Prof. Yasuyuki Fujita, MD & PhD, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Oncology
This is a summary of the curriculum vitae (CV) of Prof. Yasuyuki Fujita, PhD, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Oncology. On November 25, he will give a presentation at Fujita Health University.
His work and passion are about how normal healthy epithelial cells can eliminate cancer cells through competition . Already as a student, he thought of this model (see link ). Much later, although the concept of cell competition then already existed for other cell types, he was the first to show this for normal versus cancerous epithelial cells in Nature Cell Biology (Hogan et al. 2009 ).
Since then, as a recognized pioneer and leader in this field, among his many publications on this topic have been—as a corresponding author—a review in Cell Research (Yamauchi and Fujita 2012 ), another research article in Nature Cell Biology (Kon et al. 2017 ), and a News and Views paper in Nature (Fujita 2019 ).
He was born in Osaka , and although he studied medicine at Kyoto University , for the largest part of his Ph.D. studies he returned to Osaka again. There, at Osaka University Medical School, in the group of Prof. Yoshimi Takai, he studied intracellular signaling pathways. Then he went to Berlin , Germany, where for five years he worked for Prof. Walter Birchmeier and continued this line of research at the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine. In both Osaka and Berlin, the research areas he worked on varied largely, like between neurotransmitter release and cell-cell adhesions. In these two periods, he got publications as a first author in the prestigious journals Neuron (1998 ) and Nature Cell Biology (2002 ). His major discovery in Germany was a protein called Hakai (meaning ‘destruction’ in Japanese), an E3 ubiquitin-ligase which can induce the endocytosis (uptake) of E-cadherin and so can disrupt contacts between cells and allow them to move (also see link ).
Because of his achievements, he was then allowed to set up his own group in MRC, Laboratory for Cell and Molecular Biology (LMCB), Cell Biology Unit, University College London , UK, a position that he held from 2002 to 2011. Here, he started to follow his original passion to study how normal epithelial cells can get rid of cancer cells between them, which led to the above-mentioned first paper on this topic in Nature Cell Biology (Hogan et al. 2009 ). He has been following this passion ever since, first as a professor at the Institute for Genetic Medicine, Division of Molecular Oncology, Hokkaido University , Japan, and since 2020 as a professor at Kyoto University , Japan.
I only know him from congresses, but he is a nice and lively person with whom you can talk about all kinds of things. The impression is that he is a very hard worker, but also enjoys life outside of science such as social drinks and sports (see also link ). He is a very good storyteller. His interest in life also shows in his three-months stay in Uganda as a volunteer, where he was involved in the establishment of a new clinic in a countryside village and saw a number of patients suffering from malnutrition or infection with HIV, malaria or filaria.
I am sure that you will enjoy his captivating stories of how good cells can fight bad cells!
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION:
1984 – 1990 M.D. Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine
Jun 1, 1990 – Aug 1, 1990 Kyoto University Hospital, Department of Geriatrics Medicine
1990 – 1993 Maizuru Municipal Hospital, Internal Medicine and Emergency Room
Jan 16, 1993 – Mar 31, 1993 Republic of Uganda, Working as a volunteer
1993 – 1994 Ph.D. student, Kyoto University. Supervisor: Prof. Tohru Kita
1994 – 1997 Ph.D. student, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Osaka University Medical School. Supervisor: Prof. Yoshimi Takai
Mar 24, 1997 Ph.D. Kyoto University
Thesis: Phosphorylation of Munc18/n-Sec1/rbSec1 by protein kinase C: its implication in regulating the interaction of Munc18/n-Sec1/rbSec1 with syntaxin.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Apr 1, 1997 – Jun 6, 1997 Post-doc, Osaka University. Supervisor: Prof. Yoshimi Takai
1997 – 2002 Post-doc, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany. Supervisor: Prof. Walter Birchmeier
2002 – 2011 Group leader, Medical Research Council (MRC), Laboratory for Cell and Molecular Biology (LMCB), Cell Biology Unit, University College London, UK
2010 – 2020 Professor, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Division of Molecular Oncology, Hokkaido University
2020 – present Professor, Department of Molecular Oncology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
PUBLICATIONS
Prof. Fujita has 85 publications of which a considerable number in prestigious journals such as Nature , Cell Research , Nature Cell Biology (3x), Nature Immunology, Nature Physics , Nature Communications (4x), Neuron , PLOS Biology , Cell Reports (2x), and EMBO Journal .
