Team Director
Takuhiro Ito Ph.D.

Laboratory for Translation Structural Biology

[Affiliation has changed to RIKEN Center for Integrated Medical Sciences (IMS) as of April 2025]

E-mailtakuhiro.ito@riken.jp

Reveals the mechanisms of translation

We study three dimensional structures of the translation factors and/or the ribosome, mainly by X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM. We focus on the structural analysis of the large complexes that function in the eukaryotic translational system, in order to reveal the complicated mechanisms of eukaryotic translation.

Research Theme

Structural biology on translational system in eukaryotes
Development of the sample preparation methods suitable for the crystallization/cryo-EM analysis of macromolecular complexes

Selected Publications

Tanaka M, Yokoyama T, Saito H, et al.
Boric acid intercepts 80S ribosome migration from AUG-stop by stabilizing eRF1.
Nature Chemical Biology 20, 605-614 (2024) doi: 10.1038/s41589-023-01513-0

Matsuura-Suzuki E, Shimazu T, Takahashi M, et al.
METTL18-mediated histidine methylation of RPL3 modulates translation elongation for proteostasis maintenance.
eLife 11, e72780 (2022) doi: 10.7554/eLife.72780

Kashiwagi K, Shichino Y, Osaki T, et al.
eIF2B-capturing viral protein NSs suppresses the integrated stress response.
Nature Communications 12, 7102 (2021) doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27337-x

Zyryanova AF, Kashiwagi K, Rato C, et al.
ISRIB blunts the integrated stress response by allosterically antagonising the inhibitory effect of phosphorylated eIF2 on eIF2B.
Molecular Cell 81, 88-103 (2021) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.10.031

Yokoyama T, Machida K, Iwasaki W, et al.
HCV IRES Captures an Actively Translating 80S Ribosome.
Molecular Cell 74, 1205-1214 (2019) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.04.022

Kashiwagi K, Yokoyama T, Nishimoto M, et al.
Structural basis for eIF2B inhibition in integrated stress response.
Science 364, 495-499 (2019) doi: 10.1126/science.aaw4104

Iwasaki S, Iwasaki W, Takahashi M, et al.
The translation inhibitor Rocaglamide targets a bimolecular cavity between eIF4A and polypurine RNA.
Molecular Cell 73, 738-748 (2019) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.11.026

Kashiwagi K, Takahashi M, Nishimoto M, et al.
Crystal structure of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2B.
Nature 531, 122-125 (2016) doi: 10.1038/nature16991

Ito T, Masuda I, Yoshida K, et al.
Structural Basis for methyl-donor-dependent and sequence-specific binding to tRNA substrates by knotted methyltransferase TrmD.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112, E4197-E4205 (2015) doi: 10.1073/pnas.1422981112

Ito T, Yokoyama S.
Two enzymes bound to one transfer RNA assume alternative conformations for consecutive reactions.
Nature 467, 612-616 (2010) doi: 10.1038/nature09411

Goto-Ito S, Ito T, Kuratani M, et al.
Tertiary structure checkpoint at anticodon loop modification in tRNA functional maturation.
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 16, 1109-1115 (2009) doi: 10.1038/nsmb.1653