Mie Kubota, PhD

Research Specialist

Ph.D. Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 2001 (pharmacology)
In 2008, M.Kubota-Sakashita received the Encouragement Award for the Presentation at International Conferences (Japanese Society of Biological Psychiatry).

Research Interests

M. Kubota- Sakashita’s current work is

1. Investigation of mitochondrial-DNA deficient cells in postmortem brains of bipolar disorder patients by immunohistochemical staining of mitochondrial-DNA encoded proteins.
2. Development of new inhibitors of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore as a new mood stabilizer targeting mitochondrial Ca²⁺ signaling.
3. Relationship between localization of mitochondrial-DNA deficient cells in brain and oxidative stress using monoamine oxidase B knockout mice.

Focusing on the relationship between mitochondrial abnormalities and mood disorders, a major focus of our team, I have been pursuing morphological research using postmortem brains of patients with bipolar disorder, and developing an inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in cooperation with other team members and external researchers. Mitochondria are important organelles that control not only energy production of cells but also calcium dynamics within synapses of neurons. I am interested in (1) the diverse function of mitochondria in the neuronal system, (2) the morphologic evolution and physiological function of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus, (3) relationship between oxidative stress in the serotoninergic nervous system and mitochondrial DNA defects. Our research aims to understand abnormalities in the neuronal system of mental disorders. By going back and forth between clinical specimens and experiments in model mice, dysfunctions in brain of patients is investigated using the latest technology. I hope that our works in this team will contribute to the elucidation and development of new treatments of mood disorders.

Appointments/Positions

2009-present

Research Specialist, Laboratory for Molecular Dynamics of Mental Disorders (MDMD), RIKEN Brain Science Institute/Center for Brain Science

2003-2008

Research scientist, Laboratory for MDMD, RIKEN Brain Science Institute

2001-2002

Technical staff, Laboratory for MDMD, RIKEN Brain Science Institute

Membership in Professional and Scientific Societies

1997-present

Member of the Japanese Pharmacological Society

1997-present

Member of the Japan Neuroscience Society

2001-present

Member of the Japanese Society of Biological Psychiatry

2005-present

Member of the Society for Neuroscience

Selected Papers

1. Kato TM.^*, Kubota-Sakashita M. ^*, Fujimori-Tonou N.^*, Saitow F., Fuke S., Masuda A., Itohara S., Suzuki H., and Kato T.: Ant1 mutant mice bridge the mitochondrial and serotonergic dysfunctions in bipolar disorder. Mol Psychiatry 23, 2039-2049 (2018)
   ^*These authors are equal contributed
2. Kubota-Sakashita M., Iwamoto K., Bundo M., and Kato T.: A role of ADAR2 and RNA editing of glutamate receptors in mood disorders and schizophrenia. Mol Brain 7, 5 (2014)
3. Kubota M., Kasahara T., Iwamoto K., Komori A., Ishiwata M., Miyauchi T., and Kato T. Therapeutic implications of down-regulation of cyclophilin D in bipolar disorder. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol., 13.1355-1368 (2010).
4. Kubota M., Kasahara T., Nakamura T., Ishiwata M., Miyauchi T., and Kato T. Abnormal Ca²⁺ dynamics in transgenic mice with neuron-specific mitochondrial DNA defects. J. Neurosci. 26, 12314-12324 (2006).
5. Nagai T., Ibata K., Park E.S., Kubota M., Mikoshiba K. and Miyawaki A. A variant of yellow fluorescent protein with fast and efficient maturation for cell-biological applications. Nat. Biotechnol. 20, 87-90 (2002).