1. Fujita, Y. , Sasaki, T., Araki, K., Takahashi, K., Imazumi, K., Kato, M., Matsuura, Y., and Takai, Y. (1994) GDP/GTP exchange reaction-stimulating activity of Rabphilin-3A for Rab3A small GTP-binding protein. FEBS Lett
2. Fujita, Y. , Sasaki, T., Fukui, K., Kotani, H., Kimura, T., Hata, Y., Sudhof, T. C., Scheller, R. H., and Takai, Y. (1996) Phosphorylation of Munc18/n-Sec1/rbSec1 by protein kinase C: its implication in regulating the interaction of Munc18/n-Sec1/rbSec1 with syntaxin. J. Biol. Chem
3. Kohno, H., Tanaka, K., Mino, A., Umikawa, M., Imamura, H., Fujiwara, T., Fujita, Y. , Hotta, K., Qadota, H., Watanabe, T., Ohya, Y., and Takai, Y. (1996) Bni1p implicated in cytoskeletal control is a putative target of Rho1p small GTP binding protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. EMBO J.
4. Jin-no, Y., Shirataki, H., Senbonmatsu, T., Yamamoto, T., Fujita, Y. , Nakanishi, H., and Takai, Y. (1997) A novel function of the C-terminal lipid moieties of Rab3A small G protein implicated in Ca2(+)-dependent exocytosis-inhibition of interaction with GTP and reduction of this inhibition by phospholipid. Genes Cells
5. Fujita, Y. , Shirataki, H., Sakisaka, T., Asakura, T., Ohya, T., Kotani, H., Yokoyama, S., Nishioka, H., Matsuura, Y., Mizoguchi, A., Scheller, R. H., and Takai, Y. (1998) Tomosyn: A syntaxin-binding protein which displaces Munc18/n-Sec1 from syntaxin and forms a novel complex in the neurotransmitter release process. Neuron
6. Fujita, Y. , Krause, G., Scheffner, M., Zechner, D., Leddy, H. E. M., Behrens, J., Sommer, T., and Birchmeier, W. (2002) A novel E-cadherin binding protein, Hakai, is an E3 ubiquitin-ligase which ubiquitinates the E-cadherin complex. Nature Cell Biology
7. Zechner, D., Fujita, Y. , Hülsken, J., Müller, T., Walter, I., Taketo, M., Crenshaw III., E. B., Birchmeier, W., and Birchmeier, C. (2003) ß-catenin signals regulate the balance between neuronal pregenitor expansion and differentiation. Developmental Biology
8. Yanagisawa, M., Kaverina, I. N., Wang, A., Fujita, Y. , Reynolds, A. B., Anastasiadis, P. Z. (2004) A novel interaction between kinesin and p120 modulates p120 localization and function. J. Biol. Chem.
9. Fujita, Y. and Hogan, C. (2004) Adherens Junction. Encyclopedic Reference of Genomics and Proteomics (Springer )
10. Hogan, C., Serpente, N., Cogram, P., Hosking, C. R., Bialucha, C. U., Feller, S. M., Braga, V. M. M., Birchmeier, W., and Fujita, Y. (2004) Rap1 regulates the formation of E-cadherin-based cell-cell contacts. Mol. Cell Biol .
11. Fujita, Y. and Braga, V.M.M. (2005) Epithelial cell shape and Rho small GTPases. Signalling Networks in Cell shape and Motility. Novartis Foundation Symposium
12. Palacios, F., Tushir, J. S., Fujita, Y. , and D’Souza-Schorey, C. (2005) Lysosomal targeting of E-cadherin: a unique mechanism for the down-regulation of cell-cell adhesion during epithelial to mesenchymal transitions. Mol. Cell Biol .
