| Project/Area Number |
21380183
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Basic veterinary science/Basic zootechnical science
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| Research Institution | Tokyo University of Science |
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Principal Investigator |
GOITSUKA Ryo 東京理科大学, 生命科学研究所, 教授 (50301552)
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| Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha) |
KAWAI Yasuhiro 東京理科大学, 生命科学研究所, 助教 (00416281)
NAKAMURA Takuro 癌研究所, 発がん研究部, 部長 (00180373)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2009 – 2011
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2011)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥19,370,000 (Direct Cost: ¥14,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,470,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000)
Fiscal Year 2010: ¥6,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2009: ¥8,190,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,890,000)
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| Keywords | 免疫 / 再生 / 幹細胞 / 転写制御 / 胸腺 / 転写因子 / 免疫系 |
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| Research Abstract |
Most epithelial tissues retain stem/progenitor cells to maintain homeostasis of the adult tissues ; however, the existence of a thymic epithelial cell(TEC) progenitor capable of maintaining homeostasis of the postnatal thymus remains unclear. Here we show that a TEC population expressing high levels of Meis1, a homedodomain transcription factor, is enriched in non-dividing quiescent cells with an immature cellular phenotype. Postnatal inactivation of Meis1 in TECs caused exhaustion of the immature Meis1high TECs and promoted their cell cycle entry, which ultimately lead to premature disappearance of the thymus. There was an age-associated reduction in the proportion of the Meis1high TEC population, which may also relate to thymic involution. These findings indicate that in the postnatal thymus the high level expression of Meis1 marks a unique population of TECs with progenitor activity, in which Meis1 functions to maintain the undifferentiated state that is required for homeostasis of the postnatal thymus.
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