Shinichiro Oku

Post-transcriptional mechanisms regulating cell surface synaptic organizing complexes that control the properties of connections in brain circuits are poorly understood. Alternative splicing regulates the prototypical synaptic organizing complex, neuroligin-neurexin. In...

Synapses are fundamental units of communication in the brain. The prototypical synapse-organizing complex neurexin-neuroligin mediates synapse development and function and is central to a shared genetic risk pathway in autism...

Astrocytes have recently been shown to provide physiological support for various brain functions, although little is known about their involvement in white matter integrity. Several inherited infantile-onset leukoencephalopathies, such as...

Global cerebral ischemia induces selective degeneration of specific subsets of neurons throughout the brain, particularly in the hippocampus and cortex. One of the major hallmarks of cerebral ischemia is excitotoxicity,...

Protein palmitoylation, a common post-translational lipid modification, plays an important role in protein trafficking and functions. Recently developed palmitoyl-proteomic methods identified many novel substrates. However, the whole picture of palmitoyl...

Grb2 and ShcA are two phosphotyrosine-binding proteins that link receptor protein-tyrosine kinases to activation of the Ras-Erk pathway. While some receptors bind Grb2 directly, others bind ShcA, which provides a...