13. Fujita, Y. , Hogan, C. and Braga, V.M.M. (2005) Regulation of cell-cell adhesion by Rap1. Methods in Enzymology,
14. Pinal, N., Goberdhan, D.C.I., Collinson, L., Fujita, Y. , Cox, I.M., Wilson, C., and Pichaud, F. (2006) Regulated and polarized PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 accumulation is essential for apical membrane morphogenesis in photoreceptor epithelial cells. Current Biology
15. Hosking, RC, Ulloa, F., Hogan, C., Figueroa, A., Gevaert, K., Birchmeier, W., Briscoe, J., and Fujita, Y. (2007) The transcriptional repressor Glis2 is a novel binding partner for p120 catenin. Mol. Biol. Cell
16. Crochet, SD., Figueroa, A., Hogan, C., Ferber E.C., Bialucha, CU., Adams, J., Richardson, ECN,andFujita, Y. ( 2007) Casein kinase 1 is a novel negative regulator of E-cadherin-based cell-cell contacts. Mol. Cell Biol.
17. Bialucha, CU, Ferber E.C., Pichaud F., Peak-Chew S.Y., and Fujita, Y. (2007) p32 is a novel mammalian Lgl-binding protein that enhances the activity of PKCζ and regulates cell polarity. J. Cell Biol.
18. Ferber, E.C., Kajita, M., Wadlow, A., Tobiansky, L., Niessen, C., Ariga, H., Daniel, J. and Fujita, Y . (2008) A role for the cleaved cytoplasmic domain of E-cadherin in the nucleus. J. Biol. Chem .
19. Carreira-Barbosa, F.,Kajita, M., Morel, V., Wada, H., Okamoto, H.,Arias, A.M., Fujita, Y., Wilson. S.W. and Tada, M. (2009) Flamingo regulates epiboly and convergence/extension movements through cell cohesive and signalling functions during zebrafish gastrulation. Development, 136 (3), 383-392.
20. Hogan, C., Dupré-Crochet, S., Norman, M., Kajita, M., Zimmermann, C., Pelling, A.E., Piddini, E., Baena-López, L.A., Vincent, J. P., Hosoya, H., Itoh, Y., Pichaud, F. and Fujita, Y. (2009) Characterization of the interface between normal and transformed epithelial cells. Nature Cell Biology
21. Figueroa, A., Kotani, H., Toda, Y., Mazan-Mamczarz, K., Mueller, E. C., Otto, A., Disch, L., Norman, M., Rasika M. Ramdasi, Keshtgar, M., Gorospe, M., and Fujita ,Y . (2009) Novel roles of Hakai in cell proliferation and oncogenesis. Mol. Biol. Cell
22. Kajita, M. and Fujita, Y. (2009) Interaction between normal and transformed epithelial cells. Seikagaku
23. Figueroa, A., Fujita, Y. , Gorospe, M. (2009) Hacking RNA: Hakai promotes tumorigenesis by enhancing the RNA-binding function of PSF. Cell Cycle 8:22, 1-4.
24. Kajita, M., and Fujita, Y. (2010) Interface between normal and transformed epithelial cells. Tanpakushitsu Kakusan Koso
25. Kajita, M., Hogan, C., Harris, A. R., Dupre-Crochet, S., Itasaki, N., Kawakami, K., Charras, G., Tada, M., and Fujita, Y . (2010) Interaction with surrounding normal cells influences signaling pathways and behavior of Src-transformed cells. Journal of Cell Science
26. Dupré-Crochet, S., Hogan, C., and Fujita, Y. (2010) Interactions between normal and transformed epithelial cells. Med Sci
27. Tamori, Y., Bialucha, C. U., Tian, A-G., Kajita, M., Huang, Y-C., Norman, M., Karmakharm, A., Ivanovitch, K., Disch, L., Liu, T., Deng, W-M., and Fujita, Y. (2010) Involvement of Lgl and Mahjong/VprBP in Cell Competition. PLoS Biology
28. Hogan, C., Kajita, M., Lawrenson, K., and Fujita, Y. (2011) Interactions between normal and transformed epithelial cells: their contributions to tumourigenesis. Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol.
