RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research Laboratory for Protein Functional and Structural Biology
Team Leader: Mikako Shirouzu (Ph.D.)
Research Summary

The high-resolution structural information of proteins related to diseases shall increasingly become important for drug development leading to future individualized medicine. We plan to establish a structural analysis technology platform to contribute to "Life innovation" such as drug discovery as well as development of methods for the sample preparation of challenging proteins including membrane proteins/biomolecular complexes and for the structural analysis by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The 3D-structural information will be used for in-silico screening/design of chemical compounds and for dynamic structural analysis toward simulation research of cell function.
Main Research Fields
- Biological Sciences
Related Research Fields
- Medicine, Dentistry & Pharmacy
Keywords
- Protein preparation
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- X-ray crystallography
- Drug discovery
Selected Publications
- 1.
Needham, D. M., Yoshizawa, S., Hosaka, T., et al.:
"A distinct lineage of giant viruses brings a rhodopsin photosystem to unicellular marine predators"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(41), pp.20574-20583 (2019) - 2.
Lee, Y., Wiriyasermkul, P., Jin, C., Quan, L., et al.:
"Cryo-EM structure of the human L-type amino acid transporter 1 in complex with glycoprotein CD98hc"
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 26(6), pp.510-517. (2019) - 3.
Yokoyama, T., Machida, K., Iwasaki, W., et al.:
"HCV IRES Captures an Actively Translating 80S Ribosome"
Molecular Cell 74(6), pp.1205-1214 (2019). - 4.
Kashiwagi, K., Yokoyama, T., Nishimoto, M., et al.:
"Structural basis for eIF2B inhibition in integrated stress response"
Science 364(6439), pp.495-499 (2019) - 5.
Ehara, H., Kujirai, T., Fujino, Y., Shirouzu, M., et al.:
"Structural insight into nucleosome transcription by RNA polymerase II with elongation factors"
Science 363(6428), pp.744-747 (2019) - 6.
Kujirai, T., Ehara, H., Fujino, Y., et al.:
"Structural basis of the nucleosome transition during RNA polymerase II passage"
Science 362(6414), pp.595-598 (2018) - 7.
Shigematsu, H., Imasaki, T., Doki, C., et al.:
"Structural insight into microtubule stabilization and kinesin inhibition by Tau-family MAPs"
The Journal of Cell Biology 217(12), pp.4155-4163 (2018) - 8.
Shima, T., Morikawa, M., Kaneshiro, J., et al.:
"Kinesin-binding-triggered conformation switching of microtubules contributes to polarized transport"
The Journal of Cell Biology 217(12), pp.4164-4183 (2018) - 9.
Yamagata, A., Miyazaki, Y., Yokoi, N., et al.:
"Structural basis of epilepsy-related ligand-receptor complex LGI1-ADAM22"
Nature communications 9(1), pp.1546 (2018) - 10.
Matsuda, T., Ito, T., Takemoto, C., et al.:
"Cell-free synthesis of functional antibody fragments to provide a structural basis for antibody-antigen interaction"
PLoS One 13(2), pp.e0193158 (2018)
Recent Research Results
Sep. 27, 2024
Structural secrets of antiepileptic drugs uncoveredMar. 16, 2023
A nifty trick to help plants thrive in iron-poor soilsJun. 9, 2022
Imaging how a light-driven chloride pump works
Publications
- RIKEN People, Feb 2014: Leading the life sciences at RIKEN
- RIKEN RESEARCH 2016 Winter: New drug tackles cancer at the stem
Related Links
Lab Members
Principal investigator
- Mikako Shirouzu
- Team Leader
Contact Information
C316 3F Central Research Building,
1-7-22 Suehiro-cho,
Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
230-0045, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)45-503-9202
Fax: +81-(0)45-503-9264
Email: mikako.shirouzu [at] riken.jp