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<2004 Spring Semester>


Applied Microbiology (2-0-0) Even year

Prof. Toshihisa ISHIKAWA

(Aim)

This course addresses new technologies of Microbiology that can be applied for medicine, drug discovery, protein manufacturing, and eco-business.  Students are requested to present their own report in English in the class.  The course involves lecture and debate/discussion regarding the following items:

(Schedule)

I. Fundamentals in microbiology

I-1. Diversity of microorganisms

I-2 Classical application of microbiology

II. New technologies of microbiology

II-1. Concept of bio-factory

II-2. Plasmids and vectors

II-3. Synthesis of proteins

II-4. Synthesis of vaccine

II-5. Medical applications

III. Metabolites of microorganisms

III-1. Synthesis of antibiotics

III-2. Synthesis of new drug seeds

III-3. Transgenic microorganisms

IV. Application of microbiology to eco-business

IV-1. Microbiology and ecology

IV-2. Eco-business and new challenges


Structure and Function of Supramolecules (2-0-0) Even year

Associate Prof. Fumio ARISAKA

(Aim)

Lectures will focus on the assembly and function of supramolecules.  After reviewing examples of supramolecules in organisms, principles of the assembly will be described in details by taking a virus or bacteriophages as an example.  Also, the methodology of studying molecular assembly, including electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation will be introduced.

(Schedule)

1. Introduction to Supramolecules

      Examples of Supramolecules and the problems to be solved

2. Hierarchy of Protein Structure

      Primary to Quaternery structure, Domain structure

3. Repeating Units and Symmetry of Supramolecular Structure

      Helical Symmetry

4. Domain Swapping

      Origins of Supramolecular Structure

5. Structure of viruses

      Classification of viruses and bacteriophages

6. Quasi-equivalence theory of Caspar & Klug

      Icosahedral symmetry and T (triangulation) number

7. Molecular mechanism of adsorption and infection

      Adsorption and DNA injection

8. Methods for studying virus assembly (1)

      Use of conditional lethal mutants and in vitro complementation

9. Methods for studying virus assembly (2)

      Expression system of phage proteins

10. Methods for studying virus assembly (3)

      Biophysical characterization of proteins and protein-protein interactions during assembly.

11. Methods for studying virus assembly (4)

Structural Genomics, Structural Biology and Biophysics of Virus Assembly

12. Summary


Advanced Cell Biochemistry (2-0-0) Even year

Associate Prof. Masayuki KOMADA

(Aim)

This course focuses on the mechanisms of protein trafficking and localization in eukaryotic cells, a traditional and attractive field in cell biology.  Specific issues to be addressed are described below.  Equal efforts will be made to address the fundamentals (first half) and recent findings (last half) in each lecture.

(Schedule)

1. Overview of protein trafficking

2. Endocytosis: how are cell surface receptors internalized into cells?

3. Protein sorting at the endosome: how are internalized receptors sorted for trafficking to the lysosome?

4. Protein sorting at the trans-Golgi network: how are newly-synthesized lysosomal hydrolases sorted for trafficking to the lysosome?

5. Rab family of small GTP-binding proteins: essential regulators of vesicular transport

6. Down-regulation of growth factor receptors: a mechanism to attenuate cell growth

    signaling

7. Retroviral budding: how is the budding of retroviruses from infected cells related to

    protein trafficking?

8. Autophagy: trafficking of organelles to the lysosome

9. Kinesin-mediated vesicular transport

10. Regulation of protein localization  1. phosphatidylinositol phosphates

11. Regulation of protein localization  2. PDZ domain

12. Regulation of protein localization  3. spectrin-actin membrane skeleton


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