Tetsuya Yamamoto

A highly efficient and versatile method for the synthesis of various sphingolipids, such as sphingomyelin, ceramide, sphingosine, sphingosine 1-phosphate, and functionalized sphingosine derivatives, was established by two types of combinations of the olefin cross metathesis reaction. One reaction was between the same olefin part and appropriate amino alcohols, which were prepared starting from N-Boc-L-serine, and the other was between appropriate olefins and the same amino alcohol. [reaction: se

Bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) play central roles in differentiation, development, and physiological tissue remodeling. Estrogens have key roles in a variety of biological events, such as the development and maintenance of numerous target tissues. Previous studies demonstrated that estrogens suppress BMP functions by repressing BMP gene expression. Here we present a novel mechanism for the inhibitory effect of estrogens on BMP function. BMP-2-induced activation of Sma and Mad (mothers against

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that plays important roles in the immune system, hematopoiesis, and acute phase reactions. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) also has pleiotropy including the production of acute phase proteins in hepatocytes. To elucidate the cross-talk between IL-6 and TGF-beta signaling pathways in hepatic cells, we investigated the effects of TGF-beta on IL-6-induced signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) activation in a human he

The stability of spherical vesicles in alternating (ac) electric fields is studied theoretically for asymmetric conductivity conditions across their membranes. The vesicle deformation is obtained from a balance between the curvature elastic energies and the work done by the Maxwell stresses. The present theory describes and clarifies the mechanisms for the four types of morphological transitions observed experimentally on vesicles exposed to ac fields in the frequency range from 500 to 2 x 10(7)

We use a liquid-crystal model to predict that hybrid lipids (lipids that have one saturated and one unsaturated tail) can stabilize line interfaces between domains in mixed membranes of saturated lipids, hybrid lipids, and cholesterol (SHC membranes). The model predicts the phase separation of SHC membranes with both parabolic and loop binodals depending on the cholesterol concentration, modeled via an effective pressure. In some cases, the hybrid lipids can reduce the line tension to zero in SH

Hybrid lipids (with one saturated tail and one unsaturated tail) have been proposed as agents that can reduce the line tension between domains. We use a liquid crystal model to predict the effect of the degree of unsaturation in the unsaturated tails of hybrid lipids on the miscibility phase diagram and line tension between domains in membranes comprising saturated lipids (with two saturated tails), hybrid lipids, and cholesterol (SHC membranes). In contrast to SHC membranes containing hybrid li

We have developed a scaling theory of the elasticity of swollen and deswollen polymer networks. The elasticity of unentangled networks is primarily due to cross-links, and the elasticity of entangled networks is due to trapped entanglements. In preparation conditions, the number of monomers Nx in strands of the unentangled network is less than the number of monomers Ne0 in an entanglement strand while Nx > Ne0 for the entangled network. A network weakly entangled at preparation conditions is pre

The loop extrusion theory assumes that protein factors, such as cohesin rings, act as molecular motors that extrude chromatin loops. However, recent single molecule experiments have shown that cohesin does not show motor activity. To predict the physical mechanism involved in loop extrusion, we here theoretically analyze the dynamics of cohesin rings on a loop, where a cohesin loader is in the middle and unloaders at the ends. Cohesin monomers bind to the loader rather frequently and cohesin dim

We here use an extension of the Flory-Huggins theory to predict that phase separation is driven by the production of architectural RNA (arcRNA) at a DNA locus with a constant rate. The arcRNA molecules diffuse in the nucleoplasm and show attractive interactions via proteins that are bound to the arcRNA. Our theory predicts that when the Flory interaction parameter is larger than the value at the critical point, the volume fraction of arcRNA jumps between the two values corresponding to the volum

We theoretically predict the local density of nucleosomes on DNA brushes in a solution of molecules, which are necessary for transcription and the assembly of nucleosomes. Our theory predicts that in a confined space, DNA brushes show phase separation, where a region of relatively large nucleosomal occupancy coexists with a region of smaller nucleosomal occupancy. This phase separation is driven by an instability arising from the fact that the rate of transcription increases as the nucleosomal o

Paraspeckles are nuclear bodies scaffolded by RNP complexes of NEAT1_2 RNA transcripts and multiple RNA-binding proteins. The assembly of paraspeckles is coupled with the transcription of NEAT1_2. Paraspeckles form the core-shell structure, where the two terminal regions of NEAT1_2 RNP complexes compose the shell of the paraspeckle and the middle regions of these complexes compose the core. We here construct a theoretical model of paraspeckles by taking into account the transcription of NEAT1_2

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) is inhib