Budget Amount *help |
¥16,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥12,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,840,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥4,940,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,140,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥4,940,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,140,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥6,760,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,560,000)
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Outline of Final Research Achievements |
We examined the physiological roles of commensal bacteria including Bifidobacterium and the biological significance of molecular diversity among heat shock proteins (HSPs) in the mucosal homeostasis orchestrated by epithelia and immune cells in the gastrointestinal tract. Regulatory functions were found to be endowed on antigen-presenting cells mediated by epithelial cells in mucosal tissues. Bifidobacterium-derived HSP acted like a symbiotic factor to regulate the activation of antigen-presenting cells. When polysaccharide nanofibers were orally administered in mice, the body weight of mice did not so much increase and also the composition of gut microflora markedly changed without causing gastrointestinal inflammation. These results suggest that cellulose or chitin nanofiber is promising as a prophylactic material to prevent allergy and atherosclerosis, leading to the well-organized immune homeostasis.
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