Team Leader
Sa Kan Yoo MD, Ph.D.

Laboratory for Homeodynamics

LocationKobe / Developmental Biology Buildings

E-mailsakan.yoo[at]riken.jp

Please replace [at] with @.

Open Positions

Seeking Research Scientists or Postdoctoral Researchers or Research Associates (K24017)

We study how organisms respond to disruption of homeostasis

Living organisms can cope with disruption of homeostasis such as injury and disease to a certain degree. This results in restoration of steady state homeostasis, death of affected tissues or ultimate organismal death. The outcome depends on the type of insults, species of animals and maturation of tissues. While the process is well recognized, we still do not know the mechanisms defining responses to disruption of homeostasis in different organs and species. Our research focuses on fundamental questions targeting major disruption of homeostasis in organisms:

How does oncogenic stress by cancer affect animals?
What is the mechanism of aging?
How do animals cope with malnutrition?
Why are tissue stem cells perseverant?
How do cell death and stem cell proliferation coordinate?

To do this, we mainly utilize unrivaled genetics of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

Selected Publications

Sakizli U, Takano T, Yoo SK.
GALDAR: A genetically encoded galactose sensor for visualizing sugar metabolism in vivo
PLoS biology 22(3), e3002549 (2024) doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002549

Sulekh S, Ikegawa Y, Naito S, et al.
A feedback loop that drives cell death and proliferation and its defect in intestinal stem cells
Life Science Alliance 7(4), (2024) doi: 10.26508/lsa.202302238

Nishida H, Albero AB, Onoue K, et al.
Necrosensor: a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor for visualizing necrosis in Drosophila
Biology Open 13(1), (2024) doi: 10.1242/bio.060104

Okada M, Takano T, Ikegawa Y, et al.
Oncogenic stress-induced Netrin is a humoral signaling molecule that reprograms systemic metabolism in Drosophila
The EMBO Journal (2023) doi: 10.15252/embj.2022111383

Ikegawa Y, Combet C, Groussin M, et al.
Evidence for existence of an apoptosis-inducing BH3-only protein, sayonara, in Drosophila
The EMBO Journal 42(8), e110454 (2023) doi: 10.15252/embj.2021110454

Ciesielski HM, Nishida H, Takano T, et al.
Erebosis, a new cell death mechanism during homeostatic turnover of gut enterocytes
PLoS Biology 20(4), e3001586 (2022) doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001586

Nishida H, Okada M, Yang L, et al.
Methionine restriction breaks obligatory coupling of cell proliferation and death by an oncogene Src in Drosophila.
eLife 10, e59809 (2021) doi: 10.7554/eLife.59809

Sasaki A, Nishimura T, Takano T, et al.
white regulates proliferative homeostasis of intestinal stem cells during ageing in Drosophila.
Nature metabolism 3(4), 546-557 (2021) doi: 10.1038/s42255-021-00375-x

Yoo SK, Pascoe H, Pereira T, et al.
Plexins function in epithelial repair in both Drosophila and zebrafish.
Nature Communications 7, 12282 (2016) doi: 10.1038/ncomms12282

Yoo SK, Freisinger C, LeBert D, Huttenlocher A.
Early redox, Src family kinase and calcium signaling integrate wound responses and tissue regeneration in zebrafish.
Journal of Cell Biology 199, 225-34 (2012) doi: 10.1083/jcb.201203154

Yoo SK, Lam PY, Eichelberg M, et al.
The role of microtubules in neutrophil polarity and migration in live zebrafish.
Journal of Cell Science 125, 5702-10 (2012) doi: 10.1242/jcs.108324

Yoo SK, Starnes TW, Deng Q, Huttenlocher A.
Lyn is a redox sensor that mediates leukocyte wound attraction in vivo .
Nature 480, 109-12 (2012) doi: 10.1038/nature10632

Deng Q, Yoo SK, Cavnar P, et al.
Dual roles for Rac2 in neutrophil motility and retention in zebrafish hematopoietic tissues.
Developmental Cell 21, 735-45 (2011) doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2011.07.013

Yoo SK, Huttenlocher A.
Spatiotemporal photolabeling of neutrophils during induction and resolution of inflammation in zebrafish.
Journal of Leukocyte Biology 89, 661-667 (2011) doi: 10.1189/jlb.1010567

Walters KB, Green JM, Surfus JC, et al.
Live imaging of neutrophil motility in a zebrafish model of WHIM syndrome.
Blood 116, 2803-2811 (2010) doi: 10.1182/blood-2010-03-276972

Yoo SK, Deng Q, Cavnar P, et al.
Differential regulation of protrusion and polarity by PI(3)K during neutrophil motility in live zebrafish.
Developmental Cell 18, 226-236 (2010) doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2009.11.015

Yoo SK, Huttenlocher A.
Innate immunity: wounds burst H₂ O₂ signals to leukocytes.
Current Biology 19, 553-5 (2009) doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.025

Nishita M, Yoo SK, Nomachi A, et al.
Filopodia formation mediated by receptor tyrosine kinase Ror2 is required for Wnt5a-induced cell migration.
Journal of Cell Biology 175, 555-62 (2006) doi: 10.1083/jcb.200607127