Budget Amount *help |
¥16,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥12,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,840,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥5,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,170,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥5,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,170,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥6,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,500,000)
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Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Rodent embryos at peri-gastrutation has a cylindrical structure where the epiblast is surrounded by a stratified epithelium (visceral endoderm: VE). The VE is highly active in endocytosis and develops large lysosomal compartments known as apical vacuoles. The membrane dynamics of apical vacuoles are distinct from those of canonical lysosomes: delivery of endosomes to the large apical vacuoles occurs via microautophagy, and this process requires the function of the small GTP-binding protein rab7. The rab7-deficient embryos exhibit developmental defects at gastrulation. The mutant embryo failed to assemble the mesodermal tissues due to severe reduction of Wnt-β-catenin signalling activity. Deletion of the rab7 function only in VE resulted in developmental defects similar to those in the systemic gene knockout, suggesting that the rab7 function regulated the Wnt signalling through a non-cell autonomous mechanism.
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