Functional analysis of macropinocytosis in cancer cells under poor nutrientional status

Research Project

Project/Area Number	25870892
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Functional biochemistry Tumor biology
Research Institution	Kobe Pharmaceutical University (2014) Kyoto Sangyo University (2013)
Principal Investigator	YOSHIAKI Nakayama 神戸薬科大学, 薬学部, 講師 (40512455)
Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha)	KUROSAKA Akira 京都産業大学, 総合生命科学部, 教授 (90186536) NAKAMURA Naosuke 京都産業大学, 総合生命科学部, 講師 (30424964)
Project Period (FY)	2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,510,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥810,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Keywords	マクロピノサイトーシス / 低栄養環境 / 腫瘍細胞
Outline of Final Research Achievements	The adaptation of cancer cells to malnutrition environment leads to malignant progression. The detailed mechanism of adaptation is an important issue to explore a new target molecule for anti-cancer agents. In this study, we focused on macropinocytosis, which is a process of extracellular fluid uptake, and is observed characteristically in tumor cells. We hypothesized that macropinocytosis is involved in the malignant progression, and attempted to clarify its molecular mechanism. The excess addition of sugars or albumin protein suppressed macropinocytosis in certain tumor cells, suggesting that tumor cells may utilize extracellular sugars and proteins by macropinocytosis in response to nutrient environment.