Kenta Hara
Showed in 1998 that amino acids are needed for mTOR to activate S6K1 and 4E-BP1, and as first author co-discovered raptor in 2002
Vice Director and Head of Diabetes & Endocrinology, Kita Harima Medical Center, Hyogo, Japan · Faculty, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine · Researcher, Kobe University Biosignal Research Center (Kazuyoshi Yonezawa lab) · Postdoc, MGH/Harvard (Joseph Avruch lab)
Department of Diabetes & Endocrinology, Kita Harima Medical Center (Ono, Hyogo, Japan) ↗
Portrait: Kita-Harima Medical Center newsletter (2021)
In 1998 (HAR1998), Hara showed pulling amino acids from growth medium silences p70 S6K and 4E-BP1 even with insulin present — one of the first papers linking amino acids to mTOR. In 2002 he co-discovered Raptor (HARA2002), tying that finding to the scaffold protein executing it.
Returned to Japan/Kobe University, co-authoring further mTOR papers through the mid-2000s (incl. with Shinya Yamanaka's group, 2004). Later moved into clinical academic medicine (Internal & Geriatric Medicine, then Diabetes & Endocrinology).
Most recent traceable publication (2021, leucine/cardioprotection) lists him at Kita Harima Medical Center, a regional hospital.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | M | Amino acid sufficiency and mTOR regulate p70 S6 kinase and eIF-4E BP1 through a common effector mechanism HAR1998 Amino acid sufficiency and mTOR regulate p70 S6K and 4E-BP1 through a shared mechanism. |
| 2002 | M | Raptor, a binding partner of target of rapamycin (TOR), mediates TOR action HARA2002 First author of one of the two 2002 papers (the other from the Sabatini lab) that identified raptor. |
| 2003 | M | The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) partner, raptor, binds the mTOR substrates p70 S6 kinase and 4E-BP1 through their TOR signaling (TOS) motif NOJ2003 Raptor binds mTOR substrates via their TOS motifs, acting as the substrate-presenting scaffold of mTORC1. |
| 2007 | M | The proline-rich Akt substrate of 40 kDa (PRAS40) is a physiological substrate of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 OSH2007 PRAS40 is a physiological raptor-bound substrate and inhibitor of mTORC1. |
Co-authors in the Atlas 7
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Kenta Hara.
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- Joseph Avruch 4 shared studies Showed in 1998 that amino acids, not only insulin, are needed for mTOR to activate S6K1 and 4E-BP1. His Massachusetts General Hospital group, with Kazuyoshi Yonezawa's lab in Kobe, then co-discovered raptor in 2002 and found that Rheb binds mTOR directly
- Kazuyoshi Yonezawa 4 shared studies Led the Kobe University group that co-discovered raptor in 2002, in parallel with the Sabatini lab. His team then showed that raptor binds mTOR's substrates through their TOS motif and that PRAS40 is itself an mTORC1 substrate
- Noriko Oshiro-Rapley 3 shared studies In one of several 2007 studies, identified PRAS40 as a raptor-bound mTORC1 substrate that gates access to mTORC1's other substrates
- Chiharu Tokunaga 2 shared studies Member of Kazuyoshi Yonezawa's Kobe team that co-discovered raptor, and first author of a 2004 review on how mTOR combines amino acid and energy signals
- Sujuti Hidayat 2 shared studies Member of Kazuyoshi Yonezawa's Kobe team that co-discovered raptor and worked out how mTOR senses amino acids, and first author of a study showing that a leucine derivative can block amino acid-mTOR signalling
- Hiroki Nojima First author of the 2003 Kobe study showing that raptor grabs mTOR's targets through a short TOS motif, the docking step that lets mTORC1 reach its substrates
- Xiaomeng Long Discovered that Rheb binds directly to the mTOR kinase domain and switches it on
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