| Budget Amount *help |
¥17,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,020,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥6,110,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,410,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥7,150,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,650,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Unwanted own cells that emerge in multicellular organisms undergo structural changes, through apoptosis for example, and are eliminated by phagocytosis. This phenomenon contributes to the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. We named this phenomenon as ‘Programmed Phagocytosis’ and intended to clarify its mechanisms and consequences using Drosophila melanogaster as an animal model.
We first showed the existence of two signaling pathways for the induction of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. Then, we found that phagocytes increase their phagocytic activity through enhanced expression of engulfment receptors upon the engulfment of apoptotic cells, and interpreted this event as 'Phagocyte Priming' to ensure the elimination of unwanted cells that phagocytes encounter thereafter. Finally, we showed that programmed phagocytosis lessens the pathology of viral diseases and cancer.
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