Elucidation of biomechanology of intervertebral disc degenration

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16K10811
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Orthopaedic surgery
Research Institution	The University of Tokyo
Principal Investigator	Anno Masato 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 登録研究員 (10771884)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	齋藤琢東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 准教授 (30456107)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,050,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords	椎間板変性
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a main contributor of low back pain and is a common clinical condition observed in more than 90% of the population. However, the actual molecular mechanism of IDD remains unknown. Here, we established a novel mouse IDD model in which instability is induced by resecting bilateral facet joints. Using this IDD model, we performed expression analyses by laser microdissectoin and RNA-seq. In consequence, we identified important signals and genes which may be associated with IDD.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究により生理的なマウス椎間板変性モデルを樹立できた。また、このモデルを用いた網羅的解析により椎間板変性に関与するいくつかの重要なシグナルおよび遺伝子群を同定する事が出来、椎間板変性研究の基板を構築することが出来たといえる。今後はこれらの遺伝子やシグナルの機能を解析し、椎間板変性発生の機序をより詳細に解析するとともに、治療標的となりうる物質の探索を行う。