SHINJI MII

Last Updated :2026/07/03

Affiliations, Positions
Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Professor
E-mail
miishinjihiroshima-u.ac.jp
Self-introduction
I perform organ-agnostic research using pathological approaches to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of human diseases, including cancer. In particular, I focus on cancer-associated fibroblasts to analyze the tumor–stroma interface and reveal interactions between cancer and stromal components.

Basic Information

Major Professional Backgrounds

  • 2024/11/01, Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Professor
  • 2021/07/01, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, Associate Professor

Educational Backgrounds

  • Nagoya University, Japan, 2012/07

Academic Degrees

  • Nagoya University

Educational Activity

  • [Bachelor Degree Program] School of Medicine : Program of Medicine : Medicine
  • [Doctoral Program] Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences : Division of Biomedical Sciences : Program of Medicine

In Charge of Primary Major Programs

  • Medicine

Research Fields

  • Medicine,dentistry, and pharmacy;Basic medicine;Experimental pathology

Research Keywords

  • Malignant tumor
  • Cancer stroma
  • Tumor pathology
  • Stromal pathology
  • Cancer-associated fibroblasts

Affiliated Academic Societies

  • Japanese Society of Pathology
  • Japanese Cancer Association

Educational Activity

Course in Charge

  1. 2026, Undergraduate Education, Second Semester, Clinical Pathology
  2. 2026, Undergraduate Education, 2Term, Introduction for medical research
  3. 2026, Undergraduate Education, Intensive, Practice for medical research
  4. 2026, Undergraduate Education, Intensive, Practice of Medicine I
  5. 2026, Undergraduate Education, Intensive, Practice of Medicine II
  6. 2026, Undergraduate Education, 1Term, General Pathology
  7. 2026, Undergraduate Education, 1Term, Pathology
  8. 2026, Undergraduate Education, 1Term, Pathology
  9. 2026, Undergraduate Education, Intensive, Pathology
  10. 2026, Undergraduate Education, 1Term, Outline of Pathology
  11. 2026, Undergraduate Education, Intensive, Outline of Pathology
  12. 2026, Graduate Education (Master's Program) , Second Semester, Pathologic Basis of Diseases
  13. 2026, Graduate Education (Master's Program) , 1Term, Medical Ethics A
  14. 2026, Graduate Education (Doctoral Program) , 3Term, Medical Ethics B
  15. 2026, Graduate Education (Doctoral Program) , First Semester, Advanced Seminar on Molecular Pathology
  16. 2026, Graduate Education (Doctoral Program) , Second Semester, Advanced Seminar on Molecular Pathology
  17. 2026, Graduate Education (Doctoral Program) , First Semester, Advanced Research on Molecular Pathology
  18. 2026, Graduate Education (Doctoral Program) , Second Semester, Advanced Research on Molecular Pathology

