Elucidation of membrane microdomain functionally regulated by food ingredients to prevent vascular-related diseases

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K07795
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Food science
• Research Institution: Kagoshima University
• Principal Investigator: KAJIYA Katsuko 鹿児島大学, 農水産獣医学域農学系, 講師 (00379942)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 南 雄二 鹿児島大学, 農水産獣医学域農学系, 准教授 (90253913)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 膜ドメイン / 血管平滑筋 / ラフト / カベオラ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Vascular diseases such as myocardial or cerebral infarction are the leading causes of death. Some vascular diseases occur due to a decrease in vascular endothelial function. The innermost layer of the vasculature is formed by vascular endothelial cells (VECs) that are critical for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. In our search for active constituents in farm products with the potential for improving the vascular system, we examined the effect of Raphanus sativus cv. Sakurajima Daikon on NO production in VECs. In this study, we found that the underlying mechanism for stimulating NO production by Sakurajima Daikon extract involves endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) activation by the phosphorylation of Ser1177 and the dephosphorylation of Thr495, which is triggered by elevated concentrations of cytoplasmic Ca2+, resulting from the activation of Ca2+ channels in VECs. We observed that trigonelline, an active constituent of Sakurajima Daikon, improves the NO production in VEC cultures.

Free Research Field

食品栄養科学、膜動態化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

血管の不健康は万病のもとであり、常に正常な血管機能が求められる。私共は、血管の正常化に寄与する食材の探索を通して桜島大根を探し当てることができた。これは、現実的な摂取量で血管を正常に保つことを実現可能にするものであり、本研究成果の社会的意義は大きい。