Lab of Mol Biol, Dept of Biol Sci, Univ of Tokyo

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	Welcome to
	Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Faculty
	Masanori TAIRA (Associate Professor)

Research interests

Developmental Biology; Evolutionary Developmental Biology; Early embryogenesis; Spemann-Mangold organizer; Neural patterning; LIM homeobox genes; Transcriptional regulation; RNA regulation; Inner nuclear membrane proteins

Objectives

How are transcriptional regulatory networks involving Lim1/Lhx1 operated in the organizer and how were they evolved?

How do peptide growth factors coordinate to establish anteroposterior patterning in early Xenopus development?

Howe do inner nuclear membrane proteins regulate signal transduction and gene expression?

Lab members

Graduate students: 7

Undergraduates: 2

Secretary & technician: 1

Selected publications

Mamada, H., Takahashi, N., and Taira, M. (2009). Involvement of an inner nuclear membrane protein, Nemp1, in Xenopus neural development through an interaction with the chromatin protein BAF. Dev. Biol. 327, 497-507.

Kato, M., Hasunuma, N., Nakayama, R., Takeda, J., Itami, S., Taira, M., Manabe, M., and Osada, S. I. (2008). Progranulin, a secreted tumorigenesis and dementia-related factor, regulates mouse hair growth. J. Dermatol. Sci.

Del Pino, E. M., Venegas-Ferrin, M., Romero-Carvajal, A., Montenegro-Larrea, P., Saenz-Ponce, N., Moya, I. M., Alarcon, I., Sudou, N., Yamamoto, S., and Taira, M. (2007). Inaugural Article: A comparative analysis of frog early development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104, 11882-11888.

Shibano, T., Takeda, M., Suetake, I., Kawakami, K., Asashima, M., Tajima, S., and Taira, M. (2007). Recombinant Tol2 transposase with activity in Xenopus embryos. FEBS Lett 581, 4333-4336.

Suga, A., Hikasa, H., and Taira, M. (2006). Xenopus ADAMTS1 negatively modulates FGF signaling independent of its metalloprotease activity. Dev. Biol. 295, 26-39.

Ishimura, A., Ng, J. K., Taira, M., Young, S. G., and Osada, S.-I. (2006). Man1, an inner nuclear membrane protein, regulates vascular remodeling by modulating transforming growth factor-beta signaling. Development 133, 3919-3928.

Tran, Y. H., Xu, Z., Kato, A., Mistry, A. C., Goya, Y., Taira, M., Brandt, S. J., and Hirose, S. (2006). Spliced isoforms of LIM-domain-binding protein (CLIM/NLI/Ldb) lacking the LIM-interaction domain. J. Biochem. 140, 105-119.

Takada, H., Hattori, D., Kitayama, A., Ueno, N., and Taira, M. (2005). Identification of target genes for the Xenopus Hes-related protein XHR1, a prepattern factor specifying the midbrain-hindbrain boundary. Dev. Biol. 283, 253-267.

Shibata, M., Itoh, M., Hikasa, H., Taira, S., and Taira, M. (2005). Role of Crescent in convergent extension movements by modulating Wnt signaling in early Xenopus embryogenesis. Mech. Dev. 122, 1322-1339.

Takahashi, N., Tochimoto, N., Ohmori, S.-y., Mamada, H., Itoh, M., Inamori, M., Shinga, J., Osada, S.-I., and Taira, M. (2005). Systematic screening for genes specifically expressed in the anterior neuroectoderm during early Xenopus development. Int. J. Dev. Biol. 49, 939-951.

Kawakami, K., Imanaka, K., Itoh, M., and Taira, M. (2004). Excision of the Tol2 transposable element of the medaka fish Oryzias latipes in Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis. Gene 338, 93-98.

Hiratani, I., Yamamoto, N., Mochizuki, T., Ohmori, S., and Taira, M. (2003). Selective degradation of excess Ldb1 by Rnf12/RLIM confers proper Ldb1 expression levels and Xlim-1/Ldb1 stoichiometry in Xenopus organizer functions. Development 130, 4161-4175.

Osada, S.-I., Ohmori, S.-y., and Taira, M. (2003). XMAN1, an inner nuclear membrane protein, antagonizes BMP signaling by interacting with Smad1 in Xenopus embryos. Development 130, 1783-1794.

Yamamoto, S., Hikasa, H., Ono, H., and Taira, M. (2003). Molecular link in the sequential induction of the Spemann organizer: direct activation of the cerberus gene by Xlim-1, Xotx2, Mix.1, and Siamois, immediately downstream from Nodal and Wnt signaling. Dev. Biol. 257, 190-204.

Cebria, F., Kobayashi, C., Umesono, Y., Nakazawa, M., Mineta, K., Ikeo, K., Gojobori, T., Itoh, M., Taira, M., Alvarado, A. S., and Agata, K. (2002). FGFR-related gene nou-darake restricts brain tissues to the head region of planarians. Nature 419, 620-624.

Hikasa, H., Shibata, M., Hiratani, I., and Taira, M. (2002). The Xenopus receptor tyrosine kinase Xror2 modulates morphogenetic movements of the axial mesoderm and neuroectoderm via Wnt signaling. Development 129, 5227-5239.