2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Elucidation of molecular mechanism that controls the maintenance of retinal stem cells
| Project/Area Number |
19570216
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Developmental biology
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| Research Institution | The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research |
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Principal Investigator |
NAKAGAWA Shinichi The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, 中川独立主幹研究ユニット, ユニットリーダー(独立主幹研究員) (50324679)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2007 – 2009
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| Keywords | 網膜 / 幹細胞 / Wnt / ニワトリ / c-hairy1 / ノード / 転写因子 / ネットワーク |
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| Research Abstract |
The marginal region of the retina contains retinal stem cells that continue to proliferate and remain undifferentiated for a long period. We have previously identified a signaling molecule Wnt2b as a retinal stem cell factor that maintains undifferentiated state of the retinal stem cells. In this research project, we investigated downstream pathway of the Wnt signaling, especially focusing on transcription factors. We have found that Wnt activates multiple transcription factors including c-myc, which in turn cooperatively activate a transcriptional repressor c-hairy1. We have also revealed that the activation of c-hairy1 in turn was necessary and sufficient to inhibit differentiation of the retinal stem cells. Thus, c-hairy1 functions as a node downstream of Wnt signaling to maintain the retinal stem cells.
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