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Cardiovascular Drug Discovery Science Lab
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The lab searches for treatments for cardiovascular disease based on the structure and function of proteins.
AboutAbout the lab
Searching for cardiovascular therapeutics from protein structure
The Department of Molecular Pharmacology searches for molecules that can serve as therapeutic targets and aims to create new treatments, with the goal of conquering cardiovascular disease.
Using methods from biochemistry, pharmacology, genetics, molecular biology, structural biology, and computational chemistry, the lab investigates how target molecules function and how that function breaks down in disease.
Its main research subjects are the respiratory chain enzymes of mitochondria and membrane proteins involved in inflammation of the heart muscle.
The lab's website is presented under the name "Department of Molecular Pharmacology" at the Research Institute, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center.
Key terms
- Mitochondria
- Structures found in almost all cells of the human body that act as factories producing ATP, the body's energy currency
- Cytochrome c oxidase
- One of the enzymes that make up the mitochondrial respiratory chain (the mechanism of energy production)
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- An electron microscope used in methods for determining the three-dimensional structure of proteins. This lab uses it for single-particle analysis
ResearchResearch themes
The Department of Molecular Pharmacology aims to understand the structure and function of proteins and to create new treatments for cardiovascular diseases caused by their abnormalities or breakdown. It takes a range of approaches, from searching for therapeutic target molecules to elucidating their function and how that function breaks down in disease.
*Illustrative imageDrugs that enhance respiratory chain enzyme activity
The lab has discovered molecules that increase the activity of cytochrome c oxidase, a respiratory chain enzyme in mitochondria, and aims to develop therapeutics for mitochondrial disease and heart disease. It examines the structures of complexes between the activators and the enzyme using X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy.
*Illustrative imageAntibacterial drugs that target only pathogens
The lab focuses on the fact that the respiratory chain enzymes of humans and pathogenic bacteria are similar in shape but not identical. Exploiting this difference, it found a compound that inhibits only the enzyme of Neisseria gonorrhoeae without acting on the human enzyme, and succeeded in creating a new antibacterial drug that is effective against drug-resistant gonorrhea.
*Illustrative imageSearching for molecules that control inflammation in the heart muscle
The lab has identified a new membrane protein that links mechanical stimulation (mechanical stress) to inflammation in the heart muscle, and has shown that it is a promising drug discovery target for hereditary dilated cardiomyopathy. It aims to develop a new heart disease drug originating in Japan.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology consist of the department head, laboratory heads, senior researchers, research fellows, part-time researchers, trainees, research support staff, administrative assistants, and visiting researchers.As of 2025
- DirectorYasunori Shintani
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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: “Structure of Escherichia coli Leucine-responsive regulatory protein (Lpr)” de los Rios, S., Perona, J.J. / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Drugs that enhance respiratory chain enzyme activity: “Mitochondria 7 -- Smart-Servier” Laboratoires Servier / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Antibacterial drugs that target only pathogens: “Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria (Gram stain)” Dr Graham Beards / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Searching for molecules that control inflammation in the heart muscle: “Muscle Tissue Cardiac Muscle ( )” Berkshire Community College Bioscience Image Library / CC0 (cropped)
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