The research team led by Itakura gained new knowledge of the functions that human cells have for maintaining homeostasis through experiments in petri dishes. The team discovered a system in which cells could capture, degrade and remove aberrant extracellular proteins. 

Itakura's team found that extracellular Clusterin selectively binds to aberrant proteins and forms a complex. They then observed how cells take up this complex using the fluorescence assay and genome-wide CRISPR screening. The team identified that cells lacking a gene related to the heparan sulfate receptor on the cell surface did not take up the aberrant protein-Clusterin complex. They also demonstrated that cells could take up Clusterin complex with amyloid β via the heparan sulfate receptor and that the complex was degraded in organelle lysosomes.