29. Fujita, Y. (2011) Interface between normal and transformed epithelial cells —A road to a novel type of cancer prevention and treatment. Cancer Science
30. Howard, S., Deroo, T., Fujita, Y. , and Itasaki, N. (2011) A positive role of cadherin in Wnt/b-catenin signalling during epithelial-mesenchymal transition. PLoS ONE
31. Norman, M., Wisniewska, K. A., Lawrenson, K., Garcia-Miranda G., Tada M., Kajita M., Mano, H., Ishikawa, S., Ikegawa, M., Shimada, T., and Fujita, Y. (2012) Loss of Scribble causes cell competition in mammalian cells. Journal of Cell Science
32. Yamauchi, H., and Fujita, Y. (2012) Epithelial self-defense against cancer. Cell Research
33. Katoh, H and Fujita, Y. (2012) Epithelial homeostasis: elimination by live cell extrusion. Current Biology
34. Saitoh, M., Shirakihara, T., Fukasawa, A., Horiguchi, K., Sakamoto, K., Sugiya, H., Beppu, H., Fujita, Y. , Morita, I., Miyazono, H., and Miyazawa, K. (2013) Basolateral BMP signaling in polarized epithelial cells. PLoS One
35. Kuipers, D., Mehonic, A., Kajita, M., Peter, L., Fujita, Y. , Duke, T., Charras, G., and Gale, J. D. (2014) Epithelial repair is a two-stage process driven first by dying cells and then by their neighbours. Journal of Cell Science
36. Benedetto, A., Accetta, G., Fujita, Y. , and Charras, G. (2014) Spatiotemporal control of gene expression using microfluidics. Lab on a Chip
37. Anton, K. A., Sinclair, J., Ohoka, A., Kajita, M., Ishikawa,S., Benz, P. M., Renne, T., Balda, M., Jorgensen, C., Matter, K., and Fujita, Y. (2014) PKA-regulated VASP phosphorylation promotes extrusion of transformed cells from the epithelium. Journal of Cell Science
38. Kajita M., Sugimura, K.,Ohoka, A., Burden, J., Suganuma, H.,Ikegawa, M., Shimada, T., Kitamura, T., Shindoh, M., Ishikawa, S., Yamamoto, S., Saitoh, S., Yako, Y., Takahashi, R., Okajima, T., Kikuta, J., Maijima, Y., Ishii, M., Tada, M., and Fujita, Y. (2014) Filamin acts as a key regulator in epithelial defence against transformed cells. Nature Communications
39. Ivers, L.P., Cummings, B., Owolabi, F., Welzel, K., Klinger, R., Saitoh, S., O’Connor, D., Fujita, Y. , Scholz, D., and Itasaki, N. (2014) Dynamic and influential interaction of cancer cells with normal epithelial cells in 3D culture. Cancer Cell International
40. Ohoka, A., Kajita, M., Ikenouchi, J., Yako, Y., Kitamoto, S., Kon, S., Ikegawa, M., Shimada, T., Ishikawa, S., and Fujita, Y. (2015) EPLIN is a crucial regulator for extrusion of RasV12-transformed cells. Journal of Cell Science
41. Kajita, M. and Fujita, Y. (2015) EDAC: Epithelial defence against cancer- cell competition between normal and transformed epithelial cells in mammals. Journal of Biochemistry
42. Yamauchi, H., Matsumaru, T., Morita, T., Ishikawa, S., Maenaka, K., Takigawa, I., Semba, K., Kon, S.& Fujita, Y. (2015) The cell competition-based high-throughput screening identifies small compounds that promote the elimination of RasV12-transformed cells from epithelia. Scientific Reports
43. Yamamoto, S., Yako, Y., Fujioka, Y., Kajita, M., Kameyama, T., Kon, S., Ishikawa, S., Ohba, Y., Ohno, Y., Kihara, A., and Fujita, Y. (2016) A role of the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)- S1P receptor 2 pathway in Epithelial Defense Against Cancer (EDAC). Molecular Biology of the Cell
44. Chiba, T., Ishihara, E., Miyamura, N., Narumi, R., Kajita, M., Fujita, Y. , Suzuki, A., Ogawa, Y. and *Nishina, H. (2016) MDCK cells expressing constitutively active Yes-associated protein (YAP) undergo apical extrusion depending on neighboring cell status. Scientific Reports
