Email

fukuda@bcm.edu

Positions

Associate Professor

Pediatrics-Nutrition
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Addresses

Children's Nutrition Research Center (Office)

Room: CNRC-8035
Houston, TX 77030
United States
fukuda@bcm.edu

Children's Nutrition Research Center (Lab)

Room: CNRC-8035
Houston, TX 77030
United States
fukuda@bcm.edu

Education

BS from Kyushu University

Fukuoka, Japan

PhD from University of Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan

Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Boston, MA United States

Post-Doctoral Fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Dallas, TX United States

Professional Statement

The goal of our laboratory is to understand how and whether the brain mediates obesity and type 2 diabetes. The critical role of the central nervous system (CNS) in obesity and type 2 diabetes is increasingly clear, yet the neural processes mediating pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes are unclear. We are approaching this fundamental question in a unique fashion. First, using organotypic brain slice cultures that recapitulate key aspects of obesity-associated pathophysiology within the brain, we identify neural processes underlying the pathophysiological changes occurring during obesity. Then, their physiological relevance will be validated by employing various in vivo approaches including mouse genetics, optogenetics/chemogenetics, and in vivo tracer studies of glucose metabolism. Through our approach, we hope to discover novel CNS mechanisms responsible for obesity and type 2 diabetes, and to ultimately develop more effective therapies for these prevalent diseases by manipulating the neural pathways.

We are currently focusing on the following two CNS pathways we have recently identified:
(1) A signal from the gut to the brain to promote obesity.
(2) A novel CNS pathway that may offer an antidiabetic effect.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Kaneko K, Fu Y, Lin HY, Cordonier EL, Mo Q, Gao Y, Yao T, Naylor J, Howard V, Saito K, Xu P, Chen SS, Chen MH, Xu Y, Williams KW, Ravn P, Fukuda M "Gut-derived GIP activates central Rap1 to impair neural leptin sensitivity during overnutrition." J Clin Invest.. 2019 Aug;129(49):3786-3791. Pubmed PMID: 31403469
• Kaneko K, Xu P, Cordonier EL, Chen SS, Ng A, Xu Y, Morozov A, Fukuda M. "Neuronal Rap1 Regulates Energy Balance, Glucose Homeostasis, and Leptin Actions." Cell Reports. 2016 Sep 13;16:3003-3015. Pubmed PMID: 27626668
• Hsiao-Yun Lin, Weisheng Lu, Yanlin He, Yukiko Fu, Kentaro Kaneko, Peimeng Huang, Ana B De la Puente-Gomez, Chunmei Wang, Yongjie Yang, Feng Li, Yong Xu, Makoto Fukuda "Low-dose metformin requires brain Rap1 for its antidiabetic action." Sci Adv.. 2025 Aug 1;11(31) Pubmed PMID: 40737402
• Kentaro Kaneko, Hsiao-Yun Lin, Yukiko Fu, Pradip K Saha, Ana B De la Puente-Gomez, Yong Xu, Kousaku Ohinata, Peter Chen, Alexei Morozov, Makoto Fukuda "Rap1 in the VMH regulates glucose homeostasis." JCI Insight .. 2021 Jun;6(11):e142545. Pubmed PMID: 33974562

Funding

A Novel Neural Mechanism that Mediates the Therapeutic Effects of Metformin - #R01DK126655

( 02/15/2021 - 11/30/2024 )

Grant funding from NIH/NIDDK

Central Role of Gut Hormone GIP in Leptin Resistance and Obesity - #1R01DK104901-01A1

( 09/23/2015 - 07/31/2021 )

Grant funding from NIH/NIDDK

Neural Signaling and Feeding/Glycemic Control - #3092-10700-069

( 10/01/2024 - 09/30/2031 )

Grant funding from USDA/CRIS

The gut hormone GIP drives neural leptin resistance - #14BGIA20460080

( 07/01/2014 - 06/30/2016 )

Grant funding from American Heart Association