Mechanisms by which sympathetic nerves regulate functions of hematopoietic stem cell niches by in vivo imaging techniques

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K15364
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Hematology
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Kunisaki Yuya 九州大学, 医学研究院, 助教 (80737099)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 造血幹細胞 / 骨髄微小環境 / がん幹細胞 / 生体イメージング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We propose to stimulate peripheral sympathetic nerves with a novel optogenetic model, and investigate the transmission of neural signals in the BM by imaging the release of intracellular Ca2+ in different stromal cell populations with multi-channel fluorescent intravital microscopy. Calcium (Ca2+) is a universal second messenger regulating essential cellular signaling events in many tissues and cell types. Ca2+ flux in a cellular level can be imaged in vivo using an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) based, genetically encoded Ca2+ indicator, GCaMP3, which provides highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) up to date. In thisstudy, using genetic mouse models that express GCaMP in endothelial cells (VE-cadherinERT2), we will establish the imaging system to visualize signal transmissions in the bone marrow endothelial cells under sympathetic stimulation using optogenetic approaches combined with BM multichannel fluorescence intravital microscopy (MFIM).

Free Research Field

血液内科学