Research for a novel regulatory mechanism of appetite via a des-acyl ghrelin receptor

Research Project

Project/Area Number	26670037
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Pharmacology in pharmacy
Research Institution	Kagoshima University
Principal Investigator	IIJIMA Mikio 鹿児島大学, 医歯学域医学系, 助教 (00305111)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	KISHDA Shosei 鹿児島大学, 医歯学域医学系, 教授 (50274064) KOYAMA Hirofumi 鹿児島大学, 医歯学域医学系, 講師 (40709656) KISHDA Michiko 鹿児島大学, 医歯学域医学系, 助教 (40274089) KATO Ikuo 神戸薬科大学, 薬学部, 教授 (70509843)
Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha)	INUI Akio 鹿児島大学, 医歯学域医学系, 教授 (80168418)
Project Period (FY)	2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000) Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
Keywords	デスアシルグレリン / 新規受容体
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid orexigenic peptide hormone mainly produced by the stomach. The acylation of the third amino residue at ghrelin is required for its binding and activation of the ghrelin receptor. At first des-acyl ghrelin (DAG) was considered an inactive form of ghrelin, but now the DAG is believed to be a biologically active. To clone the DAG receptor(s), we performed a biotinyl DAG binding assay using the mouse adult brain cDNA expression library transfected cells. We succeeded in the identification of a DAG receptor candidate gene. This candidate gene product bound to the biotinyl DAG in vitro. Future study is required to determine the precise mechanism(s) of DAG action.