Hirotake Komatsu, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Surgery
School of Medicine

He received his MD from Juntendo University School of Medicine and his PhD in Molecular Biology from Tohoku University. He conducted postdoctoral and faculty-level research at the Arthur Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute at City of Hope before joining the University of California, San Francisco. His laboratory leads multidisciplinary efforts spanning transplantation biology, engineering, and stem cell science, with a primary focus on beta cell replacement therapy for diabetes.

• Characterization of Human Pancreatic Islet Cells Using a Single-Cell Western Blot Platform.
  Pancreas 2024 Lenz G, Miao L, Lenz A, Mares J, Quijano J, Zook HN, Komatsu H, Garcia P, Ferreri K, Ku HT, Kandeel F
• Biological hypoxia in pre-transplant human pancreatic islets induces transplant failure in diabetic mice.
  Scientific reports 2024 Kato H, Salgado M, Mendez D, Gonzalez N, Rawson J, Ligot D, Balandran B, Orr C, Quijano JC, Omori K, Qi M, Al-Abdullah IH, Mullen Y, Ku HT, Kandeel F, Komatsu H
• A novel approach to determine the critical survival threshold of cellular oxygen within spheroids via integrating live/dead cell imaging with oxygen modeling.
  American journal of physiology. Cell physiology 2024 Shang KM, Kato H, Gonzalez N, Kandeel F, Tai YC, Komatsu H
• Firefly Rats: Illuminating the Scientific Community in Transplantation Research.
  Cell transplantation 2024 Kobayashi E, Hakamata Y, Enosawa S, Shang KM, Komatsu H
• Physiomimetic Fluidic Culture Platform on Microwell-Patterned Porous Collagen Scaffold for Human Pancreatic Islets.
  Cell transplantation 2024 Kato H, Chen H, Shang KM, Izumi K, Koba N, Tsuchiya T, Kawazoe N, Quijano J, Omori K, Orr C, Qi M, Ku HT, Kandeel F, Tai YC, Chen G, Komatsu H
• A scalable human islet 3D-culture platform maintains cell mass and function long-term for transplantation.
  American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons 2023 Omori K, Qi M, Salgado M, Gonzalez N, Hui LT, Chen KT, Rawson J, Miao L, Komatsu H, Isenberg JS, Al-Abdullah IH, Mullen Y, Kandeel F
• Ubiquitous Luciferase Expression in "Firefly Rats" Does Not Alter the Pancreatic Islet Morphology, Metabolism, and Function.
  Cell transplantation 2023 Gonzalez N, Kato H, Tixi W, Ortiz J, Orr C, Shih HP, Ku HT, Yee JK, Kandeel F, Mullen Y, Kobayashi E, Komatsu H
• Micropyramid-patterned, oxygen-permeable bottomed dish for high density culture of pancreatic islets.
  Biofabrication 2022 Myrick RJ, Shang KM, Betts JF, Gonzalez N, Rawson J, Izumi K, Koba N, Tsuchiya T, Kato H, Omori K, Kandeel F, Mullen Y, Tai YC, Botvinick E, Komatsu H
• Microwell culture platform maintains viability and mass of human pancreatic islets.
  Frontiers in endocrinology 2022 Kato H, Miwa T, Quijano J, Medrano L, Ortiz J, Desantis A, Omori K, Wada A, Tatsukoshi K, Kandeel F, Mullen Y, Ku HT, Komatsu H
• Submilligram Level of Beetle Antifreeze Proteins Minimize Cold-Induced Cell Swelling and Promote Cell Survival.
  Biomolecules 2022 Omori K, Gonzalez I, Nguyen C, Raminani SN, Deleon VM, Meza P, Zamalloa J, Perez RG, Gonzalez N, Komatsu H, Al-Abdullah IH, Wen X
• Biodistribution of Intra-Arterial and Intravenous Delivery of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in a Rat Model to Guide Delivery Strategies for Diabetes Therapies.
  Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) 2022 Li J, Komatsu H, Poku EK, Olafsen T, Huang KX, Huang LA, Chea J, Bowles N, Chang B, Rawson J, Peng J, Wu AM, Shively JE, Kandeel FR
• Critical Considerations in Bioluminescence Imaging of Transplanted Islets: Dynamic Signal Change in Early Posttransplant Phase and Signal Absorption by Tissues.
  Pancreas 2022 Komatsu H, Kobayashi E, Gonzalez N, Rawson J, Ortiz J, Donohue C, Ku HT, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• A Multiparametric Assessment of Human Islets Predicts Transplant Outcomes in Diabetic Mice.
