Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica
nasu@as.edu.tw
+886-2-27855696,6120
At the core of our laboratory’s work is the pioneering field of protein engineering, aimed at developing functional proteins with exceptional properties. A key focus is the creation of fluorescent biosensors, which are crafted by intricately fusing fluorescent proteins with target-binding proteins. This fusion results in protein-based fluorescent biosensors that can reversibly alter their fluorescence intensity in response to specific targets.
These biosensors are not only innovative but also genetically encodable, allowing precise spatial and temporal control over their expression within living model organisms such as flies, fish, and mice. This capability has transformed a broad spectrum of biological research. For instance, the GCaMP biosensor, which monitors calcium ion (Ca2+) levels, has become indispensable for studying neural activity. Another breakthrough from our lab is the LACCO biosensor for lactate, which provides unprecedented insights into cellular metabolism in live cells, tissues, and whole organisms.
The objective of our lab is to harness our cutting-edge protein engineering techniques and state-of-theart facilities to develop such highly functional proteins. These protein-based tools are invaluable in helping researchers unravel complex biological phenomena, thereby advancing scientific knowledge across multiple domains.
To further our research goals, we collaborate with a global network of experts in AI, bioengineering, neuroscience, cancer biology, immunology, and epigenetics. Through these partnerships, we aim to accelerate scientific discovery and enhance our understanding of critical biological processes.
A red fluorescent genetically encoded biosensor for in vivo imaging of extracellular L-lactate dynamics.
Kamijo Y, Mächler P, Ness N, Vu CQ, Kusakizako T, Mannuthodikayil J, Ku Z, Boisvert M, Grebenik E, Miyazaki I, Hashizume R, Sato H, Liu R, Hori Y, Tomita T, Katayama T, Furube A, Caraveo G, Paquet ME, Drobizhev M, Nureki O, Arai S, Brancaccio M, Campbell RE, Kleinfeld D, Nasu Y*
Nature Communications (2025)
Bipartite Genetically Encoded Biosensors to Sense Calcium Ion Dynamics at Membrane-Membrane Contact Sites.
Yamaguchi I, Barazzuol L, Dematteis G, Zhu W, Wen Y, Drobizhev M, Lim D, Campbell RE, Calì T*, Nasu Y*
Analytical Chemistry (2025)
A divergent astrocytic response to stress alters activity patterns via distinct mechanisms in male and female mice.
Depaauw-Holt LR, Duquenne M, Hamane S, Peyrard S, Rogers B, Ireland C, Nasu Y, Fulton S, Bosson A, Alquier T, Murphy-Royal C*
Nature Communications (2025)
High-Performance Genetically Encoded Green Fluorescent Biosensors for Intracellular l-Lactate.
Hario S, Le GNT, Sugimoto H, Takahashi-Yamashiro K, Nishinami S, Toda H, Li S, Marvin JS, Kuroda S, Drobizhev M, Terai T, Nasu Y*, Campbell RE*.
ACS Central Science (2024)
Lactate biosensors for spectrally and spatially multiplexed fluorescence imaging.
Nasu Y*, Aggarwal A, Le GNT, Vo CT, Kambe Y, Wang X, Beinlich FRM, Lee AB, Ram TR, Wang F, Gorzo KA, Kamijo Y, Boisvert M, Nishinami S, Kawamura G, Ozawa T, Toda H, Gordon GR, Ge S, Hirase H, Nedergaard M, Paquet ME, Drobizhev M, Podgorski K, Campbell RE*.
Nature Communications (2023)
A genetically encoded far‐red fluorescent calcium ion biosensor derived from a biliverdin‐binding protein.
Hashizume R, Fujii H, Mehta S, Ota K, Qian Y, Zhu W, Drobizhev M, Nasu Y*, Zhang J, Bito H, Campbell RE*.
Protein Science (2022)
A genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor for extracellular L-lactate.
Nasu Y, Murphy-Royal C, Wen Y, Haidey JN, Molina RS, Aggarwal A, Zhang S, Kamijo Y, Paquet ME, Podgorski K, Drobizhev M, Bains JS, Lemieux MJ, Gordon GR, Campbell RE*.
Nature Communications (2021)
Structure- and mechanism-guided design of single fluorescent protein-based biosensors.
Nasu Y, Shen Y, Kramer L, Campbell RE*.
Nature Chemical Biology (2021)
In Situ Characterization of Bak Clusters Responsible for Cell Death Using Single Molecule Localization Microscopy.
Nasu Y, Benke A, Arakawa S, Yoshida GJ, Kawamura G, Manley S, Shimizu S, Ozawa T*.
Scientific reports (2016)
Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Probe for Imaging Apoptosis in Vivo with Spontaneous GFP Complementation.
Nasu Y, Asaoka Y, Namae M, Nishina H, Yoshimura H, Ozawa T*.
Analytical chemistry (2016)
