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Sex Difference Biology Lab
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A lab that explores how sex differences arise, through genes and metabolism.
AboutAbout the lab
Using sex and metabolism as clues to explore how sex differences come about.
The lab studies how sex is determined in animals and how sex differences arise in the body.
In particular, it investigates how the testis and ovary differentiate, through epigenetic regulation and the control of gene expression by nuclear receptors.
Another research theme is how the mechanisms by which cells obtain energy from sugar and lipid metabolism relate to cell differentiation and sex hormone production.
The lab's website presents it under the name "Department of Sex Difference Biology (Molecular Biology)."
Key terms
- Nuclear receptor
- A member of the family of transcription factors that regulate gene activity. Ad4BP/SF-1, which this lab studies, is one of them.
- Epigenetic regulation
- A mechanism that regulates gene activity through factors such as chromatin structure.
- Regulon
- The idea that all the genes that make up a metabolic pathway are regulated together as one unit.
- Glycolytic pathway
- A metabolic pathway that produces energy for the cell through the metabolism of glucose.
ResearchResearch themes
Centering on "sex" and "metabolism," the lab studies how cell differentiation, sex differences, and energy and substance metabolism relate to the maintenance and breakdown of homeostasis in the body. Using epigenetic regulation and the control of gene expression by nuclear receptors as clues, it investigates how sex differences arise in the body and how metabolism is regulated.
*Illustrative imageHow Sex and Sex Differences Are Determined
An individual's sex is established in three stages: fertilization, sexual differentiation into testis and ovary, and the induction of body-wide sex differences by sex hormones. The lab investigates how the transcription factor Ad4BP/SF-1, which is essential for forming the testis and ovary, regulates its target genes, focusing on changes in chromatin structure.
*Illustrative imageMetabolic Regulation by Nuclear Receptors
Results show that the nuclear receptor Ad4BP/SF-1, which acts in the gonads and adrenal cortex, regulates nearly all genes of the glycolytic pathway. A unit that regulates the genes of a metabolic pathway together is called a "regulon," and the lab seeks to understand metabolic regulation through transcriptional control by chromatin modification and transcription factor complexes.
*Illustrative imageSex Differences in the Adrenal Cortex
The lab studies how, in the adrenal cortex, features such as glucocorticoid synthesis are biased toward females, and how androgens create this sex difference. Using mice, it has also shown that glucocorticoids produced in the adrenal cortex may be involved in the size of skeletal muscle.
*Illustrative imageSex Differences in Skeletal Muscle Energy Metabolism
In skeletal muscle, glycolysis is preferentially used in males and fatty acid β-oxidation in females. By examining gene expression in mouse skeletal muscle, the lab has identified two genes, Pfkfb3 and Pdk4, as candidate switches for this differential use.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, graduate students, secretaries, and technical staff.As of 2021
- Associate ProfessorTakashi Baba
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Male (left) and female (right) hormones (Ganong, 2005, pg.429, pg.440)” William F Ganong / Public domain (cropped)
- How Sex and Sex Differences Are Determined: “Mice X Y chromosomes” Janice Y Ahn, Jeannie T Lee / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Metabolic Regulation by Nuclear Receptors: “Follicle-stimulating hormone receptor within Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Receptor complex 1XWD” Fan QR, Hendrickson WA / CC0 (cropped)
- Sex Differences in the Adrenal Cortex: “Adrenal gland (cortex)” Jpogi at English Wikipedia / Public domain (cropped)
- Sex Differences in Skeletal Muscle Energy Metabolism: “Skeletal Muscle Tissue” Community College Bioscience / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Neuroanatomy Lab): “Sagittal brain slice, UB Museum of Neuroanatomy, Buffalo, New York” Caldwbr / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Developmental and Regenerative Medicine Lab): “Mouse embryo ( )” Pazit Polak from Basel, Switzerland / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medical Chemistry Lab): “DNA Structure+Key+Labelled.pn NoBB” Zephyris / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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