We are developing the simple and effective methods for screening oxidative stress-induced environmental substances, and the functional foods to control the toxicity of environmental substances. Furthermore, in order to understand the psychological and physiological effects of the forest environment on humans, we are conducting comparative studies using biological oxidative and antioxidant biomarkers as indicators.

· We establish a water processing technology with the excimer lamp which does not include mercury. We perform the characteristic evaluation of the new source of light and consider whether we are established as a substitute new technology.
· The element concentration of human hair living in the same area and element concentration in water to drink are measured by ICP-MS. We examine relationship between toxic element concentration in hair and water element concentration.
· The production distinction of the farm products by stable isotope ratio analysis and the trace element analysis and marine products is studied.

We have been working on the mechanism of inactivation of the plant hormone auxin. In one of our research projects, we have discovered potent plant growth regulator, designated as KAKEIMIDE, which is a potent inhibitor of the GH3 enzyme that inactivate auxin. Auxin degradation inhibitor in plants can regulate auxin levels in various plant species, including crops, and thus promote rooting of cuttings and fruit set and enlargement of fruits.

We have demonstrated an inexpensive and easy-to-handle device for monitoring mammalian sperm motility made by patterning a piece of paper and measuring the activity of a specific enzyme. After applying semen to the hydrophilic center circle of the patterned paper, a tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay data can be used to help estimate the percentage of motile human sperm (sperm motility) in semen based on the character that motile human sperm moved in and on the paper.
(Matsuura et al. 2014, 2017, 2019)

・Peptide-based drug design and synthesis:
Design and synthesis of bioactive small molecules from peptide hormons and proteins based on structure activity relationships.

・Chemical Biology Research:
Development of a method for discovery of novel drug target protein using small bioactive compounds as the probes.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) utilize complex cellular systems to respond to diverse ligand concentration. Our recent work elucidated that this system functions through the phosphorylation status. Thus, we have been studing on the potential roles of this modification for the GPCR signaling. In addition, we are developping the novel ligands for desease-reated GPCRs to regulate. We hope that our studies provide an expanding conceptual view of the drug development for the regulation of GPCRs.

It is reported that a lot of natural products have unknown various function for remedy of life style diseases. For the purpose of the development of remedy for lifestyle diseases from natural resource products, the study of isolation and structural determination of active compound from plant extract have studied.

In our laboratory, we explore the untapped potential of microorganisms that play important roles in agriculture, food processing, and human health, both inside and outside our bodies. Our goal is to discover useful microorganisms with novel abilities and develop technologies to enrich our lives sustainably.

DNA lesions generated by the attacks of reactive oxygen species, carcinogens, ultraviolet, and ionized radiation are resposible for human diseases and aging. We characterize the DNA repair pathways, especially base excision repair and nucleotide excision repair, by molecular genetic approach using fission yeast as a model organism. We also study the role of DNA repair pathways in lifespan of non-dividing cells. Antioxidant activity, antimutagenic activity, and anti-aging activity of food and food ingredients are evaluated by using the DNA repair mutants.

The aim of the one of my research is to develop the cultured thick and huge musclular tissue. To do this, I am developing the blood vescle in cultured tissues by using selfaggregation technique.
I am studying the mechanisms of muscular hypertrophy by Kaatsu training (pressurized muscle training) in cellular level to develop the method to treat musclular atrophy etc. Also I am studying the effects of physical environments (temperature, air contact, and ultrasonic wave irratiation, etc.) around blood in extracorporeal circulation devices such as artificial carcdiopulmonary device or dialysis cdevice on blood coagulation to develop the high-performance extracorporeal blood circulation device.

I study the biosynthetic pathway of indican (a precursor of indigo). As an application, I attempt the mass production of indigo in E. coli.

I analyze the intracellular function of several unique proteins from a slime mold.

