Takafumi Ichikawa

Morphogenesis and patterning in mammalian peri-implantation development

Implantation is a unique and essential event in mammalian development, including humans. Upon implantation, spherical pre-implantation embryos develop into complex form and pattern specific to each mammalian species. The underlying mechanisms, however, are still poorly understood as the process is inaccessible in the uterus. We developed ex vivo systems to recapitulate the mouse peri-implantation development and aim to understand how morphogenesis and patterning are achieved in the developing embryos by advanced live microscopy and biophysical approaches. We will also establish early primate embryos as a model system and compare them with mouse embryos for basic understanding of human embryogenesis.

Futamata, R., Ogasawara, F., Ichikawa, T., Kodan, A., Kimura, Y., Kioka, N., and Ueda, K. (2020). In vivo FRET analyses reveal a role of ATP hydrolysis–associated conformational changes in human P-glycoprotein. J. Biol. Chem. 295, 5002–5011.

Hino, N., Ichikawa, T., Kimura, Y., Matsuda, M., Ueda, K., and Kioka, N. (2019). An amphipathic helix of vinexin α is necessary for a substrate stiffness-dependent conformational change in vinculin. J. Cell Sci. 132, jcs217349.

Ichikawa, T., Kita, M., Matsui, T.S., Nagasato, A.I., Araki, T., Chiang, S.-H., Sezaki, T., Kimura, Y., Ueda, K., Deguchi, S., et al. (2017). Vinexin family (SORBS) proteins play different roles in stiffness-sensing and contractile force generation. J. Cell Sci. 130, 3517–3531.

Fukuda, S.P., Matsui, T.S., Ichikawa, T., Furukawa, T., Kioka, N., Fukushima, S., and Deguchi, S. (2017). Cellular force assay detects altered contractility caused by a nephritis-associated mutation in nonmuscle myosin IIA. Dev. Growth Differ. 59, 423–433.

Omachi, T., Ichikawa, T., Kimura, Y., Ueda, K., and Kioka, N. (2017). Vinculin association with actin cytoskeleton is necessary for stiffness-dependent regulation of vinculin behavior. PLoS One 12, e0175324.

Yamashita, H., Ichikawa, T., Matsuyama, D., Kimura, Y., Ueda, K., Craig, S.W., Harada, I., and Kioka, N. (2014). The role of the interaction of the vinculin proline-rich linker region with vinexin α in sensing the stiffness of the extracellular matrix. J. Cell Sci. 127, 1875–1886.

Sezaki, T., Inada, K., Sogabe, T., Kakuda, K., Tomiyama, L., Matsuno, Y., Ichikawa, T., Matsuo, M., Ueda, K., and Kioka, N. (2012). Role of Dlg5/lp-dlg, a Membrane-Associated Guanylate Kinase Family Protein, in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in LLc-PK1 Renal Epithelial Cells. PLoS One 7, e35519.

Awards

Research Group