2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Role of the BDNF pro-peptide in brain functions and diseases

Research Project

PDF

Project/Area Number	17K07073
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
Research Institution	National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Principal Investigator	Masami Kojima 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生命工学領域, 上級主任研究員 (40344171)
Project Period (FY)	2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Keywords	神経 / 成長因子 / うつ病 / バイオマーカー / 脳脊髄液 / ペプチド
Outline of Final Research Achievements	We report that BDNF pro-peptide is present in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and quantifiable by western blotting. We measured CSF BDNF pro-peptide levels in 27 patients with schizophrenia, 18 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), and 27 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and ethnicity (Japanese). The ratio of the BDNF pro-peptide level to the total protein level in MDD patients was significantly lower than that in controls. When men and women were examined separately, males with MDD had a significantly lower BDNF pro-peptide/protein ratio than male controls; this difference was not found in female subjects. The ratio tended to be lower in male schizophrenia patients. Although we tried to measure the levels of mature BDNF in CSF, they were below the limit of detection of the ELISA and multiple analyte profiling technology.
Free Research Field	神経科学、精神医学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	中年男性の大うつ病患者において有意に低下している新規バイオマーカーを発見した。このマーカーはBDNF pro-peptideと呼ばれる脳および脳脊髄液に存在するペプチドであり、中年男性の大うつ病患者の脳脊髄液では健常人に比べて有意に減少していた。うつ病は日常生活や仕事の多忙や人間関係のストレス、さらには生活リズムの乱れなど生活習慣にも関係して発症する脳疾患である。本マーカーが働き盛りにある中年男性の大うつ病マーカーとして精神疾患研究分野の学術的意義、そして上記に記載した社会的意義をもたらすことが期待している。