Our group is interested in developing new synthetic methodologies to enable synthesis of biologically active natural compounds and their derivatives in environmental friendly manner. As such manners, we have developed metal-free regioselective cycloaddition of highly reactive o-quinone to form 1,4-benzodioxane and a procedure for construction of benzene ring from o-quinone and terminal alkynes through cycloaddition and photo-decarboxylation. We have also reported concise synthetic route to KDO, a kind of carbohydrate, including elimination of cyclic sulfite as a key step. By collaborative research with a company, functional monomers for dental adhesive resin cements have been developed. 　

Denatired protein forms insoluble aggrigate. Chemical cationization of decatured protein s them water soluble. Based on this protein cationization method, we have studied two theme as described later. Left panel shows the outline of cationized protein transduction for living mammalian cells。Cationized protein efficiently adosorbed to negatively charged cell surface and uptaked by endocytosis. Right panel shows application of cationized protein for adosorbent of autoantibody. Denatured and cationized whole antigen immobilized on adsorber would be possible to capture antibodies with various epitope.

Animals including humans have beautiful pigments on the body surface. In the pigmentations, melanosomes, specialized organelles for melanin generation, are synthesized in pigment cells called melanocytes and subsequently transferred from melanocytes to surrounding skin and hair keratinocytes. Although to understand melanosome transfer is important for developing cosmetics and pigment biology, molecular and cellular mechanisms of melanosome transfer have long been unclear.
I recently established a novel live imaging technique that enabled to directly analyze melanosome transfer in skin tissue using chicken embryos.I am going to elucidate the whole picture of the intercellular transfer of melanosomes by using the new technique.

Type II DNA topoisomerase (topo II) is an essential enzyme for resolution of topological problems arising in DNA metabolic processes such as transcription and replication. We study a role of the C-terminal domain of topo II in its nuclear dynamics and enzymatic activities.

Through advanced imaging techniques, biochemistry, and gene expression analyses, I work to understand the mechanisms of how plants adapt to changes in the environment.

(1) Mechanisms of Plant Motion and Growth 　Many people believe that plants do not move. However, the reality is that plants respond by sensing changes in light intensity, color, and temperature and moving. I focus on the behavior of microtubules in plant cells, which may be playing a key role in regulating plant motion and growth. This project tries to answer this classic, unanswered question in plant physiology, one that had been a focus of Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), the Father of Evolution.

(2) Mechanisms of Plant Environmental Responses To adapt to environmental change, plants must survive and reproduce through seed production because they cannot physically leave the place where their seeds germinate. In particular, my focus is on how plants adapt to higher temperatures. As we face the challenge of climate change and global warming, understanding mechanisms of biological adaptation to higher temperatures is critical.

(3) Functions of Small RNAs on Plant Embryogenesis and Development Small RNAs play important roles to regulate plant embryogenesis and developments. I discovered a novel gene expression mechanism involving small RNAs. This project tries to further develop this new field in plant physiology.

[Overview of research]
We studied the marine fish of aqua culture that does not use seawater.
Breeding possible fish species flounder, tiger puffer, striped jack, grouper, Japanese eel, New Guinea eel, blue fin tuna, chum salmon, Kuruma prawn, deman prawn etc.
We aim to gently safe and secure closed aqua culture in the environment at low cost.
These research activities has been attracting attention from the world not only in Japan but.

[Acquired patents]
· Patent No. 4665252
· Patent No. 4665258
· Patent No. 5062550
· Patent No. 5364874
· Patent No. 5487377
· Patent No. 5487378
· Patent No. 5578401

[International cooperation]
Introduction to the acetic acid injection method( Crown-of-thorns starfish control manual 2011 :Ministry of the Environment)
The Jica Project Study on Value-add Macrobrachium rosenbergii Aquaculture by the Third Water in the Kingdom of Cambodia

Plants can adapt to various environmental conditions by perceiving intensity and quality of light, direction of gravity, and so on. By elucidating such a stimulus-responsive mechanism, we will be able to modulate the growth of a plant to be optimized for an artificial condition such as in a space station or a plant factory.
We are studying on 1) the molecular bases for a wound-responsive gene expression, 2) the effect of light quality on root gravitropism, and 3) a novel plant growth regulator within a distilled extract from industrial waste biomass.