Kyushu University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Yasuyuki Ohkawa's research lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal myogenesis, particularly the transcriptional and epigenetic regulation governing muscle cell differentiation and maintenance in adults. The lab investigates the roles of key transcription factors such as MyoD and myogenin, as well as chromatin-remodeling complexes like SWI/SNF (Brg1-dependent), in orchestrating the gene expression programs essential for myogenic lineage commitment and terminal differentiation. Using developmental and cell culture models, the lab explores how transcription factors dynamically regulate their own expression and target genes through epigenetic modifications, providing insights into muscle development, regeneration, and potential therapeutic targets for myopathies. Their work bridges transcriptional regulation with chromatin dynamics, emphasizing the functional interplay between transcription factors and chromatin remodeling in cell fate determination.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Many studies have examined transcriptional regulation during the initiation of skeletal muscle differentiation; however, there is less information regarding transcriptional control during adult myogenesis and during the maintenance of the differentiated state. MyoD and the mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling enzymes containing the Brg1 ATPase are necessary to induce myogenesis in cell culture models and in developing embryonic tissue, whereas myogenin and Brg1 are critical for the expression
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