Morphological analyses in sparse labeled neurons

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14889
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Integrative animal science
• Research Institution: National Institute of Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Katori Shota 国立遺伝学研究所, 個体遺伝研究系, 特任研究員 (50562394)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 神経回路形成 / 遺伝子改変マウス / セロトニン神経

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Serotonergic system is involved in many brain functions (circadian rhythm, aggression, feeding behavior, sexual behavior, and so on). Serotonergic neurons project their axons to a whole brain. Although the density of serotonergic axons is locally uniform, how the axonal density is regulated is almost unknown. In the present study, we focused on the protocadherin-alpha (Pcdha) family, which consist of 14 transmembrane proteins and homophilically interact with each other. Here, we generated Pcdha mutant mice, in which members of Pcdha family were reduced, and analyzed them. We found that PcdhaC2, a member of Pcdha family, is essential for normal serotonergic-axon density.

Free Research Field

神経生物学