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Tsukada Laboratory,
Department of Biomolecular Science,
Faculty of Science,
Toho University

Miyama2-2-1, Funabashi,
Chiba, 274-8510 Japan

Tsukada Laboratory

Japanese


New Eel Biology

 Extreme translational research using Japanese eel (Eel-to-Bedside)

Eel is mysterious, endangered, and ‘delicious’ fish. Numerous researchers have been fascinated by eels and have tried to unravel the mysteries of eel biology. Philosopher Aristotle and Psychologist Sigmund Freud were the one who has been fascinated by eel. However, eels are very cautious in the river and become deep-sea fish in the ocean, their ecology and physiology remains still elusive, and more than 2,000 years after Aristotle's time, eels are still a mystery.

I am one of those researchers who are fascinated by eels. However, my research interest is ‘Eel Physiology’. Eels have extremely unique physiology in that they have toxin in their serum, can tolerate fasting for more than a year, and undergo a metamorphosis from freshwater fish to deep-sea fish during their spawning migration. I launched "Neo-Anguillology (New Eel Biology)" at Toho University to study these interesting physiological functions of eels and apply them to medical treatment. Of course, there is only one laboratory in the world conducting the ultimate translational research using eels. Feel free to contact me if you want to join my laboratory!

Graduate Students

We are looking for graduate students who want to study with us!

Contact: takehirotsukada(at)sci.toho-u.ac.jp

Information

2026/05 Published a paper in the international journal Cell and Tissue Research. Title: “Pituicyte-derived TGFβ2 regulates Col15a1 expression in pericytes of the rat posterior pituitary”. This work was conducted in collaboration with the Teikyo University School of Medicine and Sapporo Medical University.
2026/05 Published a paper in the international journal General and Comparative Endocrinology. Title: “Functional divergence of NPR1 paralog in the Japanese eel: Identification and neuroanatomical characterization”. This work was conducted in collaboration with the University of Toho School of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, and University of Tokyo.
2026/02 Published a paper in the international journal Cell and Tissue Research. Title: “TGFβ signaling regulates Col15a1 expression in fenestrated endothelial cells of the rat pituitary”. This work was conducted in collaboration with the Teikyo University School of Medicine and Sapporo Medical University.
2026/02 Published a paper in the international journal General and Comparative Endocrinology. Title: “Multiplex in situ hybridization chain reaction reveals the spatial organization of six pituitary hormone mRNAs in the Japanese eel”. This work was conducted in collaboration with the University of Toho School of Medicine, and University of Tokyo.
2025/10 Published a paper in the international journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Title: “The fish pituitary directly responds to daylength and drives seasonality. This work was conducted in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Tokyo, and University of Gothenburg.