Budget Amount *help |
¥23,920,000 (Direct Cost: ¥18,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥5,520,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥6,630,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,530,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥6,630,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,530,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥10,660,000 (Direct Cost: ¥8,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥2,460,000)
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Outline of Final Research Achievements |
In photodynamic therapy (PDT), cells are impregnated with a photosensitizing agent that is activated by light irradiation, thereby photochemically generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although high levels of ROS are cytotoxic, at physiological levels they play a key role as second messengers in cellular signaling pathways, pluripotency, and differentiation of stem cells. To investigate further the use of photochemically triggered manipulation of such pathways, we exposed mouse osteoblast precursor cells and rat primary mesenchymal stromal cells to low-dose PDT. Our results demonstrate that low-dose PDT can promote osteoblast differentiation via the activation of activator protein-1 (AP-1). Although PDT has been used primarily as an anti-cancer therapy, the use of light as a photochemical “molecular switch” to promote differentiation should expand the utility of this method in basic research and clinical applications.
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