2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Elucidation of the mechanisms for hair follicle aging focusing on stem cell divisions
Project/Area Number |
18H02637
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Section | 一般 |
Review Section |
Basic Section 49030:Experimental pathology-related
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Research Institution | Tokyo Medical and Dental University |
Principal Investigator |
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Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
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Keywords | 毛包幹細胞 / 幹細胞分裂 / 17型コラーゲン / aPKCλ |
Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Hair follicles, mammalian mini-organs that grow hair, miniaturize during aging, leading to hair thinning and loss. In this study, we revealed that hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) lose their regenerative capabilities during aging owing to the adoption of an atypical cell division program. This type of division is accompanied by the destabilization of hemidesmosomal protein COL17A1 and cell polarity protein aPKCλ and generates terminally differentiating epidermal cells instead of regenerating the hair follicle niche. With the repetition of these atypical divisions, HFSCs detach from the basal membrane causing their exhaustion, elimination and organ aging. These results demonstrate that distinct stem cell division programs may govern tissue and organ aging.
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Free Research Field |
幹細胞生物学
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Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
本研究成果は、哺乳類の上皮系器官において再生と老化を担う幹細胞分裂プログラムの存在がはじめて明らかにした。これにより、加齢によって質の低下した幹細胞を効率よく生体から排除し、毛包自体も小型化し機能低下に至ることを世界に先駆けて解明した。また本成果は、器官の再生と老化の機序において幹細胞分裂がいかに中心的な役割を果たしうるかを明確に示すと同時に、加齢に伴う脱毛症の新規治療法開発やその他の上皮系臓器の加齢関連疾患の機構解明やその治療法開発にも繋がるものと期待される。
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