45. Porazinski,S., Navascues, J., Yako, Y., Hill, W., Jones, M.R., Maddison, R., Fujita, Y. , and Hogan, C. (2016) EphA2 drives the segregation of Ras-transformed epithelial cells from normal neighbors. Current Biology
46. Kadeer, A., Maruyama, T., Kajita, M., Morita T., Sasaki, A., Ohoka, A., Ishikawa, S., Ikegawa, M., Shimada, T., and Fujita, Y. (2017) Plectin is a novel regulator for apical extrusion of RasV12-transformed cells. Scientific Reports
47. Saitoh, S., Maruyama, T., Yako, Y., Kajita, M., Fujioka, Y., Ohba, Y., Kasai, N., Sugama, N., Kon, S., Ishikawa, S., Hayashi, T., Yamazaki, T., Tada, M., and Fujita, Y. (2017) Rab5-regulated endocytosis plays a crucial role in apical extrusion of transformed cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA
48. Kon, S., Ishibashi, K., Katoh,H., Kitamoto, S., Shirai, T., Tanaka, S., Kajita, M., Ishikawa, S., Yamauchi, H., Yako, Y., Kamasaki, T., Matsumoto, T., Watanabe, H., Egami, R., Sasaki, A., Nishikawa, A., Kameda, I., Maruyama, T., Narumi, R., Morita, T., Sasaki, Y., Enoki, R., Honma, S., Imamura, H., Oshima, M., Soga, T., Miyazaki, J., Duchen, M. R., Nam, J.-M., Onodera, Y., Yoshioka, S., Kikuta, J., Ishii, M., Imajo, M., Nishida, E., Fujioka, Y., Ohba, Y., Sato, T., and Fujita, Y. (2017) Cell competition with normal epithelial cells promotes apical extrusion of transformed cells through metabolic changes. Nature Cell Biology
49. Maruyama, T. and Fujita, Y. (2017) Cell competition in mammals ¾novel homeostatic machinery for embryonic development and cancer prevention. Current Opinion in Cell Biology
50. Bove, A., Gradeci, D., Fujita, Y. , Banerjee, S., Charras, G. and Lowe, A.R. (2017) Local cellular neighbourhood controls proliferation in cell competition. Molecular Biology of the Cell
51. Kasai, N., Kadeer, A., Kajita, M., Saitoh, S., Ishikawa, S., Maruyama, T.and Fujita, Y. (2018) The paxillin-plectin-EPLIN complex promotes apical elimination of RasV12-transformed cells by modulating HDAC6-regulated tubulin acetylation. Scientific Reports
52. Sasaki, A., Nagatake,T., Egami, R., Gu, G., Takigawa, I., Ikeda, W., Nakatani, T., Kunisawa, J. and Fujita, Y. (2018) Obesity suppresses cell competition-mediated apical elimination of RasV12-transformed cells from epithelial tissues. Cell Reports
53. Watanabe, H., Ishibashi, K., Mano, H., Kitamoto, S., Sato, N., Hoshiba, K.,Kato, M., Matsuzawa, F., Takeuchi, Y., Shirai, T., Ishikawa, S., Morioka, Y., Imagawa, T., Sakaguchi, K., Yonezawa, S., Kon, S. and Fujita, Y. (2018) Mutant p53-expressing cells undergo necroptosis via cell competition with the neighboring normal epithelial cells. Cell Reports
54. Yako, Y., Hayashi, T., Takeuchi, Y., Ishibashi, K., Kasai, N., Sato, N., Kuromiya,K., Ishikawa, S. and Fujita, Y. (2018) ADAM-like Decysin-1 (ADAMDEC1) is a positive regulator of Epithelial Defense Against Cancer (EDAC) that promotes apical extrusion of RasV12-transformed cells. Scientific Reports
55. Takagi, M., Ikegawa, M., Shimada, T., Ishikawa, S., Kajita, M., Maruyama, T., Kamasaki, T. and Fujita, Y. (2018) Accumulation of the myosin-II-spectrin complex plays a positive role in apical extrusion of Src-transformed epithelial cells. Genes to Cells
56. Anton, K.A., Kajita, M., Narumi, R., Fujita, Y. and Tada, M. (2018) Src-transformed cells hijack mitosis to extrude from the epithelium. Nature Communications
57. Koso, H., Tsuhako, A., Matsubara, D., Fujita, Y. and Watanabe, S. (2018) Ras activation in retinal progenitor cells induces tumor formation in the eye. Experimental Eye Research
