Akio Kihara

23.3k total citations · 2 hit papers
168 papers, 10.6k citations indexed

About

Akio Kihara is a scholar working on Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry. According to data from OpenAlex, Akio Kihara has authored 168 papers receiving a total of 10.6k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 133 papers in Molecular Biology, 77 papers in Cell Biology and 37 papers in Biochemistry. Recurrent topics in Akio Kihara's work include Sphingolipid Metabolism and Signaling (68 papers), Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior (41 papers) and Cellular transport and secretion (37 papers). Akio Kihara is often cited by papers focused on Sphingolipid Metabolism and Signaling (68 papers), Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior (41 papers) and Cellular transport and secretion (37 papers). Akio Kihara collaborates with scholars based in Japan, United States and South Korea. Akio Kihara's co-authors include Yasuyuki Igarashi, Yoshinori Ohsumi, Yusuke Ohno, Yukiko Mizutani, Takayuki Sassa, Koreaki Ito, Naotada Ishihara, Takeshi Noda, Yoshinori Akiyama and Tamotsu Yoshimori and has published in prestigious journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Biological Chemistry and Nature Communications.

In The Last Decade

Akio Kihara

164 papers receiving 10.5k citations

Hit Papers

align trajectories sort by overperformance

What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

Two Distinct Vps34 Phosphatidylinositol 3–Kinase Complexes Function in Autophagy and Carboxypeptidase Y Sorting inSaccharomyces cerevisiae

2001 806 citations Akio Kihara et al. profile →
Beclin–phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase complex functions at the trans ‐Golgi network

2001 703 citations Akio Kihara et al. profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name	h						Papers	Cites
Akio Kihara Japan	55	7.5k	3.1k	1.9k	1.3k	1.3k	168	10.6k
Yasuyuki Igarashi Japan	65	11.5k 1.5×	3.8k 1.2×	709 0.4×	2.4k 1.8×	870 0.7×	252	13.7k
Roger Sandhoff Germany	40	4.2k 0.6×	1.3k 0.4×	358 0.2×	1.4k 1.1×	697 0.5×	95	5.8k
James A. Shayman United States	49	4.7k 0.6×	1.6k 0.5×	806 0.4×	2.7k 2.0×	361 0.3×	160	7.4k
Yoshiko Banno Japan	45	4.3k 0.6×	1.5k 0.5×	617 0.3×	734 0.6×	264 0.2×	185	6.3k
Günter Müller Germany	41	3.1k 0.4×	1.2k 0.4×	758 0.4×	1.0k 0.8×	679 0.5×	156	5.8k
Faustino Mollinedo Spain	55	5.8k 0.8×	1.5k 0.5×	725 0.4×	774 0.6×	481 0.4×	207	9.6k
David K. Ann United States	52	5.0k 0.7×	641 0.2×	1.1k 0.6×	642 0.5×	311 0.2×	171	8.3k
Bertrand Friguet France	61	8.2k 1.1×	2.6k 0.8×	1.7k 0.9×	2.2k 1.7×	567 0.4×	171	12.2k
Stefan Schütze Germany	45	5.4k 0.7×	1.0k 0.3×	736 0.4×	948 0.7×	164 0.1×	103	8.2k
Walter M. Holleran United States	47	2.9k 0.4×	1.3k 0.4×	312 0.2×	838 0.6×	301 0.2×	98	6.5k

Countries citing papers authored by Akio Kihara

Since Specialization

Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Akio Kihara's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Akio Kihara with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Akio Kihara more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Akio Kihara

Since Specialization

Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Akio Kihara. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Akio Kihara. The network helps show where Akio Kihara may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Akio Kihara

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Akio Kihara. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Akio Kihara based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Akio Kihara. Akio Kihara is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

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20 of 20 papers shown

Sassa, Takayuki, et al.. (2025). Acyl-CoA Reductase Far1 Deficiency Impairs Ether Lipid Production and Hypomyelination in Mouse Brains. Molecular and Cellular Biology. 45(11). 495–510.

Takeichi, Takuya, et al.. (2025). The First Reported Japanese Case of PNPLA1‐Nonsyndromic Epidermal Differentiation Disorder (PNPLA1‐nEDD) Associated With an Unreported 92‐Base‐Pair Duplication Variant. Experimental Dermatology. 34(6). e70130–e70130.

Zhou, Hongming, Jinan Li, Shaohui Liu, et al.. (2025). Lipase M Is Essential for Skin Barrier Function in Mice. Experimental Dermatology. 34(7).

