Toru Kariu, Ph.D.

ToruDepartment of Periodontology

Visiting Scholar

Education:

Ph.D., Agricultural Chemistry, Kyushu University, Japan. 2000

Professional Experience:

2000-2002: Research Associate, Mie University, Japan

2003-2005: Postdoctoral Fellow, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan

2005-2009: Lecturer, Sojo University, Japan

2009-2012: Research Associate, University of Maryland, USA

2012-2013: Research Associate, Yamaguchi University, Japan

2013-2019: Associate Professor, Shokei University, Japan

2019-present: Professor, Shokei University, Japan

Research Interests:

Purification and evaluation of anti-periodontitis biomaterials from plants and food ingredients

Molecular analysis of pathogenic mechanisms between periodontitis and systemic disease using murine model.

Selected Publications:

  1. Kariu T, Ikeda T, Nakashima K, Potempa J, Imamura T. A natural anti-periodontitis agent, epimedokoreanin B, inhibits virulence activities of gingipains from Porphyromonas gingivalis. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2019 Jul;83(7):1382-1384.
  2. Kariu T, Nakao R, Ikeda T, Nakashima K, Potempa J, Imamura T. Inhibition of gingipains and Porphyromonas gingivalis growth and biofilm formation by prenyl flavonoids. J Periodontal Res. 2016 Mar 9. 2017 Feb;52(1):89-96.
  3. Imamura T, Yamamoto-Ibusuki M, Sueta A, Kubo T, Irie A, Kikuchi K, Kariu T, Iwase H. Influence of the C5a-C5a receptor system on breast cancer progression and patient prognosis. Breast Cancer. 2016 Nov;23(6):876-885.
  4. Kariu T, Sharma K, Singh P, Smith AA, Backstedt B, Buyuktanir O, Pal U. BB0323 and novel virulence determinant BB0238: Borrelia burgdorferi proteins that interact with and stabilize each other and are critical for infectivity. J Infect Dis. 2015 Feb 1;211(3):462-71
  5. Kariu T, Smith A, Yang X, Pal U. A chitin deacetylase-like protein is a predominant constituent of tick peritrophic membrane that influences the persistence of Lyme disease pathogens within the vector. PLoS One. 2013 Oct 17;8(10):e78376.
  6. Kariu T, Yang X, Marks CB, Zhang X, Pal U. Proteolysis of BB0323 results in two polypeptides that impact physiologic and infectious phenotypes in Borrelia burgdorferi. Mol Microbiol. 2013 May;88(3):510-22.
  7. Yang X, Qin J, Promnares K, Kariu T, Anderson JF, Pal U. Novel microbial virulence factor triggers murine lyme arthritis. J Infect Dis. 2013 Mar 15;207(6):907-18.
  8. Sze CW, Zhang K, Kariu T, Pal U, Li C. Borrelia burgdorferi needs chemotaxis to establish infection in mammals and to accomplish its enzootic cycle. Infect Immun. 2012 Jul;80(7):2485-92
  9. Kariu T, Coleman AS, Anderson JF, Pal U. Methods for rapid transfer and localization of lyme disease pathogens within the tick gut. J Vis Exp. 2011 Feb 14;(48). pii: 2544.

Grants:

2006-2007 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (Start-up)

2007-2009 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)

2013-2016 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

2016-2018 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

2016 The Science Research Promotion Fund, The Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan

2017-2018 Value-Program, Japan Science and Technology Agency

2019-2022 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research (A)

2019-2022 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C).