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Program-Specific Associate Professor, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University *Profile is at the time of the award.
2023Inamori Research GrantsBiology & Life sciences
I am grateful to the Inamori Foundation and the reviewers for this prestigious research grant. I will elucidate and understand the mechanisms of cellular functions and designed molecules so that my research can bridge between basic and applied research as well as between chemistry and cell biology.
In our laboratory, we developed the L17E peptide, which facilitates the delivery of biomacromolecules, including antibodies, into the cytosol. However, its precise mechanism of cargo transport remained unclear. In this study, we focused on the observation that the delivery efficiency of L17E differs among various cell types. We performed a comprehensive search for genes critical to L17E function and conducted further analyses. Our findings identified KCNN4 as an essential gene for L17E-mediated cytosolic delivery, specifically highlighting the importance of the calcium-activated potassium channel KCa3.1 encoded by KCNN4. Based on this elucidated molecular basis, we anticipate that further development of high-efficiency antibody delivery technologies targeting specific cells will be possible in the future.
Kuriyama, M., Hirose, H.* et al. (2025) “KCNN4 as a genomic determinant of cytosolic delivery by the attenuated cationic lytic peptide L17E” Mol Ther doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.12.050.
Biology & Life sciences
