Molecular analysis of effect of infection stress into the next generation

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K18497
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Molecular biology
• Research Institution: Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: Yoshida Keisuke 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 開拓研究本部, 協力研究員 (80587452)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: エピジェネティクス / 自然免疫 / 精子 / Transgenerational effect

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Recent reports indicate that paternal environmental stress affects phenotype in offspring beyond generation. In this study, I tried to reveal "whether paternal immune stress affects pathogenic resistance in offspring" using mice. Here, it's observed that amount of specific type of methylated histone was changed in mouse sperm by infection stress. Furthermore, offspring from father mouse which have infected exhibited increased gene expression of inflammation-related genes.

Free Research Field

分子生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

今回の結果から、父親の病原体感染ストレスが次世代個体の免疫細胞の活性化状態に影響を与える可能性が示唆された。観察された免疫細胞の活性化が、個体の長期的恒常性に対して有利・不利に働くかはまだ解析が必要だが、子供を持つ予定の父親が自身の病原体感染の子供への影響を留意する必要がある可能性が考えられた。