Electron Microscope Laboratory

Various types of cells that constitute the body have their specific shapes to play their specific roles. It is an important basis to understand development of the whole body which elucidate the molecular mechanism of cellular morphogenesis. Although cytoskeletons such as actin filaments and microtubules are known to be major materials for morphogenesis, our knowledge about the regulatory mechanism for their construction/destruction is still fragmentary. Our laboratory aims at understanding the molecular mechanism of organization of cell-to-cell junctions and of dynamic cellular morphological changes at cytokinesis or wound closure movement, taking morphological approaches as well as molecular biological approaches. Regulatory mechanism of force generation within cells and how cells use mechanical signals for establishement of cell polarity and cell-to-cell junctions are our recent projects.

Research Subjects

• Regulation of adherens junction remodellig by forces using alpha-catenin as a mechanotransducer.
• Molecular mechanism of perception of dead cells and signaling of wound closure in cell sheets.
• Role of force generated by myosin II on establishment of epithelial polarity.

Publications

1. Tsujioka M, Yumura S, Inouye K, Patel H, Ueda M, Yonemura S.:
   "Talin couples the actomyosin cortex to the plasma membrane during rear retraction and cytokinesis. "
   Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 109: 12992-12997. 2012
2. 90. Inoko A, Matsuyama M, Goto H, Ohmuro-Matsuyama Y, Hayashi Y, Enomoto M, Ibi M, Urano T, Yonemura S, Kiyono T, Izawa I, Inagaki M.:
   "Trichoplein and Aurora A block aberrant primary cilia assembly in proliferating cells. "
   J Cell Biol. 197:391-405 (2012)
3. Suga H, Kadoshima T, Minaguchi M, Ohgushi M, Soen M, Nakano T, Takata N, Wataya T, Muguruma K, Miyoshi H, Yonemura S, Oiso Y, Sasai Y.:
   "Self-formation of functional adenohypophysis in three-dimensional culture."
   Nature. 480:57-62 (2011)
4. Tajiri R, Misaki K, Yonemura S, Hayashi S.:
   "Joint morphology in the insect leg: evolutionary history inferred from Notch loss-of-function phenotypes in Drosophila."
   Development. 138:4621-4626 (2011)
5. Yonemura S.:
   "A mechanism of mechanotransduction at the cell-cell interface: Emergence of α-catenin as the center of a force-balancing mechanism for morphogenesis in multicellular organisms. "
   Bioessays. 33:732-736 (2011)
6. Yonemura S.:
   "Cadherin-actin interactions at adherens junctions."
   Curr Opin Cell Biol. 23:515-522 (2011)
7. Wada K, Itoga K, Okano T, Yonemura S, Sasaki H.:
   "Hippo pathway regulation by cell morphology and stress fibers."
   Development. 138:3907-3914 (2011)
8. Otani T, Oshima K, Onishi S, Takeda M, Shinmyozu K, Yonemura S, and Hayashi S.:
   "Kke regulates cell elongation through recycling endosome shuttling."
   Dev. Cell. 20: 219-232 (2011)
9. Yonemura, S., Wada, Y., Watanabe, T., Nagafuchi, A. and Shibata, M.:
   "α-catenin as a tension transducer that induces adherens junction development."
   Nature Cell Biol. 12:533-542 (2010)
10. Takeuchi, K., Nakano, Y., Kato, U., Kaneda, M., Aizu, M., Awano, W., Yonemura, S., Kiyonaka, S., Mori, Y., Yamamoto, D., and Umeda M.:
    "Changes in temperature preferences and energy homeostasis in dystroglycan mutants."
    Science. 323, 1740-1743 (2009)