58. Nishio, M., Miyachi, Y., Otani, J., Tane, S., Omori, H., Ueda, F., Togashi, H., Sasaki, T., Mak, T., Nakao, K., Fujita, Y. , Nishina, H., Maehama, T. and Suzuki, A. (2019) Hippo pathway controls cell adhesion and context-dependent cell competition to influence skin engraftment efficiency. FASEB Journal
59. Khalilgharibi, N., Fouchard, J., Asadipour, N., Barrientos, R., Duda, M., Bonfanti, A., Yonis, A., Harris, A., Mosaffa, P., Fujita, Y. , Kabla, A., Mao, Y., Baum, B., Munoz, J.J., Miodownik, M. and Charras, G. (2019) Stress relaxation in epithelial monolayers is controlled by the actomyosin cortex. Nature Physics
60. Fujii, Y., Ochi, Y., Tuchiya, M., Kajita, M., Fujita, Y. , Ishimoto, Y. and Okajima, T. (2019) Spontaneous spatial correlation of elastic modulus in jammed epithelial monolayers observed by AFM. Biophysical Journal
61. Søgaard, P.P., Ito, N., Sato, N., Fujita, Y. , Matter, K., and Itoh, Y. (2019) Epithelial polarization in 3D matrix requires DDR1 signaling to regulate actomyosin contractility. Life Science Alliance
62. Tanimura, N. and Fujita, Y. (2019) Epithelial defense against cancer (EDAC). Seminars in Cancer Biology
63. Fujita, Y. (2019) Flower power as human cancer cells compete. Nature
64. Ishihara, E., Nagaoka, Y., Okuno, T., Ishigami-Yuasa, M., Kagechika, H., Kamimura, K., Terai, S., Yokomizo, T., Sugimoto, Y., Fujita, Y. , Suzuki, A. and Nishina, H. (2020) Prostaglandin E2 and its receptor EP2 trigger signaling that contributes to Yes-associated protein (YAP)-mediated cell competition. Genes to Cells
65. Takeuchi, Y., Narumi,R., Akiyama, R., Vitiello, E., Shirai, T., Tanimura, N., Kuromiya, K., Ishikawa, S., Kajita, M., Tada, M., Haraoka, Y., Akieda, Y., Ishitani, T., Fujioka, Y., Ohba, Y., Yamada, S., Hosokawa, Y., Toyama, Y., Matsui, T., and Fujita, Y. (2020) Calcium wave promotes cell extrusion. Current Biology
66. Sato, N., Yako, Y., Maruyama, T., Ishikawa, S., Kuromiya, K., Tokuoka, S.M., Kita, Y.,and Fujita, Y. (2020) The COX-2/PGE2 pathway suppresses apical elimination of RasV12-transformed cells from epithelia. Communications Biology
67. Maruyama, T., Sasaki, A., Iijima, S., Ayukawa, S., Goda, N., Tazuru, K., Hashimoto, N., Hayashi, H., Kozawa, K., Sato, N., Ishikawa, S., Morita, T., and Fujita, Y. (2020) ZAK inhibitor PLX4720 promotes extrusion of transformed cells via cell competition. iScience
68. Ogawa, M., Kawarazaki, Y., Fujita, Y. , Naguro, I., and Ichijo, H. (2020) FGF21 induced by the ASK1-p38 pathway promotes mechanical cell competition by activating cell motility. Current Biology
69. Moriuchi, Y., Tsuhako, A., Koso, H., Fujita, Y. , Watanabe, S. (2020) RasV12 expression in microglia promotes inflammation in the retina. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
70. Itoh, Y., Ng, M., Wiberg, A., Inoue, K., Hirata, N., Paiva, K.B.S., Ito, N., Dzobo, K., Sato, N., Gifford, V., Fujita, Y. , Inada, M., and Furniss, D. (2021) A common SNP risk variant MT1-MMP causative for Dupuytren’s disease has a specific defect in collagenolytic activity Matrix Biology
71. Jebri I., Tsujita, K., Fujita, Y. , and Ito, T. (2021) Non-cell-autonomous migration of RasV12-transformed cell toward the basal side of surrounding normal cells. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
72. Yan, L., Tsujita, K., Fujita, Y. , and Ito, T. (2021) PTEN is required for the migration and invasion of Ras-transformed MDCK cells. FEBS Letters
73. Kon, S. and Fujita, Y. (2021) Cell competition-induced apical elimination of transformed cells, EDAC, orchestrates the cellular homeostasis. Developmental Biology
