Molecular Ligand Discovery Research Team
Team Leader
Minoru YOSHIDA (D.Agr.)
Identification of novel small molecular ligands is essential to understand diverse biological phenomena and to control the biological systems by chemical methods. This project focuses on the development of useful molecular ligands that are expected to contribute to an advance in life sciences by employing chemical libraries that consist of microbial metabolites and/or synthetic compounds. In particular, we search into novel active compounds by constructing a variety of phenotypic screening systems using genetically modified mammalian and yeast cells, and in vitro screening systems using various target proteins that include enzymes for protein post-translational modifications. In addition, we conduct in silico screening and fundamental study to optimize molecular ligands for the target proteins through molecular simulation. Our goal is to identify and provide unique molecular ligands that are useful for chemical biology research aiming at exploiting new area of life sciences.
- Phenotypic screening using mammalian and yeast cells
- In vitro screening for inhibitors of protein post-translational modifications, etc.
- In silico screening and optimization of molecular ligands
- Takahashi, M., Takemoto, Y., Shimazu, T., Kawasaki, H., Tachibana, M., Shinkai, Y., Takagi, M., Shin-Ya, K., Igarashi, Y., Ito, A., and Yoshida, M.:
"Inhibition of histone H3K9 methyltransferases by gliotoxin and related epipolythiodioxopiperazines."
J Antibiot (Tokyo)., doi: 10.1038/ja.2012.6., 2012 - Kumar, A., and Zhang, K. Y. J.:
"Computational Fragment-based Screening Using RosettaLigand: the SAMPL3 Challenge."
J. Comput-Aided Mol. Des., doi:10.1007/s10822-011-9523-0., 2011 - Yashiroda, Y., Okamoto, R., Hatsugai, K., Takemoto, Y., Goshima, N., Saito, T., Hamamoto, M., Sugimoto, Y., Osada, H., Seimiya, H., and Yoshida, M.:
"A novel yeast cell-based screen identifies flavone as a tankyrase inhibitor."
Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 394: 569-573, 2010. - Islam, N. M., Kato, T., Nishino, N., Kim, H.-J., Ito, A., and Yoshida, M.:
"Bicyclic peptides as potent inhibitors of histone deacetylases: Optimization of alkyl loop length."
Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 20: 997-999, 2010. - Matsuyama, A. and Yoshida, M.:
"Systematic cloning of an ORFeome using the gateway system."
Methods Mol. Biol., 577: 11-24, 2009. - Fukuda, I., Ito, A., Uramoto, M., Saitoh, H., Kawasaki, H., Osada, H., and Yoshida, M.:
"Kerriamycin B inhibits protein SUMOylation."
J. Antibiotics, 62: 221-224, 2009. - Fukuda, I., Ito, A., Hirai, G., Nishimura, S., Kawasaki, H., Saitoh, H., Kimura, K., Sodeoka, M., and Yoshida, M.:
"Ginkgolic acid Inhibits protein SUMOylation by blocking formation of the E1-SUMO intermediate"
Chem. Biol. 16: 133-140, 2009. - Nishino, N., Shivashimpi, G. M., Soni, P. B., Bhuiyan, M. P. I., Kato, T., Maeda, S., Nishino, T. G., and Yoshida, M.:
"Interaction of aliphatic cap group in inhibition of histone deacetylases by cyclic tetrapeptides."
Bioorg. Med. Chem., 16: 437-445, 2008. - Suenaga, A., Umezu, O., Ando, T., Yamato, I., Murata, T., and Taiji, M.:
"Estimation of ligand binding free energies of F-ATPase by using molecular dynamics/free energy calculation."
J. Comp. Chem. Jp, 7: 103-116, 2008. - Yashiroda, Y., Matsuyama, A., and Yoshida, M.:
"New insights into chemical biology from ORFeome libraries."
Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 12: 55-59, 2008.
Principal Investigator
- Minoru YOSHIDA
- Team Leader
Staff Scientist
- Yoichi SHINKAI
- Kam ZHANG
- Naoshi DOHMAE
- Takanori KIGAWA
- Makoto TAIJI
- Kenji OGAWA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Feng LING
- Senior Research Scientist
- Saori KOSONO
- Senior Research Scientist
- Hideyuki MIYATAKE
- Senior Research Scientist
- Akihisa MATSUYAMA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Yoko YASHIRODA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Akihiro ITO
- Senior Research Scientist
- Naoya TOCHIO
- Research Scientist
- Tadahiro SHIMAZU
- Research Scientist
- Takehiro SUZUKI
- Technical Scientist
Postdoctoral Fellow
- Rong NIU
- Contract Researcher
- Hiroki KOBAYASHI
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Ayako TOKUMITSU
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Shin-ya Okamoto
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Yasushi TAKEMOTO
- Visiting Researcher
Technical Assistant
- Mikako HIROHAMA
- Technical Staff I
- Atsushi HASHIMOTO
- Technical Staff II
- Noemi KO
- Technical Staff II
- Satoko MAEDA
- Technical Staff II