Research Fields: mouse reverse genetics, behavioral screening, synapse, septin cytoskeleton

　Makoto Kinoshita has identified and characterized mammalian septin genes which comprise a family of polymerizing GTPases, and demonstrated their unique circular self-assembly and other higher-order assembly properties. To explore physiological functions in the nervous system where the protein family abound, he has conducted functional screening combining mouse reverse genetics and systematic behavioral analysis. So far he discovered that septins are required for cell division and neurite outgrowth during development, and that they accumulate in axon terminals, spine bases, and glial membranes in the adult brain, contributing to the release and clearance of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and glutamate. He and his team are currently exploring how anomalies of septins and other proteins, in conjunction with environmental factors, cause synaptic dysfunctions and degeneration.

E-mail:kinoshita.makoto.u4[at]f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp