Meet the Team
Hitomi Sakano, M.D., Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Sakano is an Assistant Professor and Attending Surgeon in the Department of Otolaryngology and affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience and O’Donnell Jr Brain Institute. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley and completed medical, graduate and Otolaryngology residency training at the University of Washington and Neurotology fellowship training at UC San Diego. She treats patients with hearing/balance disorders and tumors of the ear and lateral skull base and studies auditory development.
Erik Vo, B.S.
Laboratory Technician
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
Our Research
Our lab is interested in how the loss of FMRP (Fragile X protein) affects auditory brainstem development. FMRP is an mRNA binding protein that affects neuroplasticity. The loss of its expression results in Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), a heritable form of autism spectrum disorder with developmental delay and hypersensitivity to sound stimuli (a.k.a., hyperacusis). We are utilizing a mouse model for FXS to understand the abnormalities in gene expression in the cochlear nucleus during development. We are currently focused on FMRP effects on metabotropic glutamate receptors and voltage gated potassium channels and if it may contribute to hyperacusis. We hope that by understanding how FMRP modulates the auditory pathways, we may shed light on the possible mechanisms of autism, auditory processing, hyperacusis and tinnitus, which are common problems with no cure.
Publications
Sakano H, Castle MS, Kundu P. Cochlear Nucleus Transcriptome of a Fragile X Mouse Model Reveals Candidate Genes for Hyperacusis. Laryngoscope. 2023 Aug 8;. doi: 10.1002/lary.30936. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 37551886.
Sakano H, Harris JP. Revision Stapes Surgery. Curr Otorhinolaryngol Rep. 2022 Mar;10(1):40-48. doi: 10.1007/s40136-021-00379-x. Epub 2022 Jan 24. PubMed PMID: 36204712; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9533914.
Kurosaki T, Sakano H, Pröschel C, Wheeler J, Hewko A, Maquat LE. NMD abnormalities during brain development in the Fmr1-knockout mouse model of fragile X syndrome. Genome Biol. 2021 Nov 16;22(1):317. doi: 10.1186/s13059-021-02530-9. PubMed PMID: 34784943; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8597091.
Yu X, Wang X, Sakano H, Zorio DAR, Wang Y. Dynamics of the fragile X mental retardation protein correlates with cellular and synaptic properties in primary auditory neurons following afferent deprivation. J Comp Neurol. 2021 Feb;529(3):481-500. doi: 10.1002/cne.24959. Epub 2020 Jun 27. PubMed PMID: 32449186; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7686269.
Sakano H, Jafari A, Allehaiby W, Harris JP. Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension May Be an Under-recognized Cause of Endolymphatic Hydrops. Otol Neurotol. 2020 Aug;41(7):e860-e863. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000002665. Review. PubMed PMID: 32472922.
Saliba J, Sakano H, Friedman RA, Harris JP. Tophaceous Gout of the Middle Ear: Case Reports and Review of the Literature. Audiol Neurootol. 2019;24(2):51-55. doi: 10.1159/000500514. Epub 2019 Jun 5. Review. PubMed PMID: 31167187.
Sakano H, Harris JP. Emerging options in immune-mediated hearing loss. Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2019 Feb;4(1):102-108. doi: 10.1002/lio2.205. eCollection 2019 Feb. Review. PubMed PMID: 30828626; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6383306.
Sakano H, Shih CP, Jafari A, DeConde A, Harris JP. Multifocal Inflammatory Pseudotumor of the Temporal Bone, Maxillary Sinus, and Orbit. Otol Neurotol. 2018 Dec;39(10):e1125-e1128. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000001968. PubMed PMID: 30212426.
Sakano H, Mhoyan A, Cueva RA. Auricular Swelling After Mild Trauma. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018 Jun 1;144(6):535-536. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2018.0069. PubMed PMID: 29621371.
Sakano H, Zorio DAR, Wang X, Ting YS, Noble WS, MacCoss MJ, Rubel EW, Wang Y. Proteomic analyses of nucleus laminaris identified candidate targets of the fragile X mental retardation protein. J Comp Neurol. 2017 Oct 15;525(15):3341-3359. doi: 10.1002/cne.24281. Epub 2017 Jul 24. PubMed PMID: 28685837; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5564178.
Sakano H, Thaker AI, Davis GE. Adenoid Stones - "Adenoliths". J Otol Rhinol. 2015 Sep;4(4). doi: 10.4172/2324-8785.1000240. Epub 2015 Jul 13. PubMed PMID: 26798664; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4718572.
Wang Y, Sakano H, Beebe K, Brown MR, de Laat R, Bothwell M, Kulesza RJ Jr, Rubel EW. Intense and specialized dendritic localization of the fragile X mental retardation protein in binaural brainstem neurons: a comparative study in the alligator, chicken, gerbil, and human. J Comp Neurol. 2014 Jun 15;522(9):2107-28. doi: 10.1002/cne.23520. PubMed PMID: 24318628; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5564206.
Watt WC, Sakano H, Lee ZY, Reusch JE, Trinh K, Storm DR. Odorant stimulation enhances survival of olfactory sensory neurons via MAPK and CREB. Neuron. 2004 Mar 25;41(6):955-67. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(04)00075-3. PubMed PMID: 15046727; NIHMSID:NIHMS51575.
Yamada K, Lim J, Dale JM, Chen H, Shinn P, Palm CJ, Southwick AM, Wu HC, Kim C, Nguyen M, Pham P, Cheuk R, Karlin-Newmann G, Liu SX, Lam B, Sakano H, Wu T, Yu G, Miranda M, Quach HL, Tripp M, Chang CH, Lee JM, Toriumi M, Chan MM, Tang CC, Onodera CS, Deng JM, Akiyama K, Ansari Y, Arakawa T, Banh J, Banno F, Bowser L, Brooks S, Carninci P, Chao Q, Choy N, Enju A, Goldsmith AD, Gurjal M, Hansen NF, Hayashizaki Y, Johnson-Hopson C, Hsuan VW, Iida K, Karnes M, Khan S, Koesema E, Ishida J, Jiang PX, Jones T, Kawai J, Kamiya A, Meyers C, Nakajima M, Narusaka M, Seki M, Sakurai T, Satou M, Tamse R, Vaysberg M, Wallender EK, Wong C, Yamamura Y, Yuan S, Shinozaki K, Davis RW, Theologis A, Ecker JR. Empirical analysis of transcriptional activity in the Arabidopsis genome. Science. 2003 Oct 31;302(5646):842-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1088305. PubMed PMID: 14593172.
Theologis A, Ecker JR, Palm CJ, Federspiel NA, Kaul S, White O, Alonso J, Altafi H, Araujo R, Bowman CL, Brooks SY, Buehler E, Chan A, Chao Q, Chen H, Cheuk RF, Chin CW, Chung MK, Conn L, Conway AB, Conway AR, Creasy TH, Dewar K, Dunn P, Etgu P, Feldblyum TV, Feng J, Fong B, Fujii CY, Gill JE, Goldsmith AD, Haas B, Hansen NF, Hughes B, Huizar L, Hunter JL, Jenkins J, Johnson-Hopson C, Khan S, Khaykin E, Kim CJ, Koo HL, Kremenetskaia I, Kurtz DB, Kwan A, Lam B, Langin-Hooper S, Lee A, Lee JM, Lenz CA, Li JH, Li Y, Lin X, Liu SX, Liu ZA, Luros JS, Maiti R, Marziali A, Militscher J, Miranda M, Nguyen M, Nierman WC, Osborne BI, Pai G, Peterson J, Pham PK, Rizzo M, Rooney T, Rowley D, Sakano H, Salzberg SL, Schwartz JR, Shinn P, Southwick AM, Sun H, Tallon LJ, Tambunga G, Toriumi MJ, Town CD, Utterback T, Van Aken S, Vaysberg M, Vysotskaia VS, Walker M, Wu D, Yu G, Fraser CM, Venter JC, Davis RW. Sequence and analysis of chromosome 1 of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature. 2000 Dec 14;408(6814):816-20. doi: 10.1038/35048500. PubMed PMID: 11130712.
Analysis of the genome sequence of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature. 2000 Dec 14;408(6814):796-815. doi: 10.1038/35048692. PubMed PMID: 11130711.
Serizawa S, Ishii T, Nakatani H, Tsuboi A, Nagawa F, Asano M, Sudo K, Sakagami J, Sakano H, Ijiri T, Matsuda Y, Suzuki M, Yamamori T, Iwakura Y, Sakano H. Mutually exclusive expression of odorant receptor transgenes. Nat Neurosci. 2000 Jul;3(7):687-93. doi: 10.1038/76641. PubMed PMID: 10862701.
Contact Us
Hitomi Sakano, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Otolaryngology and Neuroscience
Mailing Address
2001 Inwood Rd, Floor 6 & 7
Dallas, TX 75390
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Open Positions
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