Our body, which contains many epithelial tube tissues, consists of large numbers of cells. Homeostasis of the tissues are maintained through intercellular communications. We have been studying on mouse embryogenesis and revealed that Hippo signaling pathway is an important communication signal that controls development of epithelial tissues and tissue homeostasis. In this research, I will focus on the Hippo signaling in cultured cells and mouse embryos, and will address the mechanisms that control cellular dynamics in generation and maintenance of epithelial sheets and tissues.

In this project, we will first analyze the mechanisms by which Hippo signal controls cellular dynamics in an epithelial sheet of cultured cells. Then we will analyze the mechanisms of cell competition mediated by Hippo signaling pathway in an epithelial sheet of cultured cells. Finally, based on the results obtained by the above researches, we will analyze the mechanisms by which Hippo signal controls cellular dynamics in the endoderm of mouse embryos.

In this research, we will reveal the roles of Hippo signal in normal development of epithelial sheets and tissues. We will also reveal the molecular mechanisms of Hippo signaling and the mechanisms by which Hippo signaling controls cellular dynamics. Such results would be useful not only for studies on epithelial tube tissues, but also for wide range of studies including tumorigenesis, cancer metastasis, stem cells etc..