Identification of the enteric neural crest-derived cell migration-regulated genes

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K15743
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Pediatric surgery
• Research Institution: Kanazawa Medical University
• Principal Investigator: KOHNO Miyuki 金沢医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (10153496)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): YOSHIZAKI Hisayoshi 金沢医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (00443490) ; YASUI Yoshitomo 金沢医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (10595325) ; NISHIDA Shoichi 金沢医科大学, 医学部, 研究医 (50747251)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 腸管神経系

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a network of neurons and glia, which are derived from enteric neural crest cells (ENCCs), and is essential for regulating peristaltic activity of the colon. ENCCs migrate along the gastrointestinal tract to form the ENS. We analyzed differential gene expression between developing mouse intestine at embroyonic days 11.5 and 15.5 in order to elucidate the mechanisms associated with variations in ENCC motility during this period. Our findings indicated significant differences in the expression of genes encoding extracellular matrix proteins during these developmental periods, as well as upregulated collagen VI (ColVI) and downregulated fibronectin (FN) in the E15.5 intestine. Furthermore, ENCC-motility assays in the presence of FN, ColVI, or a combination of the two revealed that ColVI attenuated FN-induced ENCC motility and reduced expression and phosphorylation of molecules associated with focal adhesion complexes.

Free Research Field

小児外科学