We found a novel secreted molecule, named Tsukushi (TSK), which belongs to SLRP family. TSK inhibits Wnt signaling and functions to maintain adult retinal stem/progenitor cells. TSK is expressed at the bulge area and regulates the hair cycle by interacting TGF-β. Now, we study the role of TSK on brain stem cells using TSK KO mice with cre-loxp system. We propose that TSK functions as a niche molecule to control stem cells proliferation.

Recently, we generated the multipotent cells by incorporating Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) into human dermal fibroblasts (HDF). The LAB-incorporated cells form the clusters and differentiate into the cells derived from three germ layers. We study the potential wide-ranging implications of our multipotent cells for cell generation, reprogramming, and cell-based therapy.