Functional elucidation of the endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria encounter structure (ERMES) complex

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K18534
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cell biology
• Research Institution: Toyama Prefectural Institute for Pharmaceutical Research (2019); Yamagata University (2016-2018)
• Principal Investigator: Kojima Rieko 富山県薬事総合研究開発センター, その他部局等, 主任研究員 (60769652)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: オルガネラコンタクト / ERMES / 脂質輸送

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Recent studies have shown that different organelles physically bind to each other to form an organelle contact site. Organelle contacts are physiologically important because they are associated with diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, but their functions are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the function of the ERMES complex that physically binds mitochondria to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and revealed that the ERMES complex plays an important role in transporting phospholipids between mitochondria and ER. We also showed that the ERMES complex is functionally related to the degree of lipid unsaturation.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学，構造生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ミトコンドリアと小胞体間のオルガネラコンタクトは，神経変性疾患等の病気とも深く関わっていることが知られているため，オルガネラコンタクトの機能の理解を深めることは，これらの病気のメカニズム解明や将来的な治療へと結びつく可能性があり，重要な研究であると考えられます。