Budget Amount *help |
¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
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Research Abstract |
After the biochemical examination of SDS-insoluble materials of the brains with Alzheimer's disease, we identified human alpha-Synuclein by cDNA cloning. Some missense mutations of the gene for alpha-Synuclein were found as causal genes for the patients with familial Parkinson's disease and with familial dementia with Lewy bodies. However, physiological functions of alpha-Synuclein remain elusive. In the present studies, we have shown that alpha-Synuclein is localized in the inner membrane of neuronal mitochondria, and that alpha-Synuclein binds adenylate translocator. It suggests that alpha-Synuclein may regulate the production of ATP through mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Using in vitro cell culture systems, we showed that alpha-Synuclein promotes cell proliferation and affects early neurite outgrowth. It was shown that these effects are through microtubule formation via tubulin assembly by alpha-Synuclein.
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