JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY – GRANADA CRYSTALIZATION FACILITY HIGH QUALITY
PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION EXPERIMENT (JAXA-GCF), 238 INVESTIGATIONS
Research Area: Macromolecular Crystal Growth
Expedition(s): 7-10, 12, 14, and 15- 17
Principle Investigator(s): ● Masaru Sato, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba,
Japan
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of JAXA-GCF is to provide a low-cost, simple experiment platform for the
production of high quality protein crystals in the microgravity environment in order to
understand the relationship between protein structure and function.
EARTH BENEFITS
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical researchers carry
out the structural analysis of proteins as part of their
research process. However, it is difficult to obtain high
quality protein crystals on Earth because the
sedimentation and convection caused by gravity
adversely affects the protein crystal growth. This
makes it difficult to obtain suitable crystals for X-ray
diffraction experiments. The quality of the 3-D
structural information of a protein depends on the
quality of the crystals. Thus, the structures of many
important proteins remain unknown due to difficulties
obtaining high quality and/or large size crystals.
Consequently, the high-quality macromolecular crystals
obtained for diffraction analysis are still important for
protein engineers, biochemists, and pharmacologists.
SPACE BENEFITS
The results from this investigation may further human space exploration efforts by creating
technological and biological advancements.
RESULTS
Through the first, second, and third space experiments, JAXA launched alpha-amylase and
lysozyme proteins to validate the developed crystallization technique. As a result, high-quality
protein crystals were successfully obtained (eg, up to 0.9 Å in alpha-amylase) and the structural
analysis was carried out closely and carefully.
JAXA was able to obtain the highest resolution data from some of the proteins (eg, sleeping and
allergy material synthetase and proteins related to symptoms of parasite infection) provided by
different user organizations. We expect these results will lead to new drug development in the future.
ISS014E20129 – A close-up view of the
JAXA-Granada Crystallization Facilities
(GCF) in the Thermo Biological Universal
(TBU) during Expedition 14. JAXA image.