A novel intracellular membrane traffic-dependent regulation of cancer stem cell properties

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16H06969
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Tumor biology
Research Institution	Kobe University
Principal Investigator	KAJIHO HIROAKI 神戸大学, 医学研究科, 講師 (70401221)
Project Period (FY)	2016-08-26 – 2018-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Keywords	低分子量Gタンパク質 / ARFファミリー / がん幹細胞 / がん / 細胞内小胞輸送 / シグナル伝達 / 小胞輸送 / 癌 / ガン幹細胞
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Cancer stem cells possess anti-apoptotic property. In order to develop effective drugs targeting cancer stem cells, it is important to elucidate the mechanism of anti-apoptotic property. We investigated the function of ARL11, a tumor-suppressor gene belonging to RAB/ARF GTPase family involved in intracellular membrane traffic. We found that the active form of ARL11 interacts with an actin-binding protein and induces apoptotic membrane blebbing. The inactive form of ARL11 localizes to a nuclear body involved in apoptosis. Our studies implicate that the interaction between ARL11 and the actin-binding protein and the intracellular localization of ARL11 are involved in anti-apoptotic property.