The Soka University Glycan Life System Integration Center (GaLSIC) was established in 2021 with the aim of elucidating biological phenomena through the integration of glycan biology and glycan informatics. This institute researches the impact of glycans on biological phenomena using techniques from both biology and information science, contributing to the development of a new academic field.
This institute manages and operates the following internationally known Web portal, which includes world-standard databases and repositories.
Glycoscience Portal developed by Prof. Kinoshita GlyCosmosInternational Glycan Structure Repository server GlyTouCanGlycopeptide and glycoprotein glycan repository
GaLSIC and two other research institutes - the Institute for Glyco-core Research (IGCORE), Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, and the Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS). National Institutes of Natural Sciences - have jointly established the Glyco Science Network (J-GlycoNet) to complement their research efforts. J-GlycoNet was certified as a Joint Usage/Research Center by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in October 2021, and launched its operations in April 2022. J-GlycoNet's co-creative research platform provides and promotes integrated glycan research, a support system through a nationwide glycoscience network, and knowledge sharing and human resource development.
The Human Glycome Atlas (HGA) Project was adopted for MEXT's Roadmap 2020 aimed at promoting large-scale scientific research projects, with operations in full swing by April 2023 as a national project for comprehensively analyzing and understanding glycans in cells and organisms. HGA aims to dramatically expand information on glycans, such as the integrated understanding of in vivo glycan synthesis systems and includes the development of technology for diagnosing diseases based on glycan structural differences.
Glycan and Life Systems Integration Center (GaLSIC)
(Japanese: 糖鎖生命システム融合研究所)
Establishment Date
1st April 2019
Director’s Greeting
Glycans are considered the third chain of life, following nucleic acids (DNA) and proteins, and they have a significant role in life phenomena including development, infection, immunity, nervous system, etc. Different types of translated proteins undergo glycosylation and perform a variety of functions in the human body. Glycans also provide a diversity of functions to proteins and increase the efficiency of several biological processes. Moreover, lipids in the cellular membrane also undergo multiple types of glycosylation. In this manner, glycoproteins and glycolipids are widely distributed in the body and deeply involved in diverse biological reactions. However, because of the complexity of their structures and biosynthetic processes, analysis of glycans is more complicated than genome research, and their functions in many essential biological phenomena which have not been fully discovered.
Currently, big data accumulation of various experimental data is the subject of much attention, and data science and mathematical science to make use of such data are becoming increasingly important. By introducing data science and mathematical science to glycan studies, remarkable results are expected. In April 2019, we established the Glycan and Life Systems Integration Center (GaLSIC), which integrates glycobiology (biological studies involving glycans) and glycoinformatics (informatics studies of glycans) to answer essential questions of the life sciences. Furthermore, in January 2021, to create a further leap forward in these fields of study, we have reorganized the center by adding new members specializing in data science, mathematical science, and bioscience.
At present, the importance of glycans is recognized not only in Japan but also in many other countries. Glycans are involved in all life phenomena. Therefore, their application covers not only diseases such as cancer, hereditary diseases, and lifestyle-related disease but also all areas of biology, agriculture, and medical science. We are committed to further promoting research in this new fusion area we are creating, aiming to understand the essence of life phenomena involving glycans.
Director Shoko Nishihara
Aim
Glycans, known as the third life chain after genomic DNA and proteins, are involved in various biological phenomena such as development, immunity, and neurotransmission. However, compared to research on genomic DNA and proteins, analysis of glycans is more complex, and their physiological functions have not yet been fully elucidated. Currently, big data based on the accumulation of various experimental data is gaining attention for it is the key to understand the essence of various life phenomena involving glycans. Therefore, it is necessary to have not only biological knowledge and skills but also knowledge and skills in information science such as data science, statistics, and mathematical science to utilize big data.
Hence, the Institute was established to create a new fusion field by bringing together experts in the fields of biology and information science to conduct research that integrates glycobiology and glyco-informatics, and to understand the nature of life phenomena involving glycans.
This image illustrate the overview of GaLSIC
Glycans and Signal Transduction that work in Mouse ES Cells
Nishihara, S. (2018). Glycans in stem cell regulation: from Drosophila tissue stem cells to mammalian pluripotent stem cells. FEBS letters C
Joint Research
With the aim to create a new academic field that integrates glycobiology and glycol-informatics, the institute is conducting joint research with researchers from abroad and Japan utilizing the institute`s equipment and databases.
