RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research Laboratory for Translation Structural Biology
Team Leader: Takuhiro Ito (Ph.D.)
Research Summary

We plan to conduct studies on three dimensional structures of the translation factors and/or the ribosome, mainly by X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM single particle analysis, focusing on the structural analysis of the large complexes that function in the eukaryotic translational system, in order to reveal the complicated mechanisms of eukaryotic translation.
Main Research Fields
- Biological Sciences
Related Research Fields
- Biology
Keywords
- X-ray crystallography
- NMR
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- translation
Selected Publications
- 1.
Kashiwagi, K., Shichino, Y., Osaki, T., Sakamoto, A., Nishimoto, M., Takahashi, M., Mito, M., Weber, F., Ikeuchi, Y., Iwasaki, S., Ito, T.:
"eIF2B-capturing viral protein NSs suppresses the integrated stress response"
Nature Communications 12,7102 (2021) doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27337-x - 2.
Zyryanova, AF., Kashiwagi, K., Rato, C., Harding, HP., Crespillo-Casado, A., Perera, LA., Sakamoto, A., Nishimoto, M., Yonemochi, M., Shirouzu, M., Ito, T., Ron, D.:
"ISRIB blunts the integrated stress response by allosterically antagonising the inhibitory effect of phosphorylated eIF2 on eIF2B"
Molecular Cell 81. 88-103, (2021) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.10.031 - 3.
Yokoyama, T., Machida, K., Iwasaki, W., Shigeta, T., Nishimoto, M., Takahashi, M., Sakamoto, A., Yonemochi, M., Harada, Y., Shigematsu, H., Shirouzu, M., Tadakuma, H., Imataka, H., Ito, T.:
"HCV IRES Captures an Actively Translating 80S Ribosome"
Molecular cell. 74 1205-1214. (2019) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.04.022 - 4.
Kashiwagi, K., Yokoyama, T., Nishimoto, M., Takahashi, M., Sakamoto, A., Yonemochi, M., Shirouzu, M., Ito, T.:
"Structural basis for eIF2B inhibition in integrated stress response"
Science. 364 495-499. (2019) doi: 10.1126/science.aaw4104 - 5.
Iwasaki, S., Iwasaki, W., Takahashi, M., Sakamoto, A., Watanabe, C., Shichino, Y., Floor, S.N., Fujiwara, K., Mito, M., Dodo, K., Sodeoka, M., Imataka, H., Honma, T., Fukuzawa, K., Ito, T., Ingolia, N.T.:
"The translation inhibitor Rocaglamide targets a bimolecular cavity between eIF4A and polypurine RNA"
Molecular Cell. 73 738-748. (2018) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.11.026 - 6.
Kashiwagi, K., Takahashi, M., Nishimoto, M., Hiyama, T.B., Higo, T., Umehara, T., Sakamoto, K., Ito, T. and Yokoyama, S.:
"Crystal structure of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2B"
Nature. 531 122-125. (2016) doi: 10.1038/nature16991 - 7.
Ito, T., Masuda, I., Yoshida, K., Goto-Ito, S., Sekine, S., Suh, S.W., Hou, Y.-M. and Yokoyama, S.:
"Structural Basis for methyl-donor-dependent and sequence-specific binding to tRNA substrates by knotted methyltransferase TrmD"
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 112 E4197-E4205. (2015) doi: 10.1073/pnas.1422981112 - 8.
Ito, T., Yokoyama, S.:
"Two enzymes bound to one transfer RNA assume alternative conformations for consecutive reactions"
Nature 467. 612-616 (2010) doi: 10.1038/nature09411 - 9.
Goto-Ito, S., Ito, T., Kuratani, M., Bessho, Y., Yokoyama, S.:
"Tertiary structure checkpoint at anticodon loop modification in tRNA functional maturation"
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 16. 1109-1115 (2009) doi: 10.1038/nsmb.1653
Recent Research Results
Related Links
Lab Members
Principal investigator
- Takuhiro Ito
- Team Leader
Core members
- Wakana Iwasaki
- Senior Research Scientist
- Tsutomu Mikawa
- Senior Research Scientist
- Kazuhiro Kashiwagi
- Research Scientist
- Sakurako Goto
- Research Scientist
- Madoka Nishimoto
- Technical Staff I
- Mari Takahashi
- Technical Staff I
- Ayako Sakamoto
- Technical Staff I
- Kayo Nagata
- Research Part-time Worker I
Contact Information
West Research Building,
1-7-22 Suehiro-cho,
Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
230-0045, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)45-503-9204
Fax: +81-(0)45-503-9460
Email: takuhiro.ito [at] riken.jp