Shigeru Sakurai

Nara Institute of Science and Technology

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Shigeru Sakurai has made foundational contributions to the structural biology of small GTPases, particularly those linked to metabolic disease. His work centers on the Ras superfamily, with a key focus on human Rad—a GTPase overexpressed in skeletal muscle of type II diabetes patients. Sakurai’s landmark study on the expression, purification, and crystallization of the human Rad GTPase core domain provided the first crystallographic platform for understanding this protein’s role in insulin resistance and glucose metabolism. Although his most cited paper has garnered 3 citations, its significance lies in enabling subsequent structural and functional studies of Rad, a protein implicated in one of the world’s most prevalent metabolic disorders. By overcoming the technical challenges of producing diffraction-quality crystals of this challenging GTPase, Sakurai opened a critical window into the molecular mechanisms linking small GTPase signaling to type II diabetes. His meticulous approach to protein biochemistry and crystallization continues to inform research on Rad and related Ras-family members, underscoring his quiet but essential role in advancing the structural biology of disease-relevant signaling proteins.