Toshio Hirano

Toshio Hirano ( Japanese 平野俊夫 , Hirano Toshio ; born April 7, 1947 in Osaka Prefecture ) is a Japanese immunologist . He is best known for discovering interleukin-6 .

Career

Hirano studied medicine at the University of Osaka with the degree in 1972. From 1980 he was assistant professor at the University of Kumamoto and from 1984 assistant professor and from 1989 professor at the Institute for Molecular Biology and Cell Biology at Osaka University. In 2004 he became dean of the Graduate School for Frontier Bioscience and in 2008 of the Graduate School of Medicine. He has been the President of Osaka University since 2011.

He is also a group leader at the Laboratory for Cytokine Signaling at the RIKEN Yokohama Institute Research Center for Allergy and Immunology.

He researches the role of various signaling substances in the development of autoimmune diseases and allergies . In 1986 he and his group cloned interleukin 6 and then investigated various molecular processes that are connected with this messenger substance of the immune system, for example STAT3 (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3), proteins of the Gab family and zinc- transporting proteins. They are also investigating the role of zinc beyond the immune system as a new second messenger in development and in cancer metastases .

He has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Crafoord Prize in 2009 and the Japan Prize in 2011 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ T. Hirano, K. Yasukawa, H. Harada, T. Taga, Y. Watanabe, T. Matsuda, S. Kashiwamura, K. Nakajima, K. Koyama, A. Iwamatsu, S. Tsunasawa, F. Sakiyama, H. Matsui, Y. Takahara, T. Taniguchi, T. Kishimoto: Complementary DNA for a novel human interleukin (BSF-2) that induces B lymphocytes to produce immunoglobulin . In: Nature . Vol. 324, 1986, pp. 73-76 .
↑ Toshio Hirano: Interleukin 6 in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases: a personal memoir . In: Proc. Jpn. Acad., Ser. B. Vol. 86, 2010, pp. 717-730 .
^ Toshio Hirano: Interleukin 6 and its receptor: Ten years later . In: International Reviews of Immunology . Vol. 16, 1998, pp. 249-284 .
↑ S. Yamasaki, K. Sakata-Sogawa, A. Hasegawa, T. Suzuki, K. Kabu, E. Sato, T. Kurosaki, S. Yamashita, M. Tokunaga, K. Nishida, T. Hirano: Zinc is a novel intracellular second messenger . In: J. Cell Biol. Volume 177 , 2007, pp. 637–645 ( website of his laboratory on Zinc is a novel second messenger ).

personal data
SURNAME	Hirano, Toshio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	平野俊夫 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Japanese immunologist
DATE OF BIRTH	April 7, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH	Osaka prefecture

[1] T. Hirano, K. Yasukawa, H. Harada, T. Taga, Y. Watanabe, T. Matsuda, S. Kashiwamura, K. Nakajima, K. Koyama, A. Iwamatsu, S. Tsunasawa, F. Sakiyama, H. Matsui, Y. Takahara, T. Taniguchi, T. Kishimoto: Complementary DNA for a novel human interleukin (BSF-2) that induces B lymphocytes to produce immunoglobulin . In: Nature . Vol. 324, 1986, pp. 73-76 .

[2] Toshio Hirano: Interleukin 6 in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases: a personal memoir . In: Proc. Jpn. Acad., Ser. B. Vol. 86, 2010, pp. 717-730 .

[3] Toshio Hirano: Interleukin 6 and its receptor: Ten years later . In: International Reviews of Immunology . Vol. 16, 1998, pp. 249-284 .

[4] S. Yamasaki, K. Sakata-Sogawa, A. Hasegawa, T. Suzuki, K. Kabu, E. Sato, T. Kurosaki, S. Yamashita, M. Tokunaga, K. Nishida, T. Hirano: Zinc is a novel intracellular second messenger . In: J. Cell Biol. Volume 177 , 2007, pp. 637–645 ( website of his laboratory on Zinc is a novel second messenger ).