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Division of Reproductive Engineering
We seek to unravel mechanisms of reproductive biology and make
innovations in reproductive technology in mammals.
We solved critical problems in mouse reproductive technology which is widely used in transgenic facilities and mouse repositories. Our technology is available from our online manual. In addition, we provide service of mouse repository (CARD Mouse Bank) which collaborates with our international partners.
News
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October 2, 2026:
- September 18, 2020:
Our review paper about "Cryopreservation of Mouse Resources" is published in Laboratory Animal Research. - August 28, 2020:
Registration of the virtual meeting of International Society for Transgenic Tchnologies is opened. - June 1, 2020:
Our paper was published about New microfluidics technology for sperm sorting (Nakao, Scientific Reports, 2020).
Professor Toru Takeo gave an invited lecture at a webinar celebrating the 70th anniversary of the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS).
The webinar focused on the future of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) in laboratory animals, with speakers from Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Professor Takeo introduced key scientific discoveries that contributed to the development of ARTs, technologies developed at CARD, Kumamoto University, and the CARD Mouse Bank System. He also discussed future perspectives on reproductive engineering and its role in supporting life science and biomedical research.
September 24, 2026:
Prof. Toru Takeo attended the 2026 AMMRA & AMPC Meeting in Taipei, where he gave a presentation on CARD's activities in mouse and rat resources, reproductive technologies, workshops, and international collaboration. Drawing on CARD's experience during the Kumamoto Earthquakes, he also introduced practical disaster preparedness measures that helped protect valuable research resources. He emphasized the importance of mouse and rat resource banks, including cryopreservation and resource-sharing systems, in improving research resilience at both institutional and national levels.
Asian Mouse Mutagenesis and Resource Association (AMMRA) is an international network that promotes collaboration among research institutions in Asia in the fields of genetically engineered animal models, bioresources, and related technologies. The 2026 meeting marked the 20th anniversary of AMMRA and brought together researchers to exchange knowledge and discuss recent advances in model animal research.
CARD will continue to support life science research through mouse and rat resources, reproductive engineering technologies, training, and international collaboration.
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Dr. Hsian-Jean
Genie Chin, Director of the National Center for Biomodels (NCB) and organizer of the meeting, and to all staff members of the NCB for their warm hospitality and excellent organization of the meeting.
April 27, 2026:
Professor Toru Takeo visited Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai, Naresuan University in Phitsanulok, and Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok--Royal Thai universities that have concluded inter-university academic exchange agreements with our university. During his visits, he delivered invited lectures on genetically modified mice and reproductive technologies. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Pornnarin Taepavarupruk, Director of the Naresuan University Center for Animal Research (NUCAR), for her generous support in arranging the university visits and lectures.
March 19, 2026:The KMPC-CARD Mouse & Rat Reproductive Technology Workshop was held at CARD from March 17 to 19, 2026, bringing together researchers, technicians, and students to share recent advances and foster interdisciplinary collaboration.
The program featured keynote lectures, technical presentations, and hands-on sessions on emerging technologies and their applications in biomedical research. Participants exchanged ideas, explored collaborative opportunities, and built professional networks in an engaging environment.
Overall, the workshop provided a valuable platform for knowledge sharing and strengthened future partnerships between KMPC and CARD teams.
October 25, 2025:Prof. Toru Takeo was invited to the National Institute of Food and Drug Control. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Prof. Liang Chunnan and Prof. Wei Gong for kindly hosting Prof. Takeo's visit.
October 24, 2025:
Prof. Toru Takeo and Assist. Prof. Satohiro Nakao attended to the AFLAS205 Congress in Hangzhou, China.
We will organize the next AFLAS congress (AFLAS2027) in Japan.
October 21, 2025:Prof. Toru Takeo was invited to the School of Medicine at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Prof. Yao Li for kindly hosting Prof. Takeo's visit. September 9, 2025:
Our paper "Improved protocol for the vitrification and warming of rat zygotes by optimizing the warming solution and oocyte donor age" is now published in PLoS One.
July 29, 2025:
Prof. Toru Takeo presented at the Joint Conference in Medical Sciences（JCMS2025）in Bangkok, Thailand.
Prof. Takeo visited Dr. Siwanon's Lab (Dept of Pharmacology) at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University.
