Powering the Future - 立命館大学

Ritsumeikan University College of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Chemical Pharmacy Division
Research/Development Areas
Bioactive Ingredient in a Medicinal Plant
Research/Development Areas
Discovery of New Biologically Active
Compounds from Microorganisms
Professor / Yukinobu IKEYA
While it is being said that the genome science era has started
for new drug developments many new drugs have been discovered
as plant components or through using them as the
lead compounds. Medicinal plants that contain elements of diversity
beyond human understanding are still gaining attention
as sources for use in drug discoveries or as supplements. The
Laboratory of Pharmacognosy is utilizing leading-edge technology
to separate plant components and searching for lead compounds
for use as the seeds of new drug developments from
medicinal plants in cooperation with a laboratory specializing in
pharmacology. In addition, Kampo medicine has been traditionally
used in Japan by combining several crude drugs prepared
from medicinal plants, animals and so forth, and hence we have
rich empirical knowledge on their efficacy with human health
because of their long history of use. However, we do not have
enough data on their efficacy
exposed by modern
testing methods. This
laboratory therefore wishes
to elucidate upon their
effective ingredients as
part of a scientific demonstration
of the efficacy
of Kampo medicine and
thus contribute to their
popularization.
■Separation of plant ingredient by column
chromatography
Professor / Nobutaka IMAMURA
Many biologically active substances produced by microorganisms
are used as drugs, including antibacterial and anticancer
substances. These microbial products are called secondary
metabolites because they are not related to the growth or lifesustaining
of the producers themselves, with whether they produce
them or not depending on the individual microorganism.
Another characteristic of microbial products is that they often
have unique chemical structures. Over recent years the full genome
analysis of several antibiotic producer bacteria has revealed
that many genes for secondary metabolites other than
the products also get coded. Thus, microorganisms are considered
to have the potential capacity
to produce unknown secondary metabolites.
This laboratory is attempting
to search, purify and structurally
elucidate new bioactive substances
from microbial products through creating
a new screening method for
anticancer or antiallergy substances
etc that will lead to their application.
■Screening for new bioacitive
compounds
College of P harmaceutical Sciences
Research/Development Areas
Physico-chemical Study on Protein Folding
/ Misfolding
Professor / Minoru KATO, Assistant Professor / Eri CHATANI
Protein folding, by which a protein folds into a unique three-dimensional
structure, is an essential process for expression of
physiological functions. The folding mechanism has remained
an open question for over 60 years. Recent studies have furthermore
revealed that prion-related illnesses and neurodegenerative
diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease can originate in a
protein folding the wrong way (misfolding). The problem of protein
folding/misfolding is one of the most critical issues in life
sciences. Elucidating the folding/misfolding mechanism requires
the structural changes of proteins and their aggregates in solutions
to be microscopically examined. However, it is rather difficult
to analyze the structures of proteins as they are complicated
and changeable, thus necessitating use of advanced
spectroscopic and theoretical methods. We are also challenging
this difficult problem
utilizing artificial proteins
and peptides.
■Raman microprobe for structural analyses of
biomolecules
Research/Development Areas
Managing the Potential of Medicine to the
Maximum by Using the Power of Organic
Synthesis
Professor / Yasuyuki KITA, Assistant Professor / Toshifumi DOHI
Synthetic organic chemistry has the power to create new lead
compounds for use in drug discoveries and in managing the
desired property of drugs in the most effective manner. Current
advances in genome information and computer technology
have lead to an era in which we can theoretically design desirable
drugs and bioactive compounds, with the situation in
which organic synthesis can flourish in making new drug discoveries
becoming more established.
Developing a method of synthesis to minimize the effect on the
human body and the environment is essential when approaching
the design of new drugs and related compounds. We have
so far pursued sustainable fine organic synthesis to help contribute
to drug discovery research as one of our guidelines while
also working on conveying the knowledge and skills needed in
organic synthesis to others. We tackle drug development research
by synthesizing
natural products with excellent
bioactivities that
can be obtained only in
trace amounts from nature
or bioactive compounds
using our methods
in developing them
as lead compounds in
drug discoveries.
■molecular design of a target compound
Ritsumeikan University
Powering the Future
56