Staff

• Professor
  Eriko NANGO
• Assistant Professor
  Misaki OKUNISHI
• Assistant Professor
  Takaaki FUJIWARA

Outline

A protein is one of the biomolecules that are essential to the phenomena of life, such as cell signaling, in vivo catalytic reactions, storage and transport. A three-dimensional structure of a protein, which consists of a number of amino acids, is closely related to its function, and there has been an interest in how a protein structurally changes when it functions. However, new techniques are needed to capture the movement of nano-sized proteins on a fast time scale (femtoseconds to milliseconds) at an atomic level.
In our laboratory, we use a quantum beam such as an X-ray free-electron laser, synchrotron radiation, or an electron beam to visualize actual chemical and structural changes in proteins. For instance, we will reveal the switching mechanism of light-sensitive proteins and the reaction mechanism of enzymes catalyzing unique reactions. Furthermore, we aim to design and create protein molecules with new functions based on precise information from dynamic structural analysis.

Selected Publications

• High-viscosity sample injection device for serial femtosecond crystallography at atmospheric pressure.
  Shimazua, Y., Tono, K., Tanaka, T., Yamanaka, Y., Nakane, T., Mori, C., Kimura, T. K., Fujiwara, T., Sugahara, M., Tanaka, R., Doak, R. B., Shimamura, T., Iwata, S., Nango, E. and Yabashi, M.  J. Appl. Cryst. 52, 1280 (9 pages) (2019)
• Nanosecond pump-probe device for time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography developed at SACLA.
  Kubo, M., Nango, E.*, Tono, K.*, Kimura, T., Owada, S., Song, C., Mafuné, F., Miyajima, K., Takeda, Y., Kohno, J. Y., Miyauchi, N., Nakane, T., Tanaka, T., Nomura, T., Davidsson, J., Tanaka, R., Murata, M., Kameshima, T., Hatsui, T., Joti, Y., Neutze, R., Yabashi, M. and Iwata, S.  J. Synchrotron Radiat. 24, 1086 (6 pages) (2017)
• Retinal isomerization in bacteriorhodopsin captured by a femtosecond x-ray laser.
  Nogly, P., Weinert, T., James, D., Carbajo, S., Ozerov, D., Furrer, A., Gashi, D., Borin, V., Skopintsev, P., Jaeger, K., Nass, K., Båth, P., Bosman, R., Koglin, J., Seaberg, M., Lane, T., Kekilli, D., Brünle, S., Tanaka, T., Wu, W., Milne, C., White, T., Barty, A., Weierstall, U., Panneels, V., Nango, E., Iwata, S., Hunter, M., Schapiro, I., Schertler, G., Neutze, R., and Standfuss,  J. Science 261, 145 (8 pages) (2018)
• A three-dimensional movie of structural changes in bacteriorhodopsin.
  Nango, E., Royant, A., Kubo, M., Nakane, T., Wickstrand, C., Kimura, T., Tanaka, T., Tono, K., Song, C., Tanaka, R., Arima, T., Yamashita, A., Kobayashi, J., Hosaka, T., Mizohata, E., Nogly, P., Sugahara, M., Nam, D., Nomura, T., Shimamura, T., Im, D., Fujiwara, T., Yamanaka, Y., Jeon, B., Nishizawa, T., Oda, K., Fukuda, M., Andersson, R., Bath, P., Dods, R., Davidsson, J., Matsuoka, S., Kawatake, S., Murata, M., Nureki, O., Owada, S., Kameshima, T., Hatsui, T., Joti, Y., Schertler, G., Yabashi, M., Bondar, A. N., Standfuss, J., Neutze, R. and Iwata, S.  Science 354, 1552 (6 pages) (2016)

Contact Information

“Please delete “/” after “@” in a mail address.”
Prof. Eriko NANGO
(TEL +81 22-217-5344, Email: eriko.nango.c4@/tohoku.ac.jp)

Website: http://www2.tagen.tohoku.ac.jp/lab/nango/