研究
分野
糖鎖生物学。糖鎖の生物化学、分子生物学的、生物工学的研究。
興味:生物を形作る細胞の表面は、例外なく糖鎖で覆われている。私の興味は、このような細胞表面糖鎖の存在理由についてユニークな解答を与えることにある。しかしながら、細胞表面に存在する糖鎖の構造は想像を絶するほど複雑であり、その機能も、受精、発生、器官形成(例えば、神経細胞、血球細胞、脂肪細胞、乳腺)、免疫、神経機能など高次生命現象における様々な過程(細胞間相互作用、情報伝達など)に関与していることが知られている。このような複雑な高次生命現象における糖鎖機能の分子機構を理解するために、我々は現在、以下の4つの研究を展開している。(1) 細胞表面に存在する膜ドメイン(ラフト)を介する情報伝達における糖鎖の役割の解明; (2) 受精、初期発生、免疫、神経機能における糖鎖の存在意義の証明; (3) 糖鎖、特に、シアル酸の生合成機構の理解; (4) 機能性糖鎖を医学的、工学的、農学的応用分野に利用すること。
研究
業績
  • Uichiro Yabe, Chihiro Sato, Tsukasa Matsuda, and Ken Kitajima, Polysialic acid in human milk. CD36 is a new member of mammalian polysialic acid-containing glycoprotein. J. Biol. Chem. 278 (Feb/7), in press (2003)
  • Chihiro Sato, Tsukasa Matsuda, and Ken Kitajima, Neuronal differentiation-dependent expression of the disialic acid epitope on CD166 and its involvement in neurite formation in Neuro2A cells. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 45299-45305 (2002)
  • Chihiro Sato, Zenta Yasukawa, Naoteru Honda, Tsukasa Matsuda, and Ken Kitajima, Identification and adipocyte differentiation-dependent expression of the unique disialic acid residues in an adipose tissue specific glycoprotein, adipo Q. J. Biol. Chem. 276, 28849-28856 (2001)
  • Daisuke Nakata, Anja-K. M殤ster, Rita Gerardy-Schahn, Naohito Aoki, Tsukasa Matsuda, and Ken Kitajima, Molecular cloning of a unique CMP-sialic acid synthetase which effectively utilizes both deaminoneuraminic Acid (KDN) and N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) as substrates. Glycobiology 11, 685-692 (2001)
  • Chihiro Sato, Hideyuki Fukuoka, Kaoru Ohta, Tsukasa Matsuda, Rika Koshino, Kazukiyo Kobayashi, Frederic A. Troy II, and Ken Kitajima, Frequent occurrence of pre-existing a2ョ8-linked disialic and oligosialic acids with chain lengths up to 7 Sia residues in mammalian brain glycoproteins. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 15422-15431 (2000)
  • Kaoru Ohta, Chihiro Sato, Tsukasa Matsuda, Masaru Toriyama, Victor D. Vacquier, William J. Lennarz, and Ken Kitajima, Co-localization of receptor and transducer proteins in the glycosphingolipid-enriched, low density, detergent-insoluble membrane fraction of sea urchin sperm. Glycoconjugate J. 17, 205-214 (2000)
  • Chihiro Sato, Sadako Inoue, Tsukasa Matsuda, and Ken Kitajima, Fluorescent-assisted detection of oligosialyl units in glycoconjugates. Anal. Biochem. 267, 102-109 (1999)
  • Kaoru Ohta, Chihiro Sato, Tsukasa Matsuda, Masaru Toriyama, William J. Lennarz, and Ken Kitajima, Isolation and characterization of low density detergent-insoluble membrane (LD-DIM) fraction from sea urchin sperm. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 258, 616-623 (1999)
  • Takashi Angata, Daisuke Nakata, Tsukasa Matsuda, Frederic A. Troy, II, and Ken Kitajima, Biosynthesis of KDN (2-keto-3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-nononic acid). Identification and characterization of a KDN-9-phosphate synthetase activity from trout testis. J. Biol. Chem. 274, 22949-22956 (1999)
  • Takashi Angata, Tsukasa Matsuda, and Ken Kitajima, Synthesis of neoglycoconjugates containing deaminated neuraminic acid (KDN) using rat liver a2,6-sialyltransferase. Glycobiology 8, 277-284 (1998)