• 大阪大学名誉教授
• （財）千里ライフサイエンス振興財団理事長

• 恩賜賞（昭和55年）
• 日本学士院賞（昭和55年）
• 文化功労者（昭和57年）
• 文化勲章（昭和62年）
• 勲一等瑞宝章（平成12年）

岡田善雄氏は、バイオテクノロジーの柱の1つである細胞融合の発見者です。HVJ（センダイウイルス）の感染初期反応を細胞あたり数百カ所で同時に発動させると、隣接細胞相互が瞬間的に融合します。ウイルス遺伝子を不活化させても融合活性は保存され、また種を超えた細胞相互の融合も可能でした。この発見を契機にして、生物固体の代わりに培養細胞融合→雑種形成を利用する体細胞遺伝学が1965年誕生し、現在の細胞生物学につながりました。

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2. Okada, Y. & Yadokoro, J. Analysis of giant polynuclear cell formation caused by HVJ virus from Ehrlich's ascites tumor cells. Exp. Cell. Res. 26, 98-128, 1962
3. Okada, Y. & Murayama, F. Requirement of calcium ions for cell fusion reaction of animal cells by HVJ. Exp. Cell. Res. 44, 527-551, 1966
4. Yamanaka, T. & Okada, Y. Cultivation of fused cells resulting from treatment of cells by HVJ. I. Synchronization of the stages of DNA synthesis of nuclei involved in fused multinucleated cells. Biken J., 9, 159-175, 1966
5. Okada, Y. Fusion of cells by HVJ. Membrane Research ed. by Fox, Academic Press, pp. 371-382, 1972
6. Kim, J., Hama, K., Miyake, Y. & Okada, Y. Transformation of intramembrane particles of HVJ (Sendai virus) envelopes from an invisible to visible from aging of virions. Virolgy, 95, 523-535, 1979
7. Miyake, Y., Kim.J. & Okada, Y. Effects of cytochalasin D on fusin of cells by HVJ (Sendai virus): Cell-cell fusion is separable from viral envelope-cell membrane fusion. Exp. Cell Res. 116, 167-178, 1978.
8. Kim, J., & Okada, Y. Morphological changes in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells during the cell fusion reaction with HVJ (Sendai virus). II. Cluster formation of intramembrane particles in the early stage of cell fusion. Exp. Cell Res. 132, 125-136, 1981
9. Furusawa, M., Nishimura, T., Yamaizumi, M. & Okada,Y. Injection of foreign substances into single cells by cell fusion. Nature, 249, 449-450, 1974.
10. Tanaka, K., Sekiguchi, M. & Okada, Y. Restoration of ultraviolet induced unscheduled DNA synthesis of Xeroderma Pigmentosum cells by the concomitant treatment with T4 endonuclease V and HVJ (Sendai virus). Proc. Acad. Sci. USA 72, 4071-4075, 1975
11. Uchida, T., Yamaizumi, M. & Okada, Y. Reassembled HVJ (Sendai virus) envelopes containing non-toxic mutant proteins of diphtheria toxin show toxicity to mouse L cells. Nature, 266, 839-840, 1977