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Cellular Informatics Laboratory
Yasushi SAKO
Chief Scientist
Yasushi SAKO (D.Sci.)
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Research Areas

Complex and flexible behaviors of living cells are outputs of intracellular signaling molecule systems. Unitary reactions in molecular systems are stochastic events, use energy as low as thermal fluctuation, and the average number of molecules involved is sometimes less than 100 suggesting significant number fluctuation in individual cells. Thus, molecular systems are suffering large fluctuations even though cells look like to be acting purposively searching both internal and external environments. Cells seem to have special mechanisms to suppress fluctuations but it is also possible that cells have evolved to use fluctuations positively. How fluctuating molecular systems determine complex and flexible cellular behaviors? We are developing single-molecule analysis technologies in living cells and trying to find the answer "goes down with" everyone.

Research Subject

  1. Single-molecule analysis of information processing in living cells
  2. Single-molecule dynamics of cell signaling proteins
  3. Molecular mechanism of cell fate decision
  4. New technologies on optical microscopy

Related links

  1. RIKEN Advanced Science Institute Website_Laboratories PageNew Window
  2. Individual Website Laboratory PageNew Window

RIKEN RESEARCH

September 10, 2010
Studying cell signaling using single-molecule imagingNew Window
January 25, 2008
Small changes, big impacts
Molecular-scale rearrangements influence how receptors transmit their message, adding another layer of complexity to the regulation of cell signaling New Window

List of Selected Publications

  1. Hibino, K., Shibata, T., Yanagida, T., and Sako, Y.:
    "Single-molecule kinetic analysis of RAF activation in the ternary complex among RAF, RasGTP, and the kinases on the plasma membrane of living cells"
    J. Biol. Chem. 286, 36460-36468 (2011)
  2. Sako, Y, Hiroshima, M, Pack, C-G, Okamoto, K, Hibino, K, Yamamoto, A.:
    "Live-cell single-molecule detection in systems biology"
    WIREs Systems Biology and Medicine, doi:10.1002/wsbm.161 (2011).
  3. Hibino, K., Shibata, T., Yanagida, T., and Sako, Y.:
    "A RasGTP-induced conformational change in C-RAF is essential for accurate molecular recognition."
    Biophys. J. 97, 1277-1287 (2009)
  4. Morimatsu, M., Takagi, H., Ota, K. G., Iwamoto, R., Yanagida, T., Sako, Y.:
    "Multiple-state reactions between the epidermal growth factor receptor and Grb2 as observed using single-molecule analysis"
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104, 18013-18018 (2007)
  5. Teramura, Y., Ichinose, J., Takagi, H., Nishida, K., Yanagida, T., Sako, Y.:
    "Single-molecule analysis of epidermal growth factor binding on the surface of living cells"
    EMBO J., 25, 4215-4222 (2006)
  6. Sako, Y.:
    "Imaging single molecules for systems biology"
    Mol. Syst. Biol. doi:10.1038/msb4100100 (2006)
  7. Uyemura, T., Takagi, H., Yanagida, T., Sako, Y.:
    "Single-molecule analysis of epidermal growth factor signaling that leads to ultrasensitive calcium response"
    Biophys. J., 88, 3720-3730 (2005)
  8. Sako, Y., Yanagida, T.:
    "Single-molecule visualization in cell biology"
    Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol., 4, SS1-5 (2003)
  9. Sako, Y., Minoguchi, S., Yanagida, T.:
    "Single molecule imaging of EGFR signal trasnduction on the living cell surface"
    Nature Cell Biol., 2, 168-172 (2000)

Members

Principal Investigator

Yasushi SAKO
Chief Scientist

Staff Scientist

Akihiro YAMAMOTO
Senior Technical Scientist
Yukinobu ARATA
Research Scientist
Kenji OKAMOTO
Research Scientist
Michio HIROSNIMA
Senior Scientist

Postdoctoral Fellow

Shin-ichi MORITA
Contract Researcher
Changi BACK
Contract Researcher
Kazunari MOURI
Postdoctoral Researcher

Technical Assistant

Hiromi SATO
Technical Staff II
Masahiro TAKAHASHI
Technical Staff II
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