July 27, 2025:Our paper "Birth of offspring derived from cryopreserved rat sperm after shipment in a Styrofoam box at −80°C" is published in the Experimental Animal.
January 31, 2025:
Mr. Ryusei Maeda visits Prof.Marcel Frajblat's lab（Federal University of Rio de Janeiro）in Brazil.
January 28, 2025:
Prof. Takeo, Assistant Prof. Nakao, and Mr. Masuda attended to "The 12th Scientific Session & International Conference of the SLALAS" in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
December 19, 2024:
Our paper "Oxidation of thiol groups in membrane proteins inhibits the fertilization ability and motility of sperm by suppressing calcium influx" has been published in the Biology of Reproduction.
August 9, 2024:
【Rat Symposium in Seoul】 I was invited to present two lectures about "CARD Mouse and Rat Repositories at Kumamoto University" and "New Technology of Rodent Embryology" at the Rat Symposium at Seoul National University (SNU). This symposium was organized by the Korea Model animal Priority Center (KMPC). The international bioresource projects have been collaborated to lead and support genetic and biomedical research for over twenty years. It was a fruitful meeting to share the recent progress of bioresource development and technologies. I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Je Kyung Seong (Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine, SNU), the organizers of the Rat Symposium, and the KMPC team.
August 6, 2024:
Our paper on "Efficient breeding system of infertile Niemann-Pick disease type C model mice by in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer" is published in .
July 25, 2024:
Prof. Toru Takeo participated in the round table discussion at the 23rd IRCMS Symposium "Kumamoto University-National Taiwan University Joint Symposium on Biomedical Research".
July 7, 2024:
Our paper on "Improving laboratory animal genetic reporting: LAG-R guidelines" is published in Nature Communications.
March 25, 2024:
Ms. Shitashimizu, Ms. Nakamitsu, and Mr. Masuda graduated from the Graduate School of Medical Science and the School of Pharmacy.
March 1, 2024:
Our paper was published about "High-concentration bovine serum albumin enhances fertilization ability of cold-stored rat sperm" in Journal of Reproduction and Development.
Feburary 26, 2024:
Our paper was published about "Time elapsed between ovulation and insemination determines the quality of fertilized rat oocytes" in Journal of Reproduction and Development.
Feburary 7, 2023:
Our paper was published about "Synchronization of the ovulation and copulation timings increased the number of in vivo fertilized oocytes in superovulated female mice" in PLoS One.
Feburary 1, 2023:
Our paper was published about "Dimethyl-α-cyclodextrin induces capacitation by removing phospholipids from the plasma membrane of mouse sperm" in Biology of Reproduction.
January 19, 2023:
Our paper was published about "Observation of the in vitro fertilization process in living oocytes using frozen-thawed sperm in rats" in Theriogenology.
October 13, 2022:
Our paper about "Optimized protocols for sperm cryopreservation and in vitro fertilization in the rat" was published in Lab Animal.
ShareIt Link: https://rdcu.be/cXgma
↓Animation Abstract↓ June 14, 2022:
We won an award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) in the Program of Innovation Net Award. I am grateful to all of our staff members, collaborators, and supporters.
November 22, 2021:
Our paper was published about "Quercetin-treated rat sperm enables refrigerated transport with motility and fertility for five days" in Scientific Reports.
September 6, 2021:
Our collaboration paper about "Asian Mouse Mutagenesis Resource Association (AMMRA): mouse genetics and laboratory animal resources in the Asia Pacific" is now published in Mammalian Genome. Thank you to all our partners and stakeholders for supporting the Asia Mouse Mutagenesis and Resource Association (#AMMRA).
August 6, 2021:We have a new lab member. Welcome, Kahar. Let's explore the new frontier of Reproductive Science.
June 3, 2021:
CARD Rat Bank officially started a service of "Sperm cryopreservation and In vitro fertilization" to preserve and supply rat resources.
Feburary 18, 2021:
Our collaboration paper is published about "Murine neonatal ketogenesis preserves mitochondrial energetics by preventing protein hyperacetylation" in Nature Metabolism.
Nombember 14, 2020:
Our lab's movie is uploaded on "YouTube Channel of Graduate School of Medical Sciences".
Nombember 13, 2020:
We opened "【Takeo Lab】Div. of Reproductive Engineering YouTube Channel".
