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Cell Biology and Anatomy Lab (Kikkawa Lab)
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The lab uses cryo-electron microscopy to observe flagella and cilia and uncover how they work.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding mechanisms by seeing form
The lab seeks to understand how the epithelium, the interface between the cell and the outside world, is formed, mainly by quantitatively "seeing" it with cryo-electron microscopy.
Using flagella and cilia, which play important roles in the body, as models, the lab aims to establish "structural cell biology," which reveals the structure of organelles at the molecular level.
Cryo-electron microscopy is a method that observes samples while they are rapidly frozen, without chemically fixing or staining them.
The lab is also one of the departments responsible for teaching anatomy and histology, and it works with other departments to teach dissection and histology to undergraduate students.
Key terms
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- A method in which a sample is observed with an electron microscope while kept frozen, and its three-dimensional structure is calculated by computer
- Cilia
- Thin, hair-like structures extending from the cell surface. They move to create fluid flow or act as sensors
- Microtubules
- Tube-shaped fibers that support the shape of the cell and also serve as tracks for transporting cargo
NewsLab news
Paper on the structure of the binding region between KIF3 and its cargo published in Science Advances
Paper from a joint study with Kyoto Sangyo University published in Nature Communications
Paper from a joint study with University of Yamanashi published in Nature Communications
Paper on how the two heads of kinesin work published in JCB
Paper on GAS2, a protein that links actin and microtubules, published in EMBO J
ResearchResearch themes
Using flagella and cilia, which play extremely important roles in the body, as models, the lab aims to establish "structural cell biology," which reveals the structure of organelles at the molecular level. In addition, the lab will clarify how the complex molecular machines that function through these molecular networks are built and how they work.
*Illustrative imageStructure and Mechanism of Flagella and Cilia
Eukaryotic flagella are among the most complex organelles in the cell, made of more than 600 types of proteins built around a core of "9+2" microtubules. To study this complex system, the lab is developing new methods from both the structural and the functional side.
*Illustrative imageSeeing with Cryo-Electron Microscopy
The lab aims to observe large biomolecular complexes made of many types of molecules, such as flagella, at high resolution with cryo-electron microscopy. Samples are neither fixed nor stained but observed while rapidly frozen at -180°C. Tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of low-contrast images are collected and averaged to obtain a three-dimensional structure.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, international research fellows, project researchers, graduate students, students of the School of Medicine, a lab secretary, academic support staff, and technical assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasahide KikkawaPublications ↗
- Project Associate ProfessorAkira Fujiyoshi
- LecturerHaruaki Yanagisawa
- Assistant ProfessorHiroshi Yamaguchi
- Assistant ProfessorChiseko Ikenaga
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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: “Bronchiolar epithelium 4 - SEM” Louisa Howard / Public domain (cropped)
- Structure and Mechanism of Flagella and Cilia: “Chlamydomonas TEM 17” Dartmouth Electron Microscope Facility, Dartmouth College / Public domain (cropped)
- Seeing with Cryo-Electron Microscopy: “Cryo-EM image of C. thermophilum lysate” Pkastrit / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (細胞構築学教室
（田中グループ） ): “Microtubules in Primary Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts” Howard Vindin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (分子生物学教室
（水島昇研究室） ): “Multicolor fluorescence image of living HeLa cells” 8x57is / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (神経細胞生物学教室
（岡部繁男研究室） ): “Neuron in tissue culture” GerryShaw / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (分子病理学教室
（山田泰広研究室） ): “Иммуноцитохимическое окрашивание культуры клеток человека” Daria Goliusova / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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