Analysis of the roles of the cell polarity protein Morg1 in embryonic development

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K21221
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: General medical chemistry; Pathological medical chemistry
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Hayase Junya 九州大学, 医学研究院, 特別研究員 (PD) (40621686)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: Morg1

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Epithelial cells and endothelial cells in multicellular organisms that form lumens of organs or vascular lumens, respectively, have distinct apical and basolateral membrane domains, which play crucial roles in maintaining the body through absorbing nutrients and excreting wastes. The membrane domain asymmetry, which is called apico-basal polarity, is dependent on the polarity complex Par6-aPKC complex and the Rho family small GTPase. Recently, we identified the novel polarity protein Morg1, which was found to be essential for embryonic development in mice. The present study clarified that Morg1 plays essential roles in vasculogenesis during embryonic development and physically interacts with GEF-H1, a RhoA-specific guanine-nucleotide exchange factor.

Free Research Field

生化学