The University of Osaka · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Tomohiro Yamazaki's research lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying RNA-mediated cellular organization, particularly the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in forming biomolecular condensates through phase separation. The lab investigates how lncRNAs such as NEAT1_2 act as scaffolds for nuclear bodies like paraspeckles, and how RNA-binding proteins like FUS and helicases (e.g., UAP56, URH49) regulate mRNA export and condensate dynamics. They also explore the pathophysiological implications of these mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and SMA, as well as in infectious diseases involving host-pathogen interactions in the genital tract. The lab integrates molecular cell biology, RNA biology, and biophysics to understand the functional architecture of subcellular compartments.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Mutations in the RNA binding protein FUS cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal adult motor neuron disease. Decreased expression of SMN causes the fatal childhood motor neuron disorder spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The SMN complex localizes in both the cytoplasm and nuclear Gems, and loss of Gems is a cellular hallmark of fibroblasts in patients with SMA. Here, we report that FUS associates with the SMN complex, mediated by U1 snRNP and by direct interactions between FUS and SMN. Fu
Nuclear export of mRNA is an essential process for eukaryotic gene expression. The TREX complex couples gene expression from transcription and splicing to mRNA export. Sub2, a core component of the TREX complex in yeast, has diversified in humans to two closely related RNA helicases, UAP56 and URH49. Here, we show that URH49 forms a novel URH49-CIP29 complex, termed the AREX (alternative mRNA export) complex, whereas UAP56 forms the human TREX complex. The mRNAs regulated by these helicases are
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are fundamental regulators of various cellular processes. A subset of lncRNAs, termed architectural RNAs (arcRNAs), function in the formation and maintenance of phase-separated membraneless organelles in multiple eukaryotic species. These membraneless organelles represent an important type of compartmentalization in the crowded cellular environment and have several distinct features. The NEAT1_2 lncRNA is a well-characterized arcRNA that functions as an essential sc
This study demonstrated that the presence of Ureaplasma had a significant effect on the presence of C. trachomatis in the genital tract of healthy women, suggesting that mixed infection is an important factor in bacterial pathogenesis in the genital tract.
Phase separation is a fundamental mechanism for compartmentalization in cells and leads to the formation of biomolecular condensates, generally containing various RNA molecules. RNAs are biomolecules that can serve as suitable scaffolds for biomolecular condensates and determine their forms and functions. Many studies have focused on biomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), one type of intracellular phase separation mechanism. We recently identified that paraspec
Long noncoding RNA directs biophysical properties of phase-separated nucleoli
ABSTRACT Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has been thought to be the biophysical principle governing the assembly of the multiphase structures of nucleoli, the site of ribosomal biogenesis. Condensates assembled through LLPS increase their sizes to minimize the surface energy as far as their components are available. However, multiple microphases, fibrillar centers (FCs), dispersed in a nucleolus are stable and their sizes do not grow unless the transcription of pre-ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA)
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