Research Activities

Academic Papers

  1. Possible involvement of the mesenchymal cell marker Meflin in regeneration after retinal injury., Scientific reports, 2026
  2. Meflin confers antifibrotic properties to intestinal fibroblasts in inflammatory bowel disease., The Journal of clinical investigation, 2026
  3. Increased Meflin Expression in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Restrains Tumor Cell Proliferation and Shapes Vessel-Rich Stroma in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, 196(5), 1205-1219, 2026
  4. High E2F7 Expression Indicates Pancreatic Cancer Aggressiveness and Downregulation of E2F7 Enhances Sensitivity to S-1, ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY, 33(6), 5429-5440, 2026
  5. Transgelin defines pro-tumorigenic cancer-associated fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer, BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER, 134(4), 577-588, 2026
  6. Meflin/ISLR is a meningeal cell-specific marker involved in the development of meninges and meningioma progression, BRAIN PATHOLOGY, 36(2), 2026
  7. Characteristics and Prognosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma that Progressed to pT1a-MM or Deeper despite Surveillance Esophagogastroduodenoscopy., Digestion, 2026
  8. Minichromosome maintenance 4 is associated with poor survival and stemness of patients with pancreatic cancer., Medical molecular morphology, 59(1), 2026
  9. Associations of Inflammatory and Osteogenic Activities in Epicardial Adipose Tissue With Aortic Valve Hemodynamic., Circulation reports, 7(12), 2025
  10. Rapid Growth of a Lung Cancer Metastasis to a Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumor: A Case Report and Literature Review., NMC case report journal, 12, 2025
  11. A Sister Mary Joseph's nodule in fallopian tube cancer: exploring the metastatic pathway through gene expression profiling-a case report., Journal of medical case reports, 19(1), 2025
  12. Rectal Neuroendocrine Tumor With Non-Atypical Mucous Cell Glands: A Case Report., JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology, 9(7), 2025
  13. Meflin is a druggable target using antibody-drug conjugates in progressive osteosarcoma, ONCOGENE, 44(47), 4576-4586, 2025
  14. Superoxide dismutase 2 deficiency in mesenchymal stromal cells induces sympathetic denervation and functional impairment of brown adipose tissue., Pathology international, 75(2), 2025
  15. The Lung Cancer Autochthonous Model Gene Expression Database Enables Cross-Study Comparisons of the Transcriptomic Landscapes Across Mouse Models., Cancer research, 85(10), 2025
  16. Meflin is a marker of pancreatic stellate cells involved in fibrosis and epithelial regeneration in the pancreas., The Journal of pathology, 262(1), 2024
  17. CD109 Attenuates Bleomycin-induced Pulmonary Fibrosis by Inhibiting TGF-beta Signaling., Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950), 212(7), 2024
  18. Single-cell colocalization analysis using a deep generative model., Cell systems, 15(2), 2024
  19. Synthetic retinoid-mediated preconditioning of cancer-associated fibroblasts and macrophages improves cancer response to immune checkpoint blockade., British journal of cancer, 131(2), 2024
  20. Meflin/ISLR is a marker of adipose stem and progenitor cells in mice and humans that suppresses white adipose tissue remodeling and fibrosis., Genes to cells : devoted to molecular & cellular mechanisms, 29(10), 2024
  21. CD109 on Dendritic Cells Regulates Airway Hyperreactivity and Eosinophilic Airway Inflammation., American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology, 68(2), 2023
  22. Significance of expression of CD109 in osteosarcoma and its involvement in tumor progression via BMP signaling., Pathology, research and practice, 245, 2023
  23. CD109 expression in tumor cells and stroma correlates with progression and prognosis in pancreatic cancer., Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology, 480(4), 2022
  24. Matrix remodeling-associated protein 8 is a marker of a subset of cancer-associated fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer., Pathology international, 72(3), 2022
  25. Meflin-positive cancer-associated fibroblasts enhance tumor response to immune checkpoint blockade., Life science alliance, 5(6), 2022
  26. Pharmacologic conversion of cancer-associated fibroblasts from a protumor phenotype to an antitumor phenotype improves the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer to chemotherapeutics., Oncogene, 41(19), 2022
  27. Downregulation of ROBO4 in Pancreatic Cancer Serves as a Biomarker of Poor Prognosis and Indicates Increased Cell Motility and Proliferation Through Activation of MMP-9., Annals of surgical oncology, 29(11), 2022
  28. Possible disease-protective roles of fibroblasts in cancer and fibrosis and their therapeutic application., Nagoya journal of medical science, 84(3), 2022
  29. Detection of serum/salivary exosomal Alix in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma., Oral diseases, 27(3), 2021
  30. The Balance of Stromal BMP Signaling Mediated by GREM1 and ISLR Drives Colorectal Carcinogenesis., Gastroenterology, 160(4), 2021
  31. Meflin defines mesenchymal stem cells and/or their early progenitors with multilineage differentiation capacity., Genes to cells : devoted to molecular & cellular mechanisms, 26(7), 2021
  32. Anti-Malignant Effect of Tensile Loading to Adherens Junctions in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells., Frontiers in cell and developmental biology, 9, 2021
  33. Hydrogen water alleviates obliterative airway disease in mice., General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, 68(2), 2020
  34. The Significance of Molecular Biomarkers on Clinical Survival Outcome Differs Depending on Colon Cancer Sidedness., Anticancer research, 40(1), 2020
  35. Acute Exacerbation of Pleuroparenchymal Fibroelastosis Secondary to Allogenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation., Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan), 59(21), 2020
