Research Overview

The human body is composed of cells with various functions. Where do different functions originate? In cells, proteins are produced from RNA, which is transcribed from DNA. Proteins play the most important role in cells. However, since RNA is much easier to study experimentally than proteins, cell characteristics have traditionally been explained based on information about the type and amount of RNA. However, it is now known that there is not necessarily a linear relationship between the amount of RNA and protein, with the amount and intracellular position of proteins and their modification state differing depending on cell type. We are working on the technological development of proteome analysis to comprehensively measure proteins in cells in a highly accurate quantitative way. We are also using this technique to focus on protein dynamics in stem cells.

We are currently working on the following research topics:

1. Elucidation of a gene cluster that differs significantly in RNA and protein quantity
2. Research on rare diseases involving the protein quantity of ribosomal complexes
3. Development of better methods for comprehensive protein identification and quantification
4. Absolute quantification analysis of protein complexes
5. Analysis of the effect of post-translational modification of nuclear pore complexes on mRNA localization

In the future, we aim to understand cells and tissues based on the network information of all molecules, such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites.