Akinori Murakami

Physician-scientist with clinical training in orthopaedic surgery and research expertise in immunology. Currently Program-Specific Assistant Professor in the Department of Immunology at Kyoto University, focusing on how CD4⁺ T cells regulate inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Doctoral research identified IGFL2, a novel inflammatory cytokine expressed by T peripheral helper (Tph) cells, which promotes local inflammation and correlates with RA severity. Current work aims to elucidate the mechanisms of IGFL2 to advance its development for clinical applications in RA and potentially other autoimmune or inflammatory diseases.

Japanese Board of Orthopaedic Surgery No. 125347

National Board of Medicine, Registration No. 515157

• Best Abstract Award and Travel Award, 27th Asia-Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Congress, 2025
• Best Presentation Award and Travel Grant, 10th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Osteoimmunology, 2025

07/2024 - 03/2026 Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up, 24K23327

• Murakami A, Akamine R, Tanaka S, Murata K, Nishitani K, Ito H, Watanabe R, Fujii T, Iwasaki T, Masuo Y, Iri O, Nakamura S, Kuriyama S, Morita Y, Murakawa Y, Terao C, Okada Y, Hashimoto M, Matsuda S, Ueno H, Yoshitomi H.
  Human CD4⁺ T cells regulate peripheral immune responses in rheumatoid arthritis via insulin-like growth factor–like family member 2. Sci. Immunol. 10, eadr3838 (2025).
• Masuo Y, Murakami A, Akamine R, Iri O, Uno S, Murata K, Nishitani K, Ito H, Watanabe R, Fujii T, Iwasaki T, Nakamura S, Kuriyama S, Morita Y, Murakawa Y, Terao C, Okada Y, Hashimoto M, Matsuda S, Ueno H, Yoshitomi H.
  Stem-like and effector peripheral helper T cells comprise distinct subsets in rheumatoid arthritis. Sci. Immunol. 10, eadt3955 (2025).
• Umemoto A, Ito H, Azukizawa M, Murata K, Tanaka M, Fujii T, Onishi A, Onizawa H, Ishie S, Murakami A, Nishitani K, Murakami K, Yoshitomi H, Hashimoto M, Morinobu A, Matsuda S.
  How do symptoms of each joint contribute to global pain, disease activity and functional disability in rheumatoid arthritis? A comprehensive association study using a large cohort. PLoS One. 18(8): e0285227 (2023).
• Yoshida S, Nishitani K, Yoshitomi H, Kuriyama S, Nakamura S, Fujii T, Saito M, Kobori Y, Murakami A, Murata K, Ito H, Ueno H, Matsuda S.
  Knee alignment correction by high tibial osteotomy reduces symptoms and synovial inflammation in knee osteoarthritis accompanied by macrophage phenotypic change from M1 to M2. Arthritis Rheumatol. 75(6): 950–960 (2023).

American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2025 (upcoming, plenary presentation), Single-cell RNA-seq analysis of synovial CD4⁺ T cells identifies a novel biomarker and therapeutic target in human rheumatoid arthritis, Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2025.

27th Asia-Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Congress (oral presentation), Single-cell RNA-seq analysis of synovial CD4⁺ T cells identifies a novel therapeutic target in human rheumatoid arthritis, Fukuoka, Japan, 2025.

10th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Osteoimmunology (oral presentation), Single-cell RNA-seq analysis of synovial CD4⁺ T cells identifies a novel therapeutic target in human rheumatoid arthritis, Okinawa, Japan, 2025.

22nd Takeda Science Foundation Symposium on Bioscience (poster presentation), Contribution of peripheral helper T cells to synovial inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis via a novel inflammatory humoral factor, Osaka, Japan, 2025.

53rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology (oral presentation), Human synovial Tph cells are involved in synovial inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis via a novel inflammatory humoral factor, Nagasaki, Japan, 2024

52nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology (poster presentation), Human synovial Tph cells are pleiotropically involved in RA pathogenesis, Chiba, Japan, 2024

67th Annual General Assembly and Scientific Meeting of the Japan College of Rheumatology (oral presentation), Synovial Tph cells of rheumatoid arthritis are pleiotropically involved in the pathogenesis, Fukuoka, Japan, 2023

American College of Rheumatology

Asia-Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology

Japan College of Rheumatology

Japanese Society for Immunology

Japanese Orthopaedic Association