LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Protein Metabolism Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab seeks to unravel biological phenomena through the proteasome, the protein-degradation machinery inside cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding life through protein degradation
The Protein Metabolism Lab studies how the proteasome, the main protein-degradation machinery inside cells, controls cellular function.
The proteasome degrades proteins tagged with ubiquitin and plays an essential role in many biological processes, including the cell cycle and signal transduction.
The lab uses a wide range of approaches, including cell biology, biochemistry, mouse genetic engineering, and yeast and Drosophila genetics.
The lab aims to elucidate how abnormalities in the amount or activity of the proteasome lead to diseases and conditions such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and aging.
Key terms
- Proteasome
- A giant enzyme complex inside cells that degrades proteins that have been tagged for destruction
- Ubiquitin
- A small protein that is attached in chains to proteins destined for degradation, marking them
- Thymus
- An organ located above the heart where T cells, which are central to immunity, mature
NewsLab news
A joint research group with the Immunology and Microbiology Lab elucidated the mechanism that stabilizes Foxp3 expression in regulatory T cells (PNAS)
Study reveals that THAP1, a causative gene of dystonia, supports proteasome function (Nature Communications)
ResearchResearch themes
Increases and decreases in the amount or activity of the proteasome are linked to many diseases and physiological phenomena, including cancer, neurodegeneration, and aging, yet the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. The Protein Metabolism Lab aims to elucidate how the proteasome is regulated and how the failure of that regulation leads to disease.
*Illustrative imageProteasome Formation and Disease
The proteasome is built from many components. The lab investigates how it is correctly assembled and how its levels inside cells are regulated, in order to clarify its links to cancer, neurodegeneration, and aging.
*Illustrative imageThe Thymoproteasome and T Cells
The lab studies how the thymoproteasome, which is found only in cortical thymic epithelial cells of the thymus, selects useful T cells. By analyzing in detail the peptides presented on the cell surface, it aims to elucidate the molecular basis of this process.
*Illustrative imageQuality Control: Removing Defective Proteins
Proteins that fail to fold correctly are detected and degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The lab aims to elucidate how defective proteins are distinguished from normal ones and degraded.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Protein Metabolism Lab include faculty, JSPS research fellows, technical assistants, a secretary, and students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs.As of 2026
- ProfessorShigeo MurataPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorJun HamazakiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorYuri ShibataPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorChikako ShibataPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
Who is this lab for?
What's great about this lab?
What did you learn after joining?
What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
Where do graduates go?
RelatedLabs similar to Protein Metabolism Lab
Physiological Chemistry LabFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical SciencesElucidating at the molecular level the physiological functio…
Genetics LabFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical SciencesFunctional analysis of genes using model organisms, etc., an…
Molecular Biology LabFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical SciencesMechanisms of cell fate determination in neural stem cells d…
Cellular Senescence Biology Lab (Takahashi Lab)Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical SciencesCellular senescence biology: molecular mechanisms of cellula…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Proteasome (NIH BioArt )” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Proteasome Formation and Disease: “Bortezomib-from-PDB-2F16-3D-balls” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- The Thymoproteasome and T Cells: “Thymus (Mensch)” Gleiberg / CC BY-SA 2.0 de (cropped)
- Quality Control: Removing Defective Proteins: “XBio illustration – Chaperone” explorebiology / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (生理化学教室): “Mitotic LLC-PK1 cells, fluorescence microscopy ( )” ZEISS Microscopy from Germany / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (遺伝学教室): “Drosophila melanogaster under microscope” Talita Oliveira / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (分子生物学教室): “Neural Stem Cells” Welcome Collection / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (細胞老化生物学研究室
（高橋暁子研究室） ): “SABG MEFs” Y tambe / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.