Masahito Ikawa

This study identifies SPARK as a conserved multi-protein complex essential for vertebrate fertilization, linking gamete recognition to membrane fusion.

This study maps chromatin accessibility and protamine incorporation during spermiogenesis, revealing compartment-specific dynamics and their role in genome stability.

This study identifies SLC35G3 as a UDP-GlcNAc transporter essential for sperm glycoprotein formation and male fertility in mice.

This paper develops a deep learning model to automatically predict mouse seminiferous tubule stages from bright-field microscopy images, achieving 98.33% accuracy with a ±1 stage tolerance.

This study shows that intracellular zinc dynamically regulates the Slo3 potassium channel in mouse spermatozoa during capacitation, inhibiting currents and mediating alkalinization-induced hyperpolarization.

The paper identifies a conserved trimeric complex of Izumo1, Spaca6, and Tmem81 essential for sperm-egg interaction in vertebrates, showing their role in male fertility and binding to the egg protein Bouncer.

This study develops a live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, BK2102, which induces long-term immunity and is safe in animal models.

This study shows that FBXO24 deletion in mice leads to abnormal RNP granule accumulation in sperm flagella, causing infertility due to impaired flagellar structure and sperm motility.

This study shows that age-related structural changes in the zona pellucida reduce fertilization rates in mice by impairing cumulus-oocyte interactions and sperm binding.

The paper uses affinity-tagged SMAD1 and SMAD5 mouse lines to study their roles in endometrial decidualization during early pregnancy, revealing their genomic binding patterns and functional impact on decidual marker expression.

This study shows human TMEM95 binds eggs, identifies a binding region via crystallography, and develops antibodies that impair sperm-egg fusion without blocking binding.

This study identifies 1700029I15Rik as a gene critical for the biosynthesis of acrosomal membrane proteins necessary for sperm-egg fusion in mice.

This study identifies Alyref and Gabpb1 as developmentally required genes whose incomplete activation causes preimplantation arrest in cloned mouse embryos.

This study shows that DCST1 and DCST2 are essential for sperm-egg fusion in mice and zebrafish, with mutations leading to male infertility.

This study shows that Trim41 prevents chaotic X chromosome synapsis in male mice, leading to infertility when disrupted.

This study identifies SPACA4 as an essential sperm protein required for zona pellucida penetration during mammalian fertilization in mice.

The paper identifies KCTD19 as essential for meiotic exit in male mice, showing it interacts with ZFP541 and HDAC1, and its deficiency causes apoptosis during meiosis.

The paper generates new Ets2 mutant models with frame-shift mutations and exon skipping, showing in-frame mRNA expression in some tissues and novel phenotypes.

The paper shows that sperm cooperation in mice forms clusters at the utero-tubal junction, facilitating oviduct entry and fertilization, with defects in this process linked to infertility.