Russell K. Yamazaki, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Associate Chair
Department of Pharmacology
6137 Scott Hall, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 E. Canfield, Detroit, Michigan 48201

Phone: 313-577-1173   FAX: 313-577-6739
email: ryamazak@med.wayne.edu

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Regulation of retinal cGMP-phosphodiesterase (PDE6); structure/function relationships of ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes, regulation of peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation by fatty acids, regulation of mitochondrial function by hormones

Current research is being carried out in collaboration with Dr. Akio Yamazaki and involves study of the biochemical mechanisms of regulation of the retinal cGMP phosphodiesterase by CDK5 phosphorylation. We are also interested in regulation of retinal guanylyl cyclase by RGS9.

Previous work included collaboration with Dr. Vincent Chau on the structure of yeast UBC7, shown below.

Selected recent references

• Yamazaki, RK and Chau, V. (1996) Bacterial Expression of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ubiquitin-conjugating Enzyme UBC7. Protein Exp. Purif. 7, 122-127 (PubMed)
• Cook, WJ,  Martin, PD, Edwards, BPF, Yamazaki, RK, and Chau, V. (1997) Crystal Structure of a Class I Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzyme  (Ubc7) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 2.9 Å Resolution. Biochemistry 36, 1621-1627 (PubMed)
• Yamazaki, M, Li, N, Bondarenko, VA, Yamazaki, RK, Baehr, W, and Yamazaki, A (2002) Binding of cGMP to GAF domains in amphibian rod photoreceptor cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE): Identification of GAF domains in frog PDE ab subunits and distinct domains in the g subunit involved in the stimulation of cGMP binding to GAF domains, J. Biol. Chem., in press (PubMed)
• Bondarenko, VA, Yu, H., Yamazaki, RK and Yamazaki, A. (2002) A novel role of RGS9: Inhibition of retinal guanylyl cyclase. Mol. Cell. Biochem. 230: 125-128 (PubMed)
• Yamazaki A, Moskvin O, Yamazaki RK. (2002) Phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent protein kinase 5 of the regulatory subunit (Pgamma) of retinal cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE6): its implications in phototransduction. Adv Exp Med Biol. 514:131-53.
• Yamazaki A, Yu H, Yamazaki M, Honkawa H, Matsuura I, Usukura J, Yamazaki RK (2003) A critical role for ATP in the stimulation of retinal guanylyl cyclase by guanylyl cyclase-activating proteins (GCAPs), J. Biol. Chem. 278(35): 33150-60. (PubMed)
• Yamazaki M, Usukura J, Yamazaki RK, Yamazaki A. ATP binding is required for physiological activation of retinal guanylate cyclase. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005 Dec 16;338(2):1291-8.
• Yamazaki A, Yamazaki M, Yamazaki RK, Usukura J.  Illuminated rhodopsin is required for strong activation of retinal guanylate cyclase by guanylate cyclase-activating proteins.
  Biochemistry. 2006 Feb 14;45(6):1899-909.