Lipid Biology Laboratory
Chief Scientist
Toshihide KOBAYASHI (Ph.D.)
Our accumulating knowledge in lipid biology in these decades revealed that lipids are not simple bricks to build a membrane, rather, each lipid has a distinct function. However, our understanding on the role of lipids is still limited. The function of most of the membrane lipids seems to be dependent not only on the characteristic of individual lipid but on the dynamic equilibrium of the assembly of specific lipids. We are trying to address this question by "imaging" and "isolating" lipids and lipid domains. In "imaging lipids" project, we screen novel probes that recognize specific lipids and examine the dynamics of these lipids in living cells using the probes. "Isolating lipids" project is conducted to biochemically and biophysically analyze lipid domains after isolation from cells. We also reconstitute lipid domains from biochemically identified components. We hope our multidisciplinary approach leads to the elucidation of the multiple function of lipids and eventually to the establishment of a novel technique to manipulate lipid function.
- Intracellular and intercellular lipid traffic
- Molecular mechanisms of organization and assembly of lipid membranes
- Lipid-protein interaction
- Abe M., Makino A., Hullin-Matsuda F., Kamijo K., Ohno-Iwashita Y., Hanada K., Mizuno H., Miyawaki A., and Kobayashi T.:
"A role for sphingomyelin-rich lipid domains in the accumulation of PIP2 to the cleavage furrow during cytokinesis. "
Mol. Cell. Biol. in press (2012) - Tan H-H., Makino A., Sudesh K., Greimel P., and Kobayashi T.:
"Spectroscopic evidence for the unusual stereochemical configuration of an endosome-specific lipid."
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 51., 533-535 (2012) - Takahashi M., Murate M., Fukuda M., Sato S. B., Ohta A., and Kobayashi T.:
"Cholesterol controls lipid endocytosis through rab11"
Mol. Biol. Cell 18. 2667-2677 (2007) - Hayakawa T., Makino A., Murate M., Sugimoto I., Hashimoto Y., Takahashi H., Ito K., Fujisawa T., Matsuo H., and Kobayashi T.:
"pH-dependent formation of membranous cytoplasmic body-like structure of ganglioside GM1/bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate mixed membranes"
Biophys. J. 92. L13-16 (2007) - Iwamoto K., Hayakawa T., Murate M., Makino A., Ito K., Fujisawa T., and Kobayashi T.:
"Curvature-dependent recognition of ethanolamine phospholipids by duramycin and cinnamycin"
Biophys. J. 93, 1608-1619 (2007) - Kiyokawa E., Baba T., Otsuka N., Makino A., Ohno S., and Kobayashi T.:
"Spatial and functional heterogeneity of sphingolipid-rich membrane domains"
J. Biol. Chem.., 280., 24072-24084., (2005). - Ishitsuka R., Yamaji-Hasegawa A., Makino A., Hirabayashi Y., and Kobayashi T.:
"A Lipid-specific toxin reveals heterogeneity of sphingomyelin-containing membranes"
Biophys. J. 86. 296-307 (2004). - Sato S.B., Ishii K., Makino A., Iwabuchi K., Yamaji-Hasegawa A., Senoh Y., Nagaoka I., Sakuraba H., and Kobayashi, T.:
"Distribution and transport of cholesterol-rich membrane domains monitored by a membrane-impermeant fluorescent polyethylene glycol-derivatized cholesterol"
J. Biol. Chem. 279. 23790-23796 (2004) - Yamaji-Hasegawa A., Makin A., Baba T., Senoh Y., Kimura-Suda H., Sato SB., Terada N., Ohno S., Kiyokawa E., Umeda M., and Kobayashi T.:
"Oligomerization and pore formation of a sphingomyelin-specific toxin., lysenin"
J. Biol. Chem 278. 22762-22770 (2003) - Makin A., Bab T., Fujimoto K., Iwamoto K., Yano Y., Terada N., Ohno S., Sato SB., Ohta A., Umeda M., Matsuzaki K., and Kobayashi T.:
"Cinnamycin (Ro09-0198) promotes cell binding and toxicity by inducing transbilayer lipid movement"
J. Biol. Chem.278. 3204-3209 (2003).
Principal Investigator
- Toshihide KOBAYASHI
- Chief Scientist
Staff Scientist
- Yoko AIDA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Kenichi MOTO
- Senior Research Scientist
- Akiko HASEGAWA-YAMAJI
- Senior Research Scientist
- Reiko ISHITSUKA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Taro YAMADA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Peter GREIMEL
- Senior Research Scientist
- Koichiro SHIROTA
- Senior Research Scientist
- Mitsuhiro ABE
- Research Scientist
- Motohide MURATE
- ASI Research Scientist
Postdoctoral Fellow
- Takuma KISHIMOTO
- Special Postdoctoral Researcher
- Takehiko INABA
- Special Postdoctoral Researcher
- Nario TOMISHIGE
- Contract Researcher
- Asami MAKINO
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Neval YILMAZ
- Postdoctoral Researcher
Student Trainee
- Koujiro MUKAI
- Junior Research Associate
- Hema Balakrishna BHAT
- International Program Associate
- Hui Hui TAN
- International Program Associate
- Sabrina KARGOLL
- International Program Associate
- Hiroaki SHIMIZU
- Student Trainee
- Takuya NAKAMURA
- Student Trainee
- Takuya TAJIMA
- Student Trainee
- Ryotaroh SATO
- Student Trainee
Technical Assistant
- Kumiko ISHII
- Technical Staff I
Visiting Research Staff
- Francoise HULLIN-MATSUDA
- Visiting Scientist
- Shota SAKAI
- Visiting Scientist