Our Mission
- -Discover novel compounds and materials to regulate
- reproductive functions
- -Comprehend unrevealed rules in Reproductive Biology and
- Cryobiology
- -Provide solutions in Reproductive Technology
- -Develop a robust system and network of bioresources (Mice and Rats)
- -Share the latest techniques and knowledge of Reproductive Technology
- -Grow young scientists and technicians in Reproductive Technology
Research
- -L-glutamine protected mouse sperm during cryopreservation (Lab Animal, 2010).
- -Methyl-beta-cyclodextrin enhanced fertilization rate of frozen-thawed sperm (Biol Reprod, 2008).
- -Reduced glutathione enhanced fertilizing ability of oocyte (Biol Reprod, 2011).
- -Coadministratin of inhibin antiserum and gonadotropin induced ultrasuperovulation (PLoS One, 2015).
- -Dimethyl sulfoxide and quercetin prolonged survival period of sperm at 4oC (Biol Reprod, 2017).
- -N-acetyl cysteine prolonged survival period of two-cell embryos at 4oC (Cryobiology, 2016).
- -N-acetyl cysteine restored fertilizing ability of cryopreserved oocyte (PLoS One, 2019).
- -Microfludics cell sorter selected sperm with high fertility (Scientific Reports, 2020).
Access to CARD Reproductive Technology
- We publish all our techniques of in vitro fertilization, sperm and embryo cryopreservation, cold-storage of sperm and embryos, embryo transfer, and so on in Online Manual for CARD Mouse Reproductive Technology. In addition, non-profit organization can be obtained ultrasuperovulation reagent after agreement of MTA.
CARD Mouse Bank
- We provide service of mouse embryo and sperm bank
- (CARD Mouse Bank) since 1998. CARD Mouse Bank is a founding member of International Mouse Strain Resource (IMSR). We developed original searchable database of genetically engineered mice archived in CARD Mouse Bank (CARD R-BASE). Totally, 2,719 strains of genetically engineered mice are available.
- If you want to order the mice, please visit our ordering website.
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Our Team
| Name | |||
| Professor | Toru Takeo | takeo* | Grant and Publication list etc. |
| Visiting Professor | Jorge M Sztein | Grant and Publication list etc. | |
| Assistant Professor | Yoshiko Nakagawa | y-naka* | Grant and Publication list etc. |
| Assistant Professor | Satohiro Nakao | naka-sato* | Grant and Publication list etc. |
| Research Fellow | Kaharul Kahar | ||
| IT Specialist | Shuuji Tsuchiyama | shuuji* | Grant and Publication list etc. |
| Breeding Manager | Wataru Sakamoto | watarus* | |
| Secretary | Fumi Takahashi | card-rep* | |
| Import and Export Coordinator | Kaori Sakaguchi | card* | |
| Breeding Facility Receptionist | Kaori Sakaguchi | cardadmi* | |
| Mouse Bank Technician | Satoshi Nakamura | ||
| Mouse Bank Technician | Kiyoko Yamashita | ||
| Mouse Bank Technician | Maki Sakaguchi | ||
| Mouse Bank Technician | Yuka Deshimaru | ||
| Mouse Bank Technician | Kiharu Uchigoshi | ||
| Mouse Bank Technician | Keisuke Kogami | ||
| Mouse Bank Technician | Maika Ozeki | ||
| Mouse Bank Technician | Chie Yasuda | ||
| Graduate Student | Kotono Ito | D4 PLEASED Program Higo Program |
|
| Graduate Student | Serina Kuroshima | D3 | |
| R＆D Team Leader Graduate Student |
Katsuma Yamaga | D3 | |
| Graduate Student | Ryo Kubota | D2 PLEASED Program |
|
| Graduate Student | Ryusei Maeda | D2 | |
| Graduate Student | Yoshino Wakasugi | M2 | |
| Graduate Student | Reiri Koga | M2 | |
| Graduate Student | Sakura Nakamitsu | M1 | |
| Graduate Student | Keisuke Masuda | M1 PLEASED Program |
|
| Undergraduate Student | Yuki Mizoue | B4 | |
| Undergraduate Student | Ai Miyazaki | B4 | |
| Undergraduate Student | Shoichi Murakami | B3 | |
| Undergraduate Student | Kotaro Nagano | B3 |
