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Life Science Lab
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The lab uses an ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope to reveal the structures of biological macromolecules.
AboutAbout the lab
Determining the structures of biological macromolecules with an ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope.
The Life Science Lab (Mitsuoka Lab) uses an ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope to carry out high-resolution structural analysis of biological macromolecules and their complexes inside cells.
A key feature of the ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope is that it can observe thick specimens. The lab uses rapid freezing to fix biological macromolecules as they are in ice, and examines their structures by cryo-electron microscopy.
From these structures, the lab clarifies structural changes and localization inside cells, deepening basic understanding of life science while also conducting research toward engineering applications of biological macromolecules.
The lab is one of the research fields of the Research Center for Ultra-High Voltage Electron Microscopy at Osaka University.
Key terms
- Ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope
- An electron microscope that accelerates electrons with a very high voltage. It can observe thick specimens.
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- An electron microscopy method in which specimens are rapidly frozen and observed while kept at low temperature. Biological macromolecules are fixed in ice for examination.
- Fascin
- A protein involved in bundling actin filaments, which is related to the formation of filopodia.
- Vacuolar-type ATPase (V-ATPase)
- A proton pump that uses the energy of ATP to rotate its central shaft, transporting protons and acidifying the inside of the vacuole.
ResearchResearch themes
Using an ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope, the lab carries out high-resolution structural analysis of biological macromolecules and their complexes inside cells. From the structures of these macromolecules, it aims to clarify structural changes and localization within cells, and to connect this to a basic understanding of life science and to engineering applications.
*Illustrative imageStructural studies of biological macromolecules inside cells
Using methods such as cryo-ultrahigh-voltage electron microscopy, the lab examines the structures of biological macromolecules and their complexes inside cells. Its work includes the interaction between actin filaments and fascin in cultured neuronal model cells, and elucidating the mechanism of flagellar motility in a bacterium that causes wilting symptoms in plants and is difficult to control.
*Illustrative imageHigh-resolution structural analysis of membrane proteins
The lab determines high-resolution structures of purified biological macromolecules and their complexes, especially membrane proteins, by cryo-electron microscopy. For vacuolar-type ATPase (V-ATPase), it has revealed multiple structures corresponding to the rotation of the central shaft, and aims to elucidate the proton transport mechanism and pursue engineering applications.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Life Science Lab (Mitsuoka Lab) consist of faculty, visiting professors, visiting researchers, and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKaoru Mitsuoka
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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: “ETEM 101” Mike Marko / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Structural studies of biological macromolecules inside cells: “Anatomy of neuron” Curtis Neveu / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- High-resolution structural analysis of membrane proteins: “Membrane Protein Structure” Connectivid-D / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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