Tatsuya Niwa

YfiM is a lipid-linked oligosaccharide pyrophosphatase

The paper identifies YfiM and AT1G15900 as LLO pyrophosphatases in E. coli and Arabidopsis, revealing a conserved quality control mechanism across prokaryotes and plants.

Assembly-pathway regulation dictates pH-responsive actuation in the R-body protein machinery

This study identifies that assembly-pathway regulation, not just major components, dictates pH-responsive actuation in R-bodies by forming the ordered lamellar architecture required for function.

Calibrated ADAMTS13 inhibition prevents cardiovascular shear coagulopathy

HA10, a humanized anti-ADAMTS13 antibody, preserves residual ADAMTS13 activity to prevent cardiovascular bleeding without causing thrombosis in non-human primate models.

Atg1 phosphorylates Atg2 to gate phospholipid flow through a continuous conduit for autophagosome biogenesis

The paper shows Atg1 phosphorylates Atg2 to enable lipid transport for autophagosome formation in yeast.

Pronounced expression of extracellular matrix proteoglycans regulated by Wnt pathway underlies the parallel evolution of lip hypertrophy in East African cichlids

The study identifies shared molecular mechanisms in hypertrophied lips of East African cichlids, linking Wnt pathway activation and extracellular matrix proteoglycan expression across different species.

Seesaw protein: Design of a protein that adopts interconvertible alternative functional conformations.

This paper designs a protein that can switch between two functional conformations, showing that such behavior can be controlled by mutations and ligands.

Conserved loop of a phase modifier endows protein condensates with fluidity

This study identifies Kapβ2 as a target of DPRs, showing how DPR binding alters its phase-modifying function, leading to toxic RBP condensates in ALS models.

A newly-identified mini-hairpin shaped nascent peptide blocks translation termination by a novel mechanism.

The paper identifies two novel ribosome arrest peptides in E. coli and elucidates their unique mechanism of translation arrest.

Novel trans-translation-associated gene regulation revealed by prophage excision-triggered switching of ribosome rescue pathway

The paper shows that prophage excision in E. coli inactivates SsrA RNA, switching ribosome rescue from trans-translation to ArfA/RF2, and reveals a regulatory mechanism involving nonstop mRNA translation and ZntR repression.

Hierarchical Model for the Role of J-Domain Proteins in Distinct Cellular Functions

The paper demonstrates the distinct roles of J-domain proteins in E. coli survival under heat stress and curli fiber formation, proposing a hierarchical model for their functional specialization.