| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Chronic and low-grade inflammation is associated with the initial steps of obesity. Ceramide kinase (CERK) is an enzyme which phosphorylates ceramide to produce ceramide 1-phosphate. Recently, evidence has emerged that CERK has a role in inflammatory signaling of immune cells. Since obesity is accompanied with chronic, low-grade inflammation, we examined whether CERK might involved using CERK-null mice. We determined that CERK deficiency suppresses diet-induced increases in body weight, and improves glucose intolerance. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CERK deficiency attenuates MCP-1/CCR2 signaling in macrophages infiltrating adipose tissue, resulting in the suppression of inflammation in adipose, which might otherwise lead to obesity and diabetes.
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