A novel therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke based on understanding adult neurogenesis

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14335
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Nerve anatomy/Neuropathology
• Research Institution: Nara Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Tsuboi Akio 奈良県立医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (20163868)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 高橋 弘雄 奈良県立医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (20390685) ; 吉原 誠一 奈良県立医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (90360669)
• Research Collaborator: FUJIOKA Masayuki
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 神経科学 / 脳・神経 / 脳神経疾患 / 再生医学 / 成体神経新生 / 脳梗塞モデルマウス / ニューロン生存 / 神経回路形成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We explored cerebral infarction using a model mouse with an operation of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and screened the genes which expressions were altered between the normal and infarct sides in the cerebral cortex two hours after MCAO by RNA sequencing. We narrowed down 27 genes whose expressions were increased in the border of the infarct site compared with the control by ISH. Among these, the neural activity-dependent transcription factor Npas4 showed conspicuous expression in excitatory neurons of the cerebral cortex and the expression pattern that go along the border of the infarct site. Further analyses suggested that Npas4 and its regulating genes play crucial roles in rebuilding the neural circuitry via promoting the neuronal development and survival in the healthy and diseased brain, respectively.

Free Research Field

神経科学、分子生物学