133(23):e166827.
    (9)  Upregulation of Robo4 expression by SMAD signaling suppresses vascular permeability and mortality in endotoxemia and COVID-19 models. Morita M. et. al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. (2023)120(3):e2213317120.
    (10)  SARS-CoV-2 disrupts respiratory vascular barriers by suppressing Claudin-5 expression. Hashimoto R. et. al. Sci Adv. (2022)8(38):eabo6783.
    (11)  Elucidation of the role of nucleolin as a cell surface receptor for nucleic acid-based adjuvants. Kitagawa S. et. al. NPJ Vaccines. (2022)7(1):115.
    (12)  Efficient antigen delivery by dendritic cell-targeting peptide via nucleolin confers superior vaccine effects in mice. Matsuda T. et. al. iScience. (2022)25(11):105324.
    (13)  The potential of neuraminidase as an antigen for nasal vaccines to increase cross-protection against influenza viruses. Kawai A. et. al. J Virol. (2021)95(20):e0118021.
    (14)  Synergistic effect of non-neutralizing antibodies and interferon-γ for cross-protection against influenza. Shibuya M. et. al. iScience. (2021)24(10):103131.
    (15)  Neutrophil-Mediated Lung Injury Both via TLR2-Dependent Production of IL-1α and IL-12 p40, and TLR2-Independent CARDS Toxin after Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection in Mice. Tamiya S. et. al. Microbiol Spectr. (2021)9(3):e0158821.
    (16)  Murine cross-reactive non-neutralizing polyclonal IgG1 antibodies induced by influenza vaccine inhibit the cross-protective effect of IgG2 against heterologous virus in mice. Shibuya M. et. al. J Virol. (2020)94(12):e00323-20.

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