Speaker: Dr. Shinsuke Sando, PhD, University of Tokyo

Abstract: Peptides and proteins are metabolized in vivo by enzymes such as proteases and peptidases. Their metabolic profiles
are sequence-dependent and have been reported to correlate with disease states, making them promising candidates as disease
biomarkers. To visualize these disease-related metabolic processes, we have been developing novel imaging technologies.
By integrating tissue clearing techniques with click chemistry, we have recently established a method to visualize the
tissue-wide microenvironment and metabolic reactions using fluorescence [1,2]. In addition, by employing hyperpolarized MRI
technology, we have successfully visualized metabolic reactions with high sensitivity in vivo [3,4]. In particular, we have
focused on developing hyperpolarized MRI probes that target the metabolic activity of cancer-associated peptidases.
However, the number of metabolic enzymes suitable for disease diagnostics remains limited, which poses a challenge for the
broader application of these approaches. In this presentation, I will highlight our recent progress in in vivo metabolic imaging
and molecular probe design using tissue clearing and hyperpolarized MRI technologies, as well as our ongoing efforts to identify
novel peptide-based disease biomarkers.
[1] Bo Yi et al. “Imaging Heterogeneous Patterns of Aminopeptidase N Activity in Hierarchical Tissue Structures Through
High-resolution Whole-organ 3D Mapping” Angewamdte Chemie International Edition 2025, 66, e202504668.
[2] Iori Tamura et al. “Click3D: Click reaction across deep tissues for whole-organ 3D fluorescence imaging” Science Advances
2024, 10, eado8471.
[3] Yohei Kondo et al. “Directly monitoring the dynamic in vivo metabolisms of hyperpolarized 13C-oligopeptides” Science
Advances 2024, 10, eadp2533.
[4] Yutaro Saito et al. “Structure-guided design enables development of a hyperpolarized molecular probe for the detection of
aminopeptidase N activity in vivo” Science Advances 2022, 8, eabj2667.

Bio: Dr. Shinsuke Sando received his Ph.D. in 2001 from Kyoto University, Japan. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the
laboratory of Prof. Eric T. Kool at Stanford University, he began his academic career as an assistant professor in the group of
Prof. Aoyama at Kyoto University. In 2009, he was appointed professor at the INAMORI Frontier Research Center, Kyushu
University. Since 2014, he has been a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at the University of
Tokyo. His research centers on chemical biology, with a particular emphasis on the design of functional biomolecules such as
peptides and fatty acids, as well as on bioimaging techniques to visualize their behavior in biological systems. Awards he has
obtained include The CSJ Award for Young Chemists (2009), The Young Scientists’ Prize in The Commendation for Science and
Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2010), 14th Japan Academy Medal (2018), 14th
JSPS Prize (2018), Nakatani Award Incentive Prize (2019), and The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work (2022).

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