Keio University · Medicine
Professor Hiroyuki Yamagishi's research lab focuses on the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying congenital heart and craniofacial disorders, with a particular emphasis on 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and its associated phenotypes. The lab investigates key transcription factors such as dHAND and Tbx1, exploring their roles in neural crest development, pharyngeal arch formation, and vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation. Using mouse models and human genetic analyses, the lab identifies critical regulatory elements and candidate genes involved in cardiac and craniofacial morphogenesis, contributing to the understanding of disease pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets. The research also extends to clinical applications, including the use of imaging techniques like PET for assessing cardiac sarcoidosis and evaluating outcomes in chromosomal disorders such as trisomy 13 and 18.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Microdeletions of chromosome 22q11 are the most common genetic defects associated with cardiac and craniofacial anomalies in humans. A screen for mouse genes dependent on dHAND, a transcription factor implicated in neural crest development, identified Ufd1, which maps to human 22q11 and encodes a protein involved in degradation of ubiquitinated proteins. Mouse Ufd1 was specifically expressed in most tissues affected in patients with 22q11 deletion syndrome. The human UFD1L gene was deleted in al
Haploinsufficiency of Tbx1 is likely a major determinant of cardiac and craniofacial birth defects associated with DiGeorge syndrome. Although mice deficient in Tbx1 exhibit pharyngeal and aortic arch defects, the developmental program and mechanisms through which Tbx1 functions are relatively unknown. We identified a single cis-element upstream of Tbx1 that recognized winged helix/forkhead box (Fox)-containing transcription factors and was essential for regulation of Tbx1 transcription in the p
Our findings suggest that cardiac (13)N-NH(3)/(18)F-FDG PET is the most useful method both for the identification of cardiac involvement of sarcoidosis and for the assessment of cardiac sarcoidosis disease activity.
Congenital heart defects (CHD) are very common in patients with trisomy 18 (T18) and trisomy 13 (T13). The surgical indication of CHD remains controversial since the natural history of these trisomies is documented to be poor. To investigate the outcome of CHD in patients with T18 and T13, we collected and evaluated clinical data from 134 patients with T18 and 27 patients with T13 through nationwide network of Japanese Society of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. In patients with T18, 23
Reciprocal interactions between vascular endothelial cells and vascular mesenchymal cells are essential for angiogenesis. Here we show that the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, dHAND/Hand2, is expressed in the developing vascular mesenchyme and its derivative, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Targeted deletion of the dHAND gene in mice revealed severe defects of embryonic and yolk sac vascular development by embryonic day 9.5. Vascular endothelial cells expressed most markers of
The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) encompasses DiGeorge syndrome, velo-cardio-facial syndrome and conotruncal anomaly face syndrome and is due to a microdeletion of chromosome 22q11.2. This is the most frequent known interstitial deletion found in human with an incidence of 1 in 4,000 live births. A large number of clinical findings have been reported in affected patients, including cardiac defects, characteristic facial features, thymic hypoplasia, cleft palate, hypoparathyroidism, learnin
We report on male monozygotic twins with 22q11.2 deletion and discordant phenotypes. The twins had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Twin 1, the smaller of the pair, had Tetralogy of Fallot, a characteristic facial appearance, swallowing dysfunction, anal atresia, short stature, and mental retardation, whereas twin 2 had a characteristic facial appearance but no other signs of the 22q11 deletion syndrome. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed a microdeletion on chromosome 22q11.2 i
Our results suggest an essential role for IP3Rs in cardiogenesis in part through the regulation of calcineurin-NFAT signaling.
The worsening of the LVEF by exercise has the potential to detect patients with multivessel CAD among those without multivessel patterns of reversible defects.
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