Ohno, Yusuke, et al.. (2024). Correlations between Skin Condition Parameters and Ceramide Profiles in the Stratum Corneum of Healthy Individuals. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 25(15). 8291–8291. 4 indexed citations

Kihara, Akio, et al.. (2023). Metabolism of sphingadiene and characterization of the sphingadiene-producing enzyme FADS3. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. 1868(8). 159335–159335. 8 indexed citations

Hirano, Yasuhiro, Yusuke Ohno, Yoshino Kubota, et al.. (2023). Ceramide synthase homolog Tlc4 maintains nuclear envelope integrity via its Golgi translocation. Journal of Cell Science. 136(10). 6 indexed citations

Ohno, Yusuke, et al.. (2022). An ERAD‐independent role for rhomboid pseudoprotease Dfm1 in mediating sphingolipid homeostasis. The EMBO Journal. 42(4). e112275–e112275. 8 indexed citations

Suzuki, Madoka, Yusuke Ohno, & Akio Kihara. (2022). Whole picture of human stratum corneum ceramides, including the chain-length diversity of long-chain bases. Journal of Lipid Research. 63(7). 100235–100235. 61 indexed citations

Watanabe, Keisuke, et al.. (2021). Diverse meibum lipids produced by Awat1 and Awat2 are important for stabilizing tear film and protecting the ocular surface. iScience. 24(5). 102478–102478. 17 indexed citations

10.

Miyamoto, Masatoshi, et al.. (2020). Lipid polarity gradient formed by ω-hydroxy lipids in tear film prevents dry eye disease. eLife. 9. 42 indexed citations

11.

Wang, Zifeng, Kei Higashikawa, Hironobu Yasui, et al.. (2020). FTY720 Protects Against Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury by Preventing the Redistribution of Tight Junction Proteins and Decreases Inflammation in the Subacute Phase in an Experimental Stroke Model. Translational Stroke Research. 11(5). 1103–1116. 35 indexed citations

12.

Hirano, Yasuhiro, Yusuke Ohno, Tomoko Shindo, et al.. (2019). The very-long-chain fatty acid elongase Elo2 rescues lethal defects associated with loss of the nuclear barrier function in fission yeast cells. Journal of Cell Science. 132(10). 39 indexed citations

13.

Miyamoto, Masatoshi, et al.. (2019). Severe Skin Permeability Barrier Dysfunction in Knockout Mice Deficient in a Fatty Acid ω-Hydroxylase Crucial to Acylceramide Production. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 140(2). 319–326.e4. 33 indexed citations

14.

Swamy, Mahadeva M. M., Yuta Murai, Yusuke Ohno, et al.. (2018). Structure-inspired design of a sphingolipid mimic sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonist from a naturally occurring sphingomyelin synthase inhibitor. Chemical Communications. 54(90). 12758–12761. 10 indexed citations

15.

Yamamoto, Sayaka, Yuta Yako, Yoichiro Fujioka, et al.. (2015). A role of the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)–S1P receptor 2 pathway in epithelial defense against cancer (EDAC). Molecular Biology of the Cell. 27(3). 491–499. 37 indexed citations

16.

Ohno, Yusuke, Takayuki Sassa, Ryo Taguchi, et al.. (2013). Mutation for Nonsyndromic Mental Retardation in the trans-2-Enoyl-CoA Reductase TER Gene Involved in Fatty Acid Elongation Impairs the Enzyme Activity and Stability, Leading to Change in Sphingolipid Profile. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 288(51). 36741–36749. 27 indexed citations

17.

Kitamura, Takuya, et al.. (2013). Substrate specificity, plasma membrane localization, and lipid modification of the aldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH3B1. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. 1831(8). 1395–1401. 29 indexed citations

18.

Naganuma, Tatsuro, et al.. (2010). Hetero-oligomeric interactions of an ELOVL4 mutant protein: implications in the molecular mechanism of Stargardt-3 macular dystrophy.. PubMed. 16. 2438–45. 23 indexed citations

19.

Uemura, Satoshi, Akio Kihara, Soichiro Iwaki, Jin‐ichi Inokuchi, & Yasuyuki Igarashi. (2007). Regulation of the Transport and Protein Levels of the Inositol Phosphorylceramide Mannosyltransferases Csg1 and Csh1 by the Ca2+-binding Protein Csg2. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 282(12). 8613–8621. 35 indexed citations

20.

Shimoike, Takashi, Tetsuya Taura, Akio Kihara, et al.. (1995). Product of a New Gene, syd, Functionally Interacts with SecY when Overproduced in Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 270(10). 5519–5526. 56 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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