Shigekazu Nagata

Shigekazu Nagata
長田 重一
Nagata in 2020
Born1949
Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
Known forInterferon
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor
Fas ligand
Fas receptor
Apoptosis
AwardsRobert Koch Prize (1995)
Imperial Prize (2000)
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
Immunology
InstitutionsKyoto University
Osaka University
Osaka Bioscience Institute
University of Tokyo
University of Zurich
Doctoral advisorYoshito Kaziro

Shigekazu Nagata (長田 重一, Nagata Shigekazu, born 1949) is a Japanese biochemist, best known for research on apoptosis, the process of programmed cell death occurring in multi-cellular organisms.[1]

Contribution

Nagata identified Interferon in 1980[2] and Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in 1986.[3] He also identified a death factor (Fas receptor) in 1991[4] and its ligand (Fas ligand) in 1993,[5] and elucidated their physiological and pathological roles in apoptosis.[6]

Biography

Nagata was born in Kanazawa, Japan, and completed his PhD under the supervision of Yoshito Kaziro at the University of Tokyo in 1977.[7]

Nagata served as a postdoctoral fellow under Charles Weissmann at University of Zurich, where he worked on sequencing the cDNA of Interferon gene between 1977 and 1981. He was assistant professor at the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo between 1982 and 1987, and Head of Department of molecular biology at Osaka Bioscience Institute between 1987 and 1998, where Osamu Hayaishi served as president at that time.

Nagata became Professor of genetics at Osaka University Medical School between 1995 and 2007, before being appointed as Professor of medical chemistry at the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University in 2007.

After retiring from Kyoto University and becoming Professor Emeritus in 2015, Nagata has been Professor of biochemistry and immunology at the Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University.

Honors and awards

References

  1. ^ Cyranoski, D. (2001). "Shigekazu Nagata". Nature Medicine. 7 (7): 759. doi:10.1038/89860. PMID 11433328. S2CID 2256786.
  2. ^ Nagata, S; Taira, H; Hall, A; Johnsrud, L; Streuli, M; Ecsödi, J; Boll, W; Cantell, K; Weissmann, C (1980). "Synthesis in E. Coli of a polypeptide with human leukocyte interferon activity". Nature. 284 (5754): 316–20. Bibcode:1980Natur.284..316N. doi:10.1038/284316a0. PMID 6987533. S2CID 4310807.
  3. ^ Nagata, S; Tsuchiya, M; Asano, S; Kaziro, Y; Yamazaki, T; Yamamoto, O; Hirata, Y; Kubota, N; Oheda, M; Nomura, H; Ono, Masayoshi (1986). "Molecular cloning and expression of cDNA for human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor". Nature. 319 (6052): 415–8. Bibcode:1986Natur.319..415N. doi:10.1038/319415a0. PMID 3484805. S2CID 4325026.
  4. ^ Itoh, N; Yonehara, S; Ishii, A; Yonehara, M; Mizushima, S; Sameshima, M; Hase, A; Seto, Y; Nagata, S (1991). "The polypeptide encoded by the cDNA for human cell surface antigen Fas can mediate apoptosis". Cell. 66 (2): 233–43. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(91)90614-5. PMID 1713127. S2CID 21112454.
  5. ^ Suda, T; Takahashi, T; Golstein, P; Nagata, S (1993). "Molecular cloning and expression of the Fas ligand, a novel member of the tumor necrosis factor family". Cell. 75 (6): 1169–78. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(93)90326-L. PMID 7505205. S2CID 39076170.
  6. ^ "F1000 faculty". Faculty of 1000. Faculty of 1000. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  7. ^ CV of Shigekazu Nagata, JST (pdf)
  8. ^ "Debrecen Award for Molecular Medicine". University of Debrecen. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  9. ^ "The 2013 Keio Medical Science Prize Awardees". The Keio Medical Sciences Prize. Keio University. Retrieved 18 January 2014.