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Protein Structural Biology Lab
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The lab determines the three-dimensional structures of proteins at the atomic level to understand biological phenomena.
AboutAbout the lab
Reading the mechanisms of life from the shapes of proteins
The Protein Structural Biology Lab determines the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules such as proteins, and of their complexes, at the atomic level.
Structural biology is a field that seeks to understand how molecules function and how biological phenomena arise by depicting the shapes and interactions of molecules in a visible form.
Built around X-ray crystallography, the lab also incorporates small-angle X-ray scattering and single-particle analysis by cryo-electron microscopy.
With applications to drug discovery in mind, the lab targets biological macromolecules that are important from medical and pharmaceutical perspectives.
Key terms
- Structural biology
- A field that elucidates the functions and interactions of proteins and nucleic acids based on their three-dimensional structures
- X-ray crystallography
- A method that determines a protein's three-dimensional structure by crystallizing it, exposing it to X-rays, and analyzing how the X-rays are scattered
- Innate immunity
- A biological defense mechanism that rapidly detects the invasion of bacteria and viruses and triggers inflammation
NewsLab news
Structure of the filamentous assembly formed by the innate immune sensor IFI16 elucidated
Degradation mechanism of single-stranded nucleic acids that regulates innate immune responses elucidated
Doctoral student wins a poster award at AsCA2025
Structure of the complex that regulates Wnt/β-catenin signaling elucidated
ResearchResearch themes
By determining the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules and their complexes at atomic resolution, the lab aims to understand the functions of molecules and the biological phenomena they are involved in. Research currently proceeds along three pillars: innate immunity, signal transduction, and proteins of medical and pharmaceutical importance.
*Illustrative imageInnate immunity proteins
Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which span the membrane, and Nod-like receptors (NLRs), which are located in the cytoplasm, are known as sensors that detect the invasion of pathogens. By analyzing the full-length structure of TLRs and the structures of NLRs, the lab aims to visualize how they are regulated.
*Illustrative imageSignal transduction proteins
Small GTPases such as Ras and Rho act as molecular switches that cycle between a GTP-bound state and a GDP-bound state. Focusing on the proteins involved in their processing, the lab aims to clarify the relationship between their function and structure.
*Illustrative imageProteins important in medicine and pharmaceutical sciences
The lab carries out structural biology research on proteins of medical and pharmaceutical importance, as well as proteins derived from plants.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Protein Structural Biology Lab are faculty, project researchers, graduate students, undergraduate students, and researchers from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.As of 2026
- ProfessorToshiyuki ShimizuPublications ↗
- LecturerYoshinori HiranoPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorZhikuan Zhang
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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: “CSIRO ScienceImage 418 XRay Crystallography Protein Crystals” division, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Innate immunity proteins: “2z7x” Deposition authors: Lee, J.O., Jin, M.S., Kim, S.E., Heo, J.Y.; visualization author: User:Astrojan / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Signal transduction proteins: “Hras secondary structure ribbon” ElaineMeng / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Proteins important in medicine and pharmaceutical sciences: “PDB 1dk5 EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (分子腫瘍薬学教室): “Acute Myeloid Leukemia (M2 type)” Makysm / CC0 (cropped)
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- Related lab (育薬学教室): “Kaisei Pharmacy Nagata Higashi-Osaka” Mr.ち
ゅらさん / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (機能病態学教室): “Histopathology of amyloid plaque in Alzheimer's disease” Mikael Häggström, M.D. / CC0 (cropped)
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