Department of Cell Biology

Subjects:

1. The role of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor in development.
2. The mode of actions of membrane-anchored growth factors.
3. Ectodomain shedding mechanism of EGF family growth factor.
4. Physiological role of CD9 and the tetraspanin family proteins.
5. Epigenetics in germ cells: During germ cell differentiation, epigenetic information undergoes drastically changes. We are analyzing the molecular mechanisms of the DNA methylation, histone modifications and histone to protamine transition in spermatogenesis.
6. Transcriptional regulation of germ cell specific genes: During male germ cell development, each differentiation step requires the expression of a specific set of precisely regulated genes. We are characterizing specific transcription initiation and epigenetic modifications underlie the regulation of gene expression in germ cells.

Published Papers

1. Maternal heparin-binding-EGF deficiency limits pregnancy success in mice.

   Huirong Xie, Haibin Wang, Susanne Tranguch, Ryo Iwamoto, Eisuke Mekada, Francesco J Demayo, John P Lydon, Sanjoy K Das and Sudhansu K Dey

   Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 104 (46), 18315-18320, 2007.
2. Sulfated glycosaminoglycans are necessary for Nodal signal transmission from the node to the left lateral plate in the mouse embryo.

   Shinya Oki, Ryuju Hashimoto, Yuko Okui, Michael M Shen, Eisuke Mekada, Hiroki Otani, Yukio Saijoh and Hiroshi Hamada

   Development, 134 (21), 3893-3904, 2007.
3. Biologic significance of receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells (RCAS1) as a pivotal regulator of tumor growth through angiogenesis in human uterine cancer.

   Kenzo Sonoda, Shingo Miyamoto, Ayano Yamazaki, Hiroaki Kobayashi, Manabu Nakashima, Eisuke Mekada and Norio Wake

   Cancer, 110 (9), 1979-1990, 2007.
4. Diphtheria toxin mutant CRM197 possesses weak EF2-ADP-ribosyl activity that potentiates its anti-tumorigenic activity.

   Takuya Kageyama, Minako Ohishi, Shingo Miyamoto, Hiroto Mizushima, Ryo Iwamoto and Eisuke Mekada

   J Biochem, 142 (1), 95-104, 2007.
5. Parasporin-1, a novel cytotoxic protein from Bacillus thuringiensis, induces Ca2+ influx and a sustained elevation of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration in toxin-sensitive cells.

   Hideki Katayama, Yoshitomo Kusaka, Haruo Yokota, Tetsuyuki Akao, Masayasu Kojima, Osamu Nakamura, Eisuke Mekada and Eiich Mizuki

   J Biol Chem, 282 (10), 7742-7752, 2007.
6. Role of the Dnmt3 family in de novo methylation of imprinted and repetitive sequences during male germ cell development in the mouse.

   Yuzuru Kato, Masahiro Kaneda, Kenichiro Hata, Kenji Kumaki, Mizue Hisano, Yuji Kohara, Masaki Okano, En Li, Masami Nozaki and Hiroyuki Sasaki

   Hum Mol Genet, 16 (19), 2272-2280, 2007.
7. Functional dynamics of H3K9 methylation during meiotic prophase progression.

   Makoto Tachibana, Masami Nozaki, Naoki Takeda and Yoichi Shinkai

   EMBO J, 26 (14), 3346-3359, 2007.
8. The evolutionary conservation of the core components necessary for the extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway, in Medaka fish.

   Kazuhiro Sakamaki, Masami Nozaki, Katsuya Kominami and Yutaka Satou

   BMC Genomics, 8, 141, 2007.
9. Conserved function of caspase-8 in apoptosis during bony fish evolution.

   Shin-ichi Sakata, Yilin Yan, Yutaka Satou, Akihiro Momoi, Phuong Ngo-Hazelett, Masami Nozaki, Makoto Furutani-Seiki, John H Postlethwait, Shin Yonehara and Kazuhiro Sakamaki

   Gene, 396 (1), 134-148, 2007.
10. Comprehensive analysis of gene expression in testes producing haploid germ cells using DNA microarray analysis.

    Akiko Ike, Keizo Tokuhiro, Mika Hirose, Masami Nozaki, Yoshitake Nishimune and Hiromitsu Tanaka

    Int J Androl, 30 (5), 462-475, 2007.

Link

http://www.biken.osaka-u.ac.jp/