Assistant Professor
Department of Cell Biology
Contact
Phone: 860-679-3049
Email: inaba@uchc.edu
Office: E6053
UConn Health
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030
Research Interests
Our long term goal is to understand the molecular mechanism of asymmetric stem cell division.
Asymmetric stem cell division is a mechanism that balances stem cell self-renewal and differentiation through the production of one stem cell and one differentiating cell. It is a simple way of maintaining the stem cell population without increasing it and is thus thought to be a vital mechanism for tissue homeostasis and tumor suppression. My research goal is to elucidate the molecular mechanism as to how two daughter cells of different fates are made after only one cell division. My lab primarily uses Drosophila gonads, in which we can monitor asymmetric division in vivo. Owning to the simple anatomy and abundant imaging tools, this system allows us to discover previously unrecognized regulatory mechanisms Our research findings should lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for cancers and degenerative diseases.
Funding: NIGMS 1R35GM128678-01
Selected Publications
Antel M, Raj R, Masoud MYG, Pan Z, Li S, Mellone BG, Inaba M. Interchromosomal interaction of homologous Stat92E alleles regulates transcriptional switch during stem-cell differentiation. Nat Commun. 2022 Jul 9;13(1):3981. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31737-y. PMID: 35810185 Free PMC article.
Inaba M, Ridwan SM, Antel M. Removal of cellular protrusions. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Sep;129:126-134. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.02.025. Epub 2022 Mar 5. PMID: 35260295 Review.
Sardi, Justin; Bener, Muhammed Burak; Simao, Taylor; Descoteaux, Abigail E; Slepchenko, Boris M; Inaba, Mayu. “Mad dephosphorylation at the nuclear pore is essential for asymmetric stem cell division“. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2021 Mar;118(13).
Ladyzhets, Sophia; Antel, Matthew; Simao, Taylor; Gasek, Nathan; Cowan, Ann E; Inaba, Mayu. “Self-limiting stem-cell niche signaling through degradation of a stem-cell receptor“. PLoS biology 2020 Dec;18(12):e3001003.
Antel, Matthew; Baena, Valentina; Terasaki, Mark; Inaba, Mayu. “Ultrastructural Analysis of Cell-Cell Interactions in Drosophila Ovary“. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) 2021 Jan.
Antel, Matthew; Inaba, Mayu. “Modulation of Cell-Cell Interactions in Drosophila Oocyte Development“.Cells 2020 Jan;9(2).
Mayu Inaba, Dorothy R. Sorenson, Matt Kortus, Viktoria Salzmann, & Yukiko M. Yamashita. “Merlin is required for coordinating proliferation of two stem cell lineages in the Drosophila testis“. Scientific Reports 7: 2502, DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-02768-z. May 2017.
Cuie Chen, Mayu Inaba, Zsolt G Venkei, Yukiko M Yamashita. “Klp10A, a stem cell centrosome-enriched kinesin, balances asymmetries in Drosophila male germline stem cell division“. eLife 2016;5:e20977. http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.20977.
Inaba and Y. M. Yamashita, “Evaluation of the Asymmetric Division of Drosophila Male Germline Stem Cells.” Methods Mol. Biol., vol. 1463, pp. 49–62, 2017.
Chaturvedi, M. Inaba, S. Scoggin, and M. Buszczak, “Drosophila CG2469 Encodes a Homolog of Human CTR9 and Is Essential for Development.” G3 (Bethesda)., Sep. 2016.
Inaba, Y. M. Yamashita, and M. Buszczak, “Keeping stem cells under control: New insights into the mechanisms that limit niche-stem cell signaling within the reproductive system.” Mol. Reprod. Dev., vol. 83, no. 8, pp. 675–83, Aug. 2016.
Buszczak, M. Inaba, and Y. M. Yamashita, “Signaling by Cellular Protrusions: Keeping the Conversation Private.” Trends Cell Biol., vol. 26, no. 7, pp. 526–34, Jul. 2016.
Inaba, M. Buszczak, and Y. M. Yamashita, “Nanotubes mediate niche-stem-cell signalling in the Drosophila testis.” Nature, vol. 523, no. 7560, pp. 329–332, Jul. 2015.
Inaba, Z. G. Venkei, and Y. M. Yamashita, “The polarity protein Baz forms a platform for the centrosome orientation during asymmetric stem cell division in the Drosophila male germline.” Elife, vol. 4, p. e04960, Jan. 2015.
Salzmann, M. Inaba, J. Cheng, and Y. M. Yamashita, “Lineage tracing quantification reveals symmetric stem cell division in drosophila male germline stem cells.” Cell. Mol. Bioeng., vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 441–448, 2013.
Inaba and Y. M. Yamashita, “Asymmetric stem cell division: Precision for robustness.” Cell Stem Cell, vol. 11, no. 4. pp. 461–469, 2012.
M. Roth, C.-Y. Y. A. Chiang, M. Inaba, H. Yuan, V. Salzmann, C. E. Roth, and Y. M. Yamashita, “Centrosome misorientation mediates slowing of the cell cycle under limited nutrient conditions in Drosophila male germline stem cells.” Mol Biol Cell, vol. 23, no. 8, pp. 1524–1532, Apr. 2012.
Inaba, H. Yuan, and Y. M. Yamashita, “String (Cdc25) regulates stem cell maintenance, proliferation and aging in Drosophila testis.” Development, vol. 138, no. 23. pp. 5079–5086, 2011.
Inaba, H. B. Yuan, V. Salzmann, M. T. Fuller, and Y. M. Yamashita, “E-Cadherin Is Required for Centrosome and Spindle Orientation in Drosophila Male Germline Stem Cells,” PLoS One, vol. 5, no. 8, p. e12473, Jan. 2010.