  36. Connective tissue growth factor produced by cancer‑associated fibroblasts correlates with poor prognosis in epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma., Oncology reports, 44(3), 2020
  37. Complex roles of the actin-binding protein Girdin/GIV in DNA damage-induced apoptosis of cancer cells., Cancer science, 111(11), 2020
  38. The Daple-CK1epsilon complex regulates Dvl2 phosphorylation and canonical Wnt signaling., Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 532(3), 2020
  39. CD109 regulates in vivo tumor invasion in lung adenocarcinoma through TGF-beta signaling., Cancer science, 111(12), 2020
  40. CD109: a multifunctional GPI-anchored protein with key roles in tumor progression and physiological homeostasis., Pathology international, 69(5), 2019
  41. Roles of the Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cell Marker Meflin in Cardiac Tissue Repair and the Development of Diastolic Dysfunction., Circulation research, 125(4), 2019
  42. Meflin-Positive Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Inhibit Pancreatic Carcinogenesis., Cancer research, 79(20), 2019
  43. Giant biatrial myxoma with two different gross findings., General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, 66(6), 2018
  44. Regulation of keratin 5/14 intermediate filaments by CDK1, Aurora-B, and Rho-kinase., Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 498(3), 2018
  45. Negative regulation of amino acid signaling by MAPK-regulated 4F2hc/Girdin complex., PLoS biology, 16(3), 2018
  46. Essential Role of Linx/Islr2 in the Development of the Forebrain Anterior Commissure., Scientific reports, 8(1), 2018
  47. CD109 deficiency induces osteopenia with an osteoporosis-like phenotype in vivo., Genes to cells : devoted to molecular & cellular mechanisms, 23(7), 2018
  48. Girdin/GIV regulates collective cancer cell migration by controlling cell adhesion and cytoskeletal organization., Cancer science, 109(11), 2018
  49. Tyrosine Phosphorylation of an Actin-Binding Protein Girdin Specifically Marks Tuft Cells in Human and Mouse Gut., The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society, 65(6), 2017
  50. Significance of perivascular tumour cells defined by CD109 expression in progression of glioma., The Journal of pathology, 243(4), 2017
  51. CD109 is a component of exosome secreted from cultured cells., Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 469(4), 2016
  52. Increased expression levels of ppGalNAc-T13 in lung cancers: Significance in the prognostic diagnosis., International journal of oncology, 49(4), 2016
  53. Identification of Meflin as a Potential Marker for Mesenchymal Stromal Cells., Scientific reports, 6, 2016
  54. Suppression of skin tumorigenesis in CD109-deficient mice., Oncotarget, 7(50), 2016
  55. Girdin is phosphorylated on tyrosine 1798 when associated with structures required for migration., Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 458(4), 2015
  56. CD109 attenuates TGF-beta1 signaling and enhances EGF signaling in SK-MG-1 human glioblastoma cells., Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 459(2), 2015
  57. Akt-Girdin signaling in cancer-associated fibroblasts contributes to tumor progression., Cancer research, 75(5), 2015
  58. Potential involvement of kinesin-1 in the regulation of subcellular localization of Girdin., Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 463(4), 2015
  59. Mycobacterium tuberculosis escapes from the phagosomes of infected human osteoclasts reprograms osteoclast development via dysregulation of cytokines and chemokines., Pathogens and disease, 70(1), 2014
  60. Role of Girdin in intimal hyperplasia in vein grafts and efficacy of atelocollagen-mediated application of small interfering RNA for vein graft failure., Journal of vascular surgery, 60(2), 2014
  61. Detection of a soluble form of CD109 in serum of CD109 transgenic and tumor xenografted mice., PloS one, 9(1), 2014
  62. Suppression of REV7 enhances cisplatin sensitivity in ovarian clear cell carcinoma cells., Cancer science, 105(5), 2014
  63. TRIM27/MRTF-B-dependent integrin beta1 expression defines leading cells in cancer cell collectives., Cell reports, 7(4), 2014
  64. The REV7 subunit of DNA polymerase zeta is essential for primordial germ cell maintenance in the mouse., The Journal of biological chemistry, 288(15), 2013
  65. RET finger protein expression is associated with prognosis in lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor mutations., Pathology international, 62(5), 2012
  66. Epidermal hyperplasia and appendage abnormalities in mice lacking CD109., The American journal of pathology, 181(4), 2012
  67. Similar phenotypes of Girdin germ-line and conditional knockout mice indicate a crucial role for Girdin in the nestin lineage., Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 426(4), 2012
  68. Expression of RET finger protein predicts chemoresistance in epithelial ovarian cancer., Cancer medicine, 1(2), 2012
  69. Loss of Sprouty2 partially rescues renal hypoplasia and stomach hypoganglionosis but not intestinal aganglionosis in Ret Y1062F mutant mice., Developmental biology, 349(2), 2011
  70. Protective role of Gipie, a Girdin family protein, in endoplasmic reticulum stress responses in endothelial cells., Molecular biology of the cell, 22(6), 2011
  71. Dedifferentiation and progression of an intracranial solitary fibrous tumor: autopsy case of a Japanese woman with a history of radiation therapy of the head during infancy., Pathology international, 61(3), 2011
  72. Correlation of pathological grade and tumor stage of urothelial carcinomas with CD109 expression., Pathology international, 60(11), 2010
  73. CD109 expression in basal-like breast carcinoma., Pathology international, 58(5), 2008
  74. Sprouty2 regulates growth and differentiation of human neuroblastoma cells through RET tyrosine kinase., Cancer science, 98(6), 2007

External Funds

Acceptance Results of Competitive Funds

  1. 2022, 2025
  2. 2019, 2021
  3. 2016, 2017
  4. 2013, 2015