  Cell transplantation 2021 Komatsu H, Qi M, Gonzalez N, Salgado M, Medrano L, Rawson J, Orr C, Omori K, Isenberg JS, Kandeel F, Mullen Y, Al-Abdullah IH
• Early-Phase Luciferase Signals of Islet Grafts Predicts Successful Subcutaneous Site Transplantation in Rats.
  Molecular imaging and biology 2020 Komatsu H, Gonzalez N, Ortiz J, Rawson J, Omori K, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• Intermittent normobaric oxygen inhalation enhances subcutaneous prevascularization for cell transplantation.
  Microvascular research 2020 Komatsu H, Gonzalez N, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• High Fractions of Large Islets in Human Islet Preparations Detrimentally Affect Posttransplant Outcomes in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Immunodeficient Mice.
  Pancreas 2020 Komatsu H, Salgado M, Gonzalez N, Medrano L, Rawson J, Omori K, Qi M, Al-Abdullah I, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• A subcutaneous pancreatic islet transplantation platform using a clinically applicable, biodegradable Vicryl mesh scaffold - an experimental study.
  Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation 2020 Komatsu H, Gonzalez N, Salgado M, Cook CA, Li J, Rawson J, Omori K, Tai YC, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• Semi-Automated Assessment of Human Islet Viability Predicts Transplantation Outcomes in a Diabetic Mouse Model.
  Cell transplantation 2020 Salgado M, Gonzalez N, Medrano L, Rawson J, Omori K, Qi M, Al-Abdullah I, Kandeel F, Mullen Y, Komatsu H
• Isolated pancreatic islet yield and quality is inversely related to organ donor age in rats.
  Experimental gerontology 2019 Gonzalez N, Salgado M, Medrano L, Mullen Y, Komatsu H
• Optimizing Temperature and Oxygen Supports Long-term Culture of Human Islets.
  Transplantation 2019 Komatsu H, Rawson J, Medrano L, Cook CA, Barriga A, Gonzalez N, Salgado M, Omori K, Kandeel F, Tai YC, Mullen Y
• Oxygen transporter for the hypoxic transplantation site.
  Biofabrication 2018 Komatsu H, Cook CA, Gonzalez N, Medrano L, Salgado M, Sui F, Li J, Kandeel F, Mullen Y, Tai YC
• Surfactants Improve Live Cell Imaging of Human Pancreatic Islets.
  Pancreas 2018 Komatsu H, Omori K, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• Impact of Oxygen on Pancreatic Islet Survival.
  Pancreas 2018 Komatsu H, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• Oxygen environment and islet size are the primary limiting factors of isolated pancreatic islet survival.
  PloS one 2017 Komatsu H, Cook C, Wang CH, Medrano L, Lin H, Kandeel F, Tai YC, Mullen Y
• Oxygenated thawing and rewarming alleviate rewarming injury of cryopreserved pancreatic islets.
  Biochemical and biophysical research communications 2017 Komatsu H, Barriga A, Medrano L, Omori K, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• Determination of Islet Viability Using a Zinc-Specific Fluorescent Dye and a Semiautomated Assessment Method.
  Cell transplantation 2016 Komatsu H, Omori K, Parimi M, Rawson J, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• Involvement of a proapoptotic gene (BBC3) in islet injury mediated by cold preservation and rewarming.
  American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism 2016 Omori K, Kobayashi E, Komatsu H, Rawson J, Agrawal G, Parimi M, Oancea AR, Valiente L, Ferreri K, Al-Abdullah IH, Kandeel F, Takahashi M, Mullen Y
• Isolated human islets require hyperoxia to maintain islet mass, metabolism, and function.
  Biochemical and biophysical research communications 2016 Komatsu H, Kang D, Medrano L, Barriga A, Mendez D, Rawson J, Omori K, Ferreri K, Tai YC, Kandeel F, Mullen Y
• Clinicopathological features and surgical outcomes of adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas: a retrospective analysis of patients with resectable stage tumors.
  Surgery today 2014 Komatsu H, Egawa S, Motoi F, Morikawa T, Sakata N, Naitoh T, Katayose Y, Ishida K, Unno M
• A GNAS mutation found in pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms induces drastic alterations of gene expression profiles with upregulation of mucin genes.
  PloS one 2014 Komatsu H, Tanji E, Sakata N, Aoki T, Motoi F, Naitoh T, Katayose Y, Egawa S, Unno M, Furukawa T
• Fulminant type of emphysematous pancreatitis has risk of massive hemorrhage.
  Clinical journal of gastroenterology 2011 Komatsu H, Yoshida H, Hayashi H, Sakata N, Morikawa T, Onogawa T, Motoi F, Rikiyama T, Katayose Y, Egawa S, Hirota M, Shimosegawa T, Unno M