In April 2022, the "Glycoscience Collaboration Network" consisting of GalSIC, the institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE) Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, and the institute of Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS) National Institutes of Natural Sciences was approved as a "Joint Usage/Collaborative Research Center" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Colloquium
Research presentation and studies on respective research topics are conducted by the institute’s staffs and external research collaborator regularly.
Research Publication
The research center publishes its research report “Glycan and Life System Integration Center Bulletin” that summarizes research result annually.
Laser microscope using confocal optics as a light source
Fluorescent images of cultured cells and tissue sections labeled with fluorescent substances can be acquired.
Time-lapse imaging of live cells is also possible.
BD FACSAriaTM III Cell Sorter（Becton Dickinson Company, Ltd.）
Cells labeled with fluorescent substances can be mixed with fluid and irradiated with laser light to analyze cell size and internal structure, and to quantify the amount of fluorescent substances on the cell surface.
Global mapping of glycosylation pathways in human-derived cells.
Huang YF, Aoki K, Akase S, Ishihara M, Liu YS, Yang G, Kizuka Y, Mizumoto S, Tiemeyer M, Gao XD, Aoki-Kinoshita KF, Fujita M. Dev Cell. 2021 Apr 19;56(8):1195-1209.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2021.02.023. Epub 2021 Mar 16. PMID: 33730547; PMCID: PMC8086148.
The international glycan repository GlyTouCan version 3.0.
Fujita A, Aoki NP, Shinmachi D, Matsubara M, Tsuchiya S, Shiota M, Ono T, Yamada I, Aoki-Kinoshita KF. Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Jan 8;49(D1):D1529-D1533. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaa947. PMID: 33125071; PMCID: PMC7779025.
2020.10.27
A consensus-based and readable extension of Linear Code for Reaction Rules (LiCoRR).
Kellman BP, Zhang Y, Logomasini E, Meinhardt E, Godinez-Macias KP, Chiang AWT, Sorrentino JT, Liang C, Bao B, Zhou Y, Akase S, Sogabe I, Kouka T, Winzeler EA, Wilson IBH, Campbell MP, Neelamegham S, Krambeck FJ, Aoki-Kinoshita KF, Lewis NE. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2020 Oct 27;16:2645-2662. doi: 10.3762/bjoc.16.215. PMID: 33178355; PMCID: PMC7607430.
Updates to the Symbol Nomenclature for Glycans guidelines.
Neelamegham S, Aoki-Kinoshita K, Bolton E, Frank M, Lisacek F, Lütteke T, O'Boyle N, Packer NH, Stanley P, Toukach P, Varki A, Woods RJ; SNFG Discussion Group. Glycobiology. 2019 Aug 20;29(9):620-624. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwz045. PMID: 31184695; PMCID: PMC7335484.
Nishihara S. Glycosylation regulates pluripotent stem cell status and signaling. Glycobiology Gordon Research Conference. Ventura, United States.
2022.12.07
Aoki-Kinoshita KF. Informatic infrastructure for the glycosciences to enhance computational life
sciences. HUPO 2022. Cancun, Mexico.
2022.11.25
Aoki-Kinoshita KF. Using inference on Semantic Web data to enrich the data in GlyCosmos. 4th AGS
Meeting & 9th Warren Workshop, Gold Coast, Australia.
2022.11.17
Aoki-Kinoshita KF. Expansion of the GlyCosmos Portal with disease and microbial data. Society for
Glycobiology Annual Meeting, Online.
2022.09.07
Aoki-Kinoshita KF. Integration of data surrounding sialic acids through the GlyCosmos Portal.
Sialoglyco2022. Nagoya
2022.07.10-15
Nishihara S. Biological roles of glycans in stem cells. The 30th International Carbophydrate Symposium. Online, Brazil.
