Molecular Basic Medical ScienceHuman Health Science

Ph.D. Professor Shogo Oka

A human body consists of 60 trillion cells. These cells must interact each other and respond to environmental cues to maintain precise human body function as a system. We are trying to understand various biological phenomena operating this system at a molecular level, with a great emphasis on the glycans and lipids, rather neglected classes of molecule in cells. Through our research activities, we would like to develop a diagnosis at super-early stage of disease as our goal on human health. We hope to achieve this goal with mighty young students.

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Research and Education

Decoding of the biological signaling information in sugar chains/ lipids

Post-translational modification is the major regulatory mechanism of protein function. Glycosylation is one of such post-translational modifications, functional understanding of which is regarded as next major challenge in the life science at the post-genomic era. To cope with this, we are bound to decode the biological information encoded and hidden in the sugar chains. Cellular lipids also function in cells with rather loose link with genomic information. From evolutional point of view, sugar chains and lipids are less conserved among different animal species thus these molecules could holds the keys to the questions how human was developed. Human health could be achieved from the true understanding of ourselves in both health and disease.

Our ongoing research projects include functional understanding of sugar chains and lipid regulating the nervous system, embryogenesis, and immune system as key regulatory factors with considerable emphasis on the signaling aspects of these molecules in health and disease.

Function of neural specific carbohydrate epitope HNK-1 Function of neural specific carbohydrate epitope HNK-1

Lab members Lab members

Publications

  1. Nonaka M, Mabashi-Asazuma H, Jarvis DL, Yamasaki K, Akama TO, Nagaoka M, Sasai T, Kimura-Takagai I, Suwa Y, Yaegashi T, Huang CT, Nishizawa-Harada C, Fukuda MN. Development of an orally-administrable tumor vasculature-targeting therapeutic using annexin A1-binding D-peptides. PLoS One, 16, e0241157. (2021)
  2. Nonaka M, Suzuki-Anekoji M, Nakayama J, Mabashi-Asazuma H, Jarvis DL, Yeh JC, Yamasaki K, Akama TO, Huang CT, Campos AR, Nagaoka M, Sasai T, Kimura-Takagi I, Suwa Y, Yaegashi T, Shibata TK, Sugihara K, Nishizawa-Harada C, Fukuda M, Fukuda MN. Overcoming the blood-brain barrier by Annexin A1-binding peptide to target brain tumours. Br J Cancer, 123, 1633-1643. (2020)
  3. Morise J, Suzuki K, Kitagawa A, Wakazono Y, Takamiya K, Tsunoyama T, Nemoto Y, Takematsu H, Kusumi A, Oka S. AMPA receptors in the synapse turnover by monomer diffusion. Nat Commun, 10, 5245. (2019)
  4. *Nakamura A, *Morise J, Yabuno-Nakagawa K, Hashimoto Y, Takematsu H, Oka S. Site-specific HNK-1 epitope on alternatively spliced fibronectin type-III repeats in tenascin-C promotes neurite outgrowth of hippocampal neurons through contactin-1. PLoS One, 14, e0210193 (2019) *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  5. *Kandel MB, *Yamamoto S, Midorikawa R, Morise J, Wakazono Y, Oka S**, Takamiya K**. N-glycosylation of the AMPA-type glutamate receptor regulates cell surface expression and tetramer formation affecting channel function. J Neurochem, 147, 730-747. (2018) *These authors contributed equally to this work. **Corresponding author.

Laboratory

Professor: Shogo Oka Ph.D.
Associate Professor: Motohiro Nonaka, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor: Jyoji Morise, Ph.D.

TEL
075-751-3959(Oka)
075-751-3954(Nonaka)
075-751-3929(Morise)
FAX
075-751-3959
e-mail
oka.shogo.7w@kyoto-u.ac.jp (Oka)
nonaka.motohiro.4r@kyoto-u.ac.jp (Nonaka)
morise.jyoji.2n@kyoto-u.ac.jp (Morise)
URL
http://oka-lab.hs.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/(Oka)
https://nonaka-lab.hs.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp(Nonaka)
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