| Project/Area Number |
26860048
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Biological pharmacy
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| Research Institution | Kobe Pharmaceutical University |
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Principal Investigator |
Masuda Yuki 神戸薬科大学, 薬学部, 助教 (40421284)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
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| Keywords | FGF21 / 胸腺 / 胸腺上皮細胞 / T細胞 / CD8陽性T細胞 / IL-7 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
We have previously shown that Fgf21 is expressed in the thymus as well as in the liver. Recently, Fgf21 was reported to protect against ageing-related thymic senescence. However, the function of Fgf21 in the juvenile thymus remained to be elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated that young Fgf21 knockout mice, but not β-Klotho knockout mice, showed a significant reduction in the percentage of single-positive CD4+ and CD8+ thymocytes without obvious alteration in thymic epithelial cells (TECs). Furthermore, treatment with recombinant FGF21 rescued the impairment in fetal thymus organ culture (FTOC) of Fgf21 knockout mice. Annexin V staining revealed FGF21 protein enhanced apoptosis of immature thymocytes undergoing selection process in FTOC, suggesting that FGF21 may facilitate the selection of developing T cells. Our data suggest that Fgf21 acts as one of intrathymic cytokines in the neonatal and juvenile thymus, involving thymocyte development in a β-Klotho-independent manner.
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