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Chromatin Structure and Function Lab
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A lab that visualizes chromatin structure to explore how gene activity is switched on and off.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing chromatin to unravel its mysterious mechanisms.
The Chromatin Structure and Function Lab studies the structure and properties of chromatin, the form in which DNA is packaged inside the cell nucleus, to understand how gene transcription is switched ON and OFF.
Using methods to assemble chromatin from DNA and proteins in a test tube, as well as cutting-edge techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy, the lab clarifies the molecular mechanisms of reactions from three-dimensional structures.
The lab's website is that of the Kurumizaka Lab at the Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, the University of Tokyo.
Professor Kurumizaka also holds concurrent appointments at the Medical Institute of Bioregulation and the Graduate School of Systems Life Sciences at Kyushu University.
Key terms
- Chromatin
- The form in which DNA is packaged inside the cell nucleus, made up of nucleosomes linked like beads on a string
- Nucleosome
- A structure in which DNA is wrapped around a complex made of four types of histone proteins
- Epigenetics
- A regulatory mechanism that produces differences in the shape and function of each cell without changing the DNA base sequence
NewsLab news
Professor Kurumizaka received the 2026 Takeda Medical Prize from the Takeda Science Foundation
Paper published on the structural basis of asymmetric transcription on composite nucleosomes
Paper published on the structural basis of nucleosome remodeling by Rad26
Assistant Professor Matsumoto received the 2026 Encouragement Award of the Japanese Biochemical Society
Paper published on the structural basis of transcription-coupled H3K36 trimethylation by Set2 cooperating with FACT
ResearchResearch themes
Cells with the same DNA sequence differ in shape and function because they are controlled by a mechanism known as epigenetics. The lab focuses on structural transitions of chromatin, which are key to this mechanism, and analyzes chromatin's structure and properties by "seeing" it.
*Illustrative imageAssembling chromatin in a test tube
The lab performs in vitro reconstitution: it purifies DNA and proteins and assembles uniform, highly pure chromatin consisting of linked nucleosomes in a test tube. By reproducing chromatin that is difficult to prepare from living organisms, the lab investigates how it acts, based on its three-dimensional structure and properties.
*Illustrative imageExtracting chromatin from cells
Examining the structure of chromatin containing specific epigenomic factors extracted from cells allows a better understanding of the reactions that occur within cells. The lab is developing a structural analysis method for this purpose (ChIP-CryoEM), aiming to reveal phenomena inside actual cell nuclei.
*Illustrative imageDirectly observing chromatin in the cell nucleus
Using cryo-electron tomography, the lab directly observes chromatin structures inside the cell nucleus. The nuclei of frozen cells are thinly milled with a focused ion beam, and three-dimensional structures are reconstructed from images taken while tilting the sample.
MembersFaculty
The Kurumizaka Lab consists of faculty, project researchers, technical specialist staff, academic specialist staff, secretaries, and PhD and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHitoshi Kurumizaka
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Snf2 ATPase domain in complex with a nucleosome” EMBL-EBI / Public domain (cropped)
- Assembling chromatin in a test tube: “Nucleosome at enhancer with H3K122 acetylated” MethylC5 / CC0 (cropped)
- Extracting chromatin from cells: “Nucleus Nucleolus and chromatin of animal cell” Dan / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Directly observing chromatin in the cell nucleus: “Nucleus of cardiac fibroblasts” Lorenzo2697 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (がんゲノム制御学): “Invasive Breast Cancer in 3D” Sshah74 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (アレルギー防御学): “Central-nervous-system” Another-anon-artist-234 / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (トランスクリプトミクス): “Chromatin Structures” Original uploader was Richard Wheeler at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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