Shinya Inoué
Encyclopedia
is a biophysicist, member of the National Academy of Sciences
. His research field is the visualization of dynamic processes within living cells using the light microscope. Currently he is a researcher at the Marine Biological Laboratory
.
Inoue can be considered the father of the field of cytoskeleton dynamics. Using polarization microscopy in the 1940s and 50s, he proved for the first time that the mitotic spindle is composed of aligned protein fibers. We now know these fibers are microtubules. By perturbing cells with agents that cause microtubules to depolymerize (eg colchicine or high pressure) or polymerize excessively (eg D2O), Inoue demonstrated that spindle fibers are in a state of rapid dynamic equilibrium with a pool of soluble subunits in the cytoplasm. He went on to show that artificial polymerization and depolymerization of spindle fibers can generate forces within the cell, and proposed that chromosomes are normally moved by such forces during mitosis. These ideas were summarized in a seminal review in 1967 (Cell motility by labile association of molecules. The nature of mitotic spindle fibers and their role in chromosome movement. Inoué S, Sato H. J Gen Physiol. 1967 50(6):Suppl:259-92). Consistent with Inoue's pioneering ideas, it is now widely believed that chromosome movement during mitosis is powered by microtubule depolymerization. We also know that force generation by polymerization and depolymerization of cytoskeletal protein fibers is perhaps the most ancient of motile mechanisms within cells, whose use extends back to bacteria.
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. His research field is the visualization of dynamic processes within living cells using the light microscope. Currently he is a researcher at the Marine Biological Laboratory
Marine Biological Laboratory
The Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research and education in biology, biomedicine and ecology. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest independent marine laboratory in the Americas, taking advantage of a coastal setting in the Cape Cod village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
.
Inoue can be considered the father of the field of cytoskeleton dynamics. Using polarization microscopy in the 1940s and 50s, he proved for the first time that the mitotic spindle is composed of aligned protein fibers. We now know these fibers are microtubules. By perturbing cells with agents that cause microtubules to depolymerize (eg colchicine or high pressure) or polymerize excessively (eg D2O), Inoue demonstrated that spindle fibers are in a state of rapid dynamic equilibrium with a pool of soluble subunits in the cytoplasm. He went on to show that artificial polymerization and depolymerization of spindle fibers can generate forces within the cell, and proposed that chromosomes are normally moved by such forces during mitosis. These ideas were summarized in a seminal review in 1967 (Cell motility by labile association of molecules. The nature of mitotic spindle fibers and their role in chromosome movement. Inoué S, Sato H. J Gen Physiol. 1967 50(6):Suppl:259-92). Consistent with Inoue's pioneering ideas, it is now widely believed that chromosome movement during mitosis is powered by microtubule depolymerization. We also know that force generation by polymerization and depolymerization of cytoskeletal protein fibers is perhaps the most ancient of motile mechanisms within cells, whose use extends back to bacteria.
Education
- 1951 Ph.D. Biology, Princeton University
- 1950 M.A. Biology, Princeton University
- 1944 Rigakushi Zoology, Tokyo University
Honors
- Order of the Sacred TreasureOrder of the Sacred TreasureThe is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, May 2010 - International Prize for Biology from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, December 2003
- Ernst Abbe award, New York Microscopical Society, 1997
- United States National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, Elected, April 1993 - E.B. Wilson Medal, 1992
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, 1970