The lead paper by a doctoral student in Biosciences Major Graduate School of Science and Engineering has been published in the academic journal "The Journal of Biochemistry"

Yuki Takahashi, a first-year Biosciences Major at the Graduate School Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Soka University, has published the lead paper, "Identification and characterization of a novel haemolytic and haemagglutinating bifunctional lectin from the coral Acropora millepora," in the international academic journal, "The Journal of Biochemistry" (note).

Marine invertebrates such as corals and jellyfish have proteins called lectins that recognize and bind to sugar chains to protect their bodies from predators such as microorganisms. We have discovered a new lectin from Acropora pumila, a type of coral, that exhibits two unprecedented activities: cell aggregation and precipitation (agglutination activity) and cell destruction (hemolysis). We have also succeeded in controlling these two activities. The cytotoxicity of this lectin (activity that inhibits cell proliferation) is expected to be applied to anti-cancer cells and anti-viruses.

Part of this research was supported by a Fusion Research Start-Up Grant from the Soka University Glycan & Life System Integration Center.

Co-authors: Ryosuke Uemura, Ryo Toyama, Shun Kita, Yuki Ushijima (Master's students at Nagasaki University), Professor Shigeto Taniyama (Graduate School of Fisheries Science and Environmental Studies, Nagasaki University), Associate Professor Hideaki Umino, Professor Tomomitsu Hatakeyama (Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Nagasaki University), Professor Shuichiro Goda (Soka University Faculty of Science and Engineering)

(Note) The Journal of Biochemistry is an international academic journal with over 100 years of history, first published in 1922 by the Japanese Biochemical Society. It continues to publish high-quality research in the field of life sciences, with over 10,000 citations per year and an acceptance rate of approximately 25% for carefully selected papers, proving its academic reliability. It covers cutting-edge research on molecular-level life phenomena, such as enzymes, metabolism, and signal transduction, and is valued by researchers around the world as a reliable guide in the field of biochemistry.