Our laboratory aims to understand the molecular mechanism of higher-order biological functions in eukaryotes at atomic resolution. By elucidating the structural basis for molecular assemblies and reactions of biologically important molecules, we propose the molecular principles underlying the behaviors of cells or individuals and harness them for the development of the therapy of various diseases.
Many proteins are properly folded and exert their specific functions. Therefore, the determination of their three-dimensional structures is indispensable to elucidating their working mechanisms. We aim to understand the functional mechanism of biologically important proteins by three-dimensional structure analysis with X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy. Functional analyses combined with the structure-based mutagenesis at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels expand our understanding of protein functions in the context of chemistry to that in the context of biology and medicine. We investigate molecular signaling and enzymatic reactions that are responsible for higher-order biological processes such as neuronal synapse formation and functions. We also develop the method for ultrahigh resolution structural analysis of the energy transmission and electron transfer, which require a precise chemical understanding.
