Screening of substance enhancing saltiness using sodium ion channel(ENaC) protein as a sensor and its isolation and purification, and structural analyses

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K00800
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Eating habits
• Research Institution: Chubu University
• Principal Investigator: TSUKAMOTO Yoshinori 中部大学, 応用生物学部, 教授 (60592079)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 堤内 要 中部大学, 応用生物学部, 教授 (50329851) ; 石田 康行 中部大学, 応用生物学部, 教授 (70273266)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): UKAWA Shinya 名古屋市立大学, 大学院医学研究科, 教授 (20326135)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-10-21 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 塩味増強 / 塩味受容体遺伝子 / 塩味応答 / 電気生理学的アッセイ / 卵母細胞 / イオンチャネル / アミロライド / 遺伝子インジェクション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Hypertension has the largest number of patient in life style related disease and its cause originates from the excess of salt intake. Therefore, the reduction of salt intake is important for the prevention of hypertension. However, only reducrion of salt causes the problem of dreary taste. We tried the technological development which can enhance saltiness and acquire delicious satiness even the reduction of salt as a method able to dissolve this problem. Namely,we injected human gene of receptor for saltiness into Xenopus oocytes and expressed the corresponding protein and used this as a sensor for the screening of substances enhancing saltiness from agricultural stuffs, fermenting foods, food components. As a result, we succeeded in finding one substance enhancing saltiness from a kind of agricultural stuff.

Free Research Field

応用微生物学