2019.12.04-06
Shoko Nishihara, Taichi Miura, Hayato Ota, Noriyuki Yuasa, Masato Habu, Federico Pecori, Fumiaki Nakayama, Chika Ogura
Function of glycans in pluripotent stem cells
1st International Symposium on Glycans', Zhuhai, China,2019-12-04 to 2019-12-06
2019.11.11-14
Shoko Nishihara, Taichi Miura, Hayato Ota, Noriyuki Yuasa, Masato Habu, Federico Pecori, Fumiaki Nakayama, Chika Ogura
Functional analyses of glycans in mammalian stem cells
11th Asian Community of Glycoscience and Glycotechnology Conference, November 11-14, 2019 (Busan, Korea) Invited
2019.09.18-20
Nishihara Shoko：Heparan sulfate and O-GlcNAc modification regulate signaling in pluripotent stem cells.
The 92nd Annual Meeting of Japanese Biochemical Society, Yokohama.
2019.08.25-41
Nishihara S: Functional analysis of mucin-type O-glycans using Drosophila melanogaster
the 25th International Symposium on Glycoconjugates (GLYCO XXV), August 25- 31, 2019, Milano, Italy, Invited
List of symposia, workshops, etc. organized by GaLSIC members.
2022.11.30-12.02
Nishihara Shoko．「Intractable and rare diseases related to glycans: From basic to diagnosis and treatment - Introduction. The 45th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan, Makuhari Messe, Chiba
2022.11.30-12.02
Tadashi Kaname, Hayato Ohta, Kumiko Yanagi, Hisatoshi Hanamatsu, Federico Pecori, Junichi Furukawa, Yoshiki Yamaguchi, Tomoko Uehara, Jinichi Inokuchi, Kiyoko AokiKinoshita, Akira Togayachi, Kazuhito Satou,Shoko Nishihara. 「Genes to diagnosis and therapy in glycogenomics disorders: The example of GDP-fucose transporter deficiency, a rare disease」.The 45th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan, Makuhari Messe, Chiba
2022.11.30-12.02
Eriko Aoki, Noriyoshi Manabe, Shiho Ohno, Aoki Taiga, Junichi Furukawa, Akira Togayachi, Kiyoko Aokikinoshita, Junichi Inokuchi, Kenji Kurosawa, Tadashi Kaname, Yoshiki Yamaguchi, Shoko Nishihara. 「A new method for diagnosis and predicting X-linked recessive brachytelephalangic chondrodysplasia punctata: Computational analysis and identification of novel missense mutation」. The 45th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan, Makuhari Messe, Chiba
2022.09.28-30
Nishihara Shoko. Site-specific O-GlcNAcylation of Psme3 maintains mouse embryonic stem cell pluripotency by impairing P-body homeostasis. The 60th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society of Japan, Hokkaido.
International Symposium on Microbial Glycoconjugates and the GlySpace Alliance:from micro to macro glycoscience (MiGGA).
Organizers：Kiyoko F. Aoki-Kinoshita (GaLSIC, Japan), Kazuhiro Aoki (CCRC, University of Georgia, USA), Yann Guerardel (Lille University, France), Issaku Yamada (The Noguchi Institute, Japan), Masae Hosoda (GaLSIC, Japan) Online event.
2019.09.18-20
hosting a symposium
Glycans regulate signaling(Symposium 1S10a)
Organizers：Satomi Nadanaka (Kobe Pharmaceutical University), Nishihara Shoko(Soka University)
The 92nd Annual Meeting of The Japanese Biochemical Society, Yokohama.
Others Activities
List of special invited conference and research achievements by the faculty members.
2019.11.18-19
Other Research Achievements
インフルエンザウイルスの宿主間伝播に関わる新規分子機構の解明．
岡松正敏、高瀬 明、西原祥子．国立研究開発法人日本医療研究開発機構（AMED）感染症研究革新イニシアティブ（J-PRIDE）研究成果発表会「重症・難治性感染症の理解と予防・治療法の開発に向けて〜若手研究者たちの挑戦〜」（公開）2019年11月18-19日（東京、イイノホール）
GaLSIC's Annual Reports
Annual Research Reports (Japanese) are listed as follows.
Postal Code： 192－8577
Address： 1-236 Tangi-machi, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo
Soka University Glycan and Life System Integration Center Administration Office (Faculty of Engineering Administration Office)
TEL: 042-691-9400
FAX: 042-691-9311
Email: galsic★≡soka.ac.jp (please replace ★≡ with @)
