Verifying neurogenesis vulnerable hypothesis

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20H03345
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 46010:Neuroscience-general-related
• Research Institution: National Institute of Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Hirata Tatsumi 国立遺伝学研究所, 遺伝形質研究系, 教授 (80260587)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 小出 剛 国立遺伝学研究所, 遺伝形質研究系, 准教授 (20221955)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 誕生日タグづけ法 / 発達性障害 / マウス / 神経発生

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We tested the hypothesis that a disturbance in the body environment during pregnancy may cause diverse developmental disorders by impairing newly-born neurons, which are most vulnerable at that time. Using the “neuronal tagging method” developed by our group, a population of neurons that are born at a particular timing were genetically tagged in mouse embryos. After these embryos reached adulthood, activities of the tagged neuronal population were chemogenetically manipulated, so that the pattern of neuronal dysfunctions in individual mice was evaluated. This analysis found a very clear relationship between the timing of neurogenesis and the neuronal symptoms that appear. The symptoms included commonly observed ones in developmental disorders, supporting the plausibility of this “neurogenesis vulnerable hypothesis”.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

発達性障害は社会的にも大きな問題であるが、多種多様な症状が混在し、原因の手がかりすらつかめない。本研究で、その混沌を解く鍵が神経発生のタイミングにある可能性が示唆された。人間集団を対象とした疫学的研究ではこのような因果関係は解析できないため、本研究のような実験生物学的な試みは極めて貴重であると考えられえる。