2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Role of retinoid signaling in hepatic stellate cells
| Project/Area Number |
20790158
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
General anatomy (including Histology/Embryology)
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| Research Institution | Akita University |
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Principal Investigator |
MEZAKI Yoshihiro Akita University, 大学院・医学系研究科, 助教 (40431621)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2008 – 2009
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| Keywords | ビタミンA / 肝臓星細胞 / レチノイン酸受容体 / 発現制御 / 遺伝子 / 蛋白質 |
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| Research Abstract |
Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are known to be a site of vitamin A storage and play an important role in liver fibrogenesis, as they are activated on liver injury to produce collagens. We have revealed that HSCs become retinoid responsive after activation through post-transcriptional up-regulation of retinoic acid receptor (RAR)α gene expression and that these RARα proteins showed a speckled distribution in the cytosol. We further analyzed these speckled RARα proteins and proposed that insoluble, cytosolic speckled distribution of RARα proteins in activated HSCs may represent a marker for HSC activation.
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