| Budget Amount *help |
¥5,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,170,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Elucidating the cellular identity of neuronal precursors provides novel insights into development and function of the nervous system. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is innervated richly by extrinsic nerve fibers, but little is known about the significance of extrinsic innervation to the structural integrity of the ENS. This research reveals that a subset of Schwann cell precursors (SCPs), which invades the gut alongside the extrinsic nerves, adopts a neuronal fate and differentiates into specific neuronal subtypes. SCP-specific ablation of the Ret gene leads to colonic oligoganglionosis, demonstrating a crucial role of SCP-derived neurogenesis in ENS development. Cross-lineage differentiation capacity in SCPs suggests their potential involvement in the development and pathology of a wide variety of neural crest-derived cell types.
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