Abstract: Recent developments on imaging mass spectrometry such as MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization) and SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) have provided ultrahigh content molecular information on cells and tissues. However, MALDI imaging with ~ 10-micrometer spatial resolution cannot […]

Abstract:   Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved process which delivers cytoplasmic components to lysosomes for degradation of aggregated proteins and damaged organelles such as mitochondria. To study the role of autophagy in insulin target tissues, we produced mice with deletion […]

Abstract:   More than one third of our genome encodes membrane proteins, which are essential gate keepers of cellular information. In spite of their importance in biological sciences, membrane proteins have largely evaded our efforts to observe their structure and […]

Abstract:   One of the important challenges in cell biology/cell physiology/cell pathology and signal-transduction of today is to translate in vitro findings to the living organism. The insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cell is situated within the endocrine pancreas, the islets of Langerhans, […]

Abstract: Electrochemical methods provide a powerful approach to investigate neurotransmitter release and storage from and in single cells. Additionally, the fly model (Drosophila melanogaster) provides a unique system to examine neurotransmitter release and drug dependence mechanisms in a small, but […]