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Animal Cell Function Lab
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A lab exploring the structure and function of glycans in animal cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Glycobiology centered on animal cells.
The Animal Cell Function Lab studies the roles of glycans on the cell surface, focusing on animal cells.
Glycans are substances involved in interactions between cells, such as cells coming together to form tissues and organs, and recognizing cells that come from outside.
Using biochemistry and molecular cell biology, the lab investigates the roles glycans play in fertilization, early development, nervous system and brain function, and inflammation, as well as the diverse structures of sialic acid, which sits at the ends of glycans.
On the lab's website, it is introduced as the Animal Cell Function Lab of the Institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE), Nagoya University.
Key terms
- Glycan
- A substance formed by linked monosaccharides. It covers the surface of every cell and takes part in the exchange of information between cells
- Sialic acid
- A general term for the monosaccharides located at the very ends of glycans. Its molecular forms and the ways it is linked are diverse
- Microdomain
- A unit of organization formed when proteins and lipids in the cell membrane cluster together
ResearchResearch themes
Glycans are biological substances that cover the surface of every cell and take part in interactions between cells. Focusing on animal cells, this lab investigates the structure and function of glycans using biochemistry, molecular cell biology, and glycoengineering, taking on the question of why glycans are able to mediate interactions between cells.
*Illustrative imageCell-cell interactions in fertilization and early development
The lab aims to establish a new view in which proteins and lipids in the cell membrane are not scattered uniformly but form clusters called microdomains. It studies the interaction between sperm and egg in fertilization, and cell-cell interactions in early development, in echinoderms and fish.
*Illustrative imageDiversity of sialic acid
Sialic acid is a monosaccharide that exists in many different molecular forms. The lab investigates its structures, where it is found, and how it is made, with the aim of explaining why its structures are so diverse.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Animal Cell Function Lab are a Project Professor and an Assistant Professor.As of 2025
- Project ProfessorKen Kitajima
- Assistant ProfessorDi Wu
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Biochemistry student at work” Victoria Fomchenkova / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Cell-cell interactions in fertilization and early development: “Cell membrane detailed diagram ku” LadyofHats Mariana Ruiz / Public domain (cropped)
- Diversity of sialic acid: “Chemical structure of simple sugars plaque, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland” Millerdl / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Biological Regulation Lab): “Electron microscope ISP” Yakovlev Viktor / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Cell Regulation Lab): “Calmodulin 1CLL” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Biochemistry Lab): “Arabidopsis thaliana kz08” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Animal Cell Physiology Lab): “US Navy 111215-N-PO203-033 Lt. Denis Colomb, principal investigator with Navy Experimental Diving Unit, prepares cell cultures” U.S. Navy photo by John F. Williams / Public domain (cropped)
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