M. Kikkawa

Unveiling Liquid-Crystalline Lipids in the Urothelial Membrane through Cryo-EM

This study uses cryo-EM to reveal the structure of the uroplakin complex in porcine urothelial membranes, identifying lipid domains and correcting a previous model.

Distinct roles of α- and β-tubulin C-terminal tails for ciliary function as revealed by a CRISPR/Cas9 mediated gene editing in Chlamydomonas

The paper uses CRISPR/Cas9 to generate Chlamydomonas mutants with modified tubulin C-terminal tails, revealing distinct roles in ciliary motility and assembly.

Calaxin stabilizes the docking of outer arm dyneins onto ciliary doublet microtubule in vertebrates

The paper investigates the role of Calaxin in stabilizing outer arm dynein docking onto ciliary microtubules in vertebrates using zebrafish and structural analysis.

Parallel cryo electron tomography on in situ lamellae

This paper introduces a method to perform parallel cryo electron tomography on lamella samples, increasing throughput and data collection efficiency.

An intramolecular scrambling path controlled by a gatekeeper in Xkr8 phospholipid scramblase

The paper determines the structure of Xkr8-Basigin phospholipid scramblase at 3.8 Å resolution, revealing a gatekeeper tryptophan residue essential for phospholipid scrambling.

Quantitative Analysis of Plasmodesmata Permeability using Cultured Tobacco BY-2 Cells Entrapped in Microfluidic Chips

This paper develops a microfluidic device to study plasmodesmata permeability in cultured tobacco cells by observing real-time protein transport.

Molecular basis for gating of cardiac ryanodine receptor: underlying mechanisms for gain- and loss-of function mutations

This study identifies two gating mechanisms of RyR2 and shows how mutations affect channel function.

Cryo-EM structures of SERCA2b reveal the mechanism of regulation by the luminal extension tail

Cryo-EM structures of SERCA2b reveal how the luminal extension tail regulates its activity by controlling conformational transitions between states.

Structural basis for two-way communication between dynein and microtubules

This study investigates the structural basis of two-way communication between dynein and microtubules using NMR and cryo-EM, revealing conformational changes in the MTBD and their implications for dynein movement.

Inner lumen proteins stabilize doublet microtubules in cilia/flagella

The paper identifies FAP45 and FAP52 as proteins that stabilize microtubules in cilia by binding to their inner structure and preventing detachment.

Systematic studies of all PIH proteins in zebrafish reveal their distinct roles in axonemal dynein assembly

The paper studies zebrafish PIH proteins to determine their roles in axonemal dynein assembly and cilia/flagella motility, finding that each PIH protein is associated with specific dynein subtypes.