Kawamura, Takeshi

Kawamura, Takeshi
Associate Professor

Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Engineering (Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology)

Areas of expertise
Radiation effect, Quantification of protein using isotope labeled peptides

Description of your research

RADIATION EFFECTS AND PROTEIN QUANTIFICATION USING MASS SPECTROMETERS AND ISOTOPES

Our group is analyzing biological samples using mass spectrometers. State-of-the-art high-resolution mass spectrometers can determine mass at a resolution that differentiate isotopes. Materials around us contain multiple isotopes and their existence ratios indicate atomic compositions in organic compounds. Using such mass spectrometers, we are doing researches for proteins.

Figure 1. Detection of isotopes in natural proteins by mass spectrometers.

Radiation effects to body.

With the irradiated cells, we are investigating radiation effects through proteome and epigenome which regulate gene expression without gene mutation. We collaborate with DNA and RNA groups in our center to integrate into a multi-omics analysis.

Figure 2. Proteome changes in the irradiated iPSCs.

Development of methods for cancer therapy and diagnosis

Our center is developing techniques to deliver radioisotopes only to cancer cells for therapy and diagnosis through the molecules that recognize specific cancer cells (Drug delivery system: DDS). Our group analyze and validate the molecules that recognize cancer cells using mass spectrometry.

Figure 3. Molecular characterization for radioimmunotherapy.

Absolute quantification of proteins using stable isotopes.

Stable isotope-labeled peptides are available through peptide synthesis using amino acids which are substituted with naturally rare stable isotopes. They are chemically unchanged but have different mass. Adding these isotope-labeled peptides into biological samples as internal standards and measuring with a high-resolution mass spectrometer enable us the absolute quantification of proteins. This method is aimed to verify the protein level changes after radiation.