Adjunct Professor Hiroyuki Osada
Director,
Chemical Biology Department
Phone: 04 463 5339
Email: hisyo@riken.jp
Nearest Fax: 04 463 5331
Research Interests
Many microorganisms synthesize unique small molecules, known as secondary metabolites or natural products, which act as chemical defenses by altering the cellular function of predators or competitors. These molecules have highly diverse chemical structures and biological activities.
The focus of the Chemical Biology Department is the isolation of new microbial metabolites that modify mammalian cell function. Cellular factors involved in proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in mammalian cells are primary molecular targets. Compounds isolated from microorganisms are deposited in the master chemical library at the newly established RIKEN Natural Products Depository (NPDepo).
The laboratory is also devoted to the cloning of biosynthetic gene clusters of microbial secondary metabolites, the investigation of the molecular interaction between small molecules and their binding proteins, and proteomic analyses of drug targets. The research will provide chemical probes to investigate the complex biochemical processes of mammalian cell function and also establish the foundation for developing new medicines such as antitumor agents.
Selected Publications
Tamura, Y., Simizu, S., Muroi, M., Takagi, S., Kawatani, M., Watanabe, N., Osada, H. Polo-like kinase 1 phosphorylates and regulates Bcl-xL during pironetin-induced apoptosis. Oncogene, 28, 107-116 (2009)
Takagi, S., Simizu, S., Osada, H. RECK negatively regulates matrix metalloproteinase-9 transcription. Cancer Res., 69, 1502-1508 (2009)
Miyazaki, I., Simizu, S., Ishida, K., Osada, H. On-chip fragment-based approach for discovery of high-affinity bivalent inhibitors. Chembiochem, 10, 838-843 (2009)
Kawai, K., Kawasaki, A., Sudo, T., Osada, H. A p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor screening method using growth recovery of Escherichia coli as an index. Anal. Biochem., 388, 128-133 (2009)
Li, W., Luo, Y., Ju, J., Rajski, S., Osada, H., Shen, B. Characterization of the tautomycetin biosynthetic gene cluster from streptomyces griseochromogenes provides new insight into dialkylmaleic anhydride biosynthesis. J. Nat. Prod, 72, 450 (2009)