74. Kozawa,K., Sekai, M., Ohba, K., Ito, S., Sako, H., Maruyama, T., Kakeno, M., Shirai,T., Kuromiya, K., Kamasaki, T., Kohashi, K., Tanaka, S., Ishikawa,S., Sato, N., Asano,S., Suzuki,H., Tanimura, N., Mukai, Y., Gotoh, N., Tanino, M., Tanaka, S., Natsuga, K., Soga, T., Nakamura, T., Yabuta, Y., Saitou, M., Ito, T., Matsuura, K., Tsunoda, M., Kikumori, T., Iida, T., Mizutani, Y., Miyai, Y., Kaibuchi, K., Enomoto, A., and Fujita, Y. (2021) The CD44/COL17A1 Pathway Promotes the Formation of Multilayered, Transformed Epithelia. Current Biology
75. Kohashi, K., Mori, Y., Narumi, R., Kozawa, K., Kamasaki, T., Ishikawa, S., Kajita, M., Kobayashi, R., Tamori, Y., and Fujita, Y. (2021) Sequential Oncogenic Mutations Influence Cell Competition. Current Biology
76. Tsujita, K., Satow, R., Asada, S., Nakamura, Y., Arnes, L., Sako, K., Fujita, Y. , Fukami, K., and Itoh, T. (2021) Homeostatic membrane tension constrains cancer cell dissemination by counteracting BAR protein assembly. Nature Communications
77. Kamasaki, T., Miyazaki, Y., Ishikawa, S., Hoshiba, K., Kuromiya, K., Tanimura, N., Mori, Y., Tsutsumi, M., Nemoto, T., Uehara, R., Suetsugu, S., Itoh, T., and Fujita, Y. (2021) FBP17-mediated finger-like membrane protrusions in cell competition between normal and RasV12-transformed cells. iScience
78. Ayukawa, S., Kamoshita, N., Nakayama, J., Teramoto, R., Pishesha, N., Ohba, K., Sato, N., Kozawa, K., Abe, H., Semba, K., Goda, N., Fujita, Y. , Maruyama, T. (2021) Epithelial cells remove precancerous cells by cell competition via MHC class I-LILRB3 interaction. Nature Immunology
79. Kamasaki, T., Uehara, R., Fujita, Y. (2022) Ultrastructural characteristics of finger-like membrane protrusions in cell competition. Microscopy
80. Mori, Y., Shiratsuchi, N., Sato, N., Chaya, A., Tanimura, N., Ishikawa, S., Kato, M., Kameda, I., Kon, S., Haraoka, Y., Ishitani, T., and Fujita, Y. (2022) Extracellular ATP facilitates cell extrusion from epithelial layers mediated by cell competition or apoptosis. Current Biology
81. Kuromiya, K., Aoki, K., Ishibashi, K., Yotabun, M., Sekai, M., Tanimura, N., Iijima, S., Ishikawa, S., Kamasaki, T., Akieda, Y., Ishitani, T., Hayashi, T., Toda, S., Yokoyama, K., Lee, C.-G. Usami, I., Inoue, H., Takigawa, I., Gauquelin, E., Sugimura, K., Hino, N., and Fujita, Y. (2022) Calcium sparks enhance the tissue fluidity within epithelial layers and promote apical extrusion of transformed cells. Cell Reports
82. Kajiwara, K., Chen, P.-K., Abe, Y., Okuda, S., Adachi, J., Tomonaga, T., Kon, S., Fujita, Y. , and Okada, M. (2022) Src activation in lipid rafts confers epithelial cells with invasive potential to escape from apical extrusion during cell competition. Current Biology
83. Igarashi, N., Miyata, K., Loo, T. M., Hanyu, A., Nishio, H., Kawasaki, H., Kon, S., Moriyama, K., Fujita, Y. , Takahashi, A. (2022) Hepatocyte growth factor derived from senescent cells attenuates cell competition-induced apical elimination of oncogenic cells. Nature Communications
84. Shirai, T., Sekai, M., Kozawa, K., Sato, N., Tanimura, N., Kon, S., Matsumoto, T., Murakami, T., Ito, S., Tilston-Lunel, A., Varelas, X., Fujita, Y. (2022) Basal extrusion of single-oncogenic mutant cells induces dome-like structures with altered microenvironments. Cancer Science
85. Maruyama, T. and Fujita, Y. (2022) Cell competition in vertebrates — a key machinery for tissue homeostasis. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development , 72:15-21.
