Official Title

Associate Professor
Faculty of Science and Engineering
（Global Center for Science and Engineering）

Examples of Classes Taught

Introduction to Bioscience I, Current Topics in Bioscience

Research Fields

Cytoskeletal Organization, Cell Biology, Tissue Architecture

Research

Cytoskeletal organization contributes to cell division, cell polarization, differentiation and human disease. Depending on cell type or cell cycle stage, cytoskeletons are organized into different arrays. We are interested in understanding the molecular basis of how the cytoskeletal organization is coordinated with cellular functions that leads to maintaining living organisms. Our current focus is on microtubule cytoskeleton in epithelial cells. Epithelial cells are major components of many organs and contain highly-ordered microtubules. We found that a microtubule minus-end binding protein, CAMSAP3, orients epithelial array of microtubules in small intestinal cells and that maintains intracellular architecture. Using mutant mice as well as cultured cells, we are exploring novel function and molecular mechanism of epithelial microtubule organization.

Selected publications

1. Tell the difference between mitosis and meiosis: interplay between chromosomes, cytoskeleton and cell cycle regulation
Masamitsu Sato, Yasutaka Kakui, Mika Toya
Front. Cell Dev. Biol. (2021) 660322. DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.660322

2. Cyst formation in proximal renal tubules caused by dysfunction of the microtubule minus-end regulator CAMSAP3
Yuto Mitsuhata, Takaya Abe, Kazuyo Misaki, Yuna Nakajima, Keita Kiriya, Miwa Kawasaki, Hiroshi Kiyonari, *Masatoshi Takeichi, *Mika Toya, Masamitsu Sato
Scientific Reports (2021) 11:5857, doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-85416-x

3. CAMSAP3 orients the apical-to-basal polarity of microtubule arrays in epithelial cells.
Mika Toya, Saeko Kobayashi, Miwa Kawasaki, Go Shioi, Mari Kaneko, Takashi Ishiuchi, Kazuyo Misaki, Wenxiang Meng and Masatoshi Takeichi
Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA 113-2, 332-337 (2016)

4. Organization of Non-centrosomal Microtubule in Epithelial cells.
Mika Toya and Masatoshi Takeichi
Cell Structure and Function 41-2, 127-135 (2016)