Education

Graduate School
Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan, 2004
Visiting Fellow
National Institutes of Health, Durham, NC, 2004-2009
Research Fellow
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2009-2012

Areas of Interest

Research Interests

Our research has focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for human congenital diseases, with an emphasis on craniofacial abnormalities. Our ultimate long-term goal is to acquire the molecular knowledge for understanding craniofacial skeletal defects.

Publications

The molecular complex of ciliary and golgin protein is crucial for skull development.

Yamaguchi H, Meyer MD, He L, Senavirathna L, Pan S, Komatsu Y.

Development. 2021 Jul 1;148(13):dev199559. doi: 10.1242/dev.199559.

 

Augmented BMP signaling commits cranial neural crest cells to a chondrogenic fate by suppressing autophagic β-catenin degradation.

Yang J, Kitami M, Pan H, Nakamura MT, Zhang H, Liu F, Zhu L, Komatsu Y#, Mishina Y#.

Sci Signal. 2021 Jan 12;14(665):eaaz9368. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aaz9368. (#Co-corresponding authors)

 

Alteration of DNA Damage Response Causes Cleft Palate.

Yamaguchi H, Kitami K, Wu X, He L, Wang J, Wang B, Komatsu Y.

Front Physiol. 2021 Mar 29;12:649492. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.649492.

 

BRCA1 and BRCA2 tumor suppressors in neural crest cells are essential for craniofacial bone development.

Kitami K, Kitami M, Kaku M, Wang B, Komatsu Y.

PLoS Genet. 2018 May 2;14(5):e1007340. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007340.

Recommended in F1000.

 

Canonical and noncanonical intraflagellar transport regulates craniofacial skeletal development.

Noda K, Kitami M, Kitami K, Kaku M, Komatsu Y.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 May 10;113(19):E2589-97. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1519458113.

 

SHP2-Deficiency in Chondrocytes Deforms Orofacial Cartilage and Ciliogenesis in Mice.

Kamiya N, Shen J, Noda K, Kitami M, Feng GS, Chen D, Komatsu Y.

J Bone Miner Res. 2015 Nov;30(11):2028-32. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.2541.