Recording neuronal activities onto DNA

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K19494
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 51:Brain sciences and related fields
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Principal Investigator: Tanaka Kohichi 東京医科歯科大学, 難治疾患研究所, 教授 (80171750)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 神経活動 / 記録 / DNA / ゲノム編集

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to elucidate the information processing mechanisms of the brain, it is necessary to record the activities of all the neurons that make up the brain over time for a long period of time and analyze the correspondence with their functions. In this study, we aimed to develop a system that can record the activity history of neurons on DNA using genome editing technology. Using a glioma cell line, we tried to create a cell line that could record the history of neuronal activity as DNA sequence changes by expressing Cas9 at the c-fos locus, whose expression increases with neuronal activity, but we were unable to create the desired cell line.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

脳を構成する全ての神経細胞の長期間に亘る活動履歴をゲノムに記録できるれば、空間的に離れた脳領域間の機能的結合や脳全体のネットワークとしての特性を、ゲノムの配列解析からレトロスペクティブに解明できる。さらに、単一細胞分析と併用することにより、単一神経細胞レベルでの機能的結合も解析でき、細胞・局所神経回路・脳全体の機能的ネットワークを縦断的に解明できる可能性を秘めている。申請者の作成した細胞系を改良し、目的の実験系が確立されれば、脳機能の解明に大きな貢献をすると期待される。