Study of the structural change of the Golgi during cellular senescence

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K16145
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 48040:Medical biochemistry-related
• Research Institution: Kumamoto University
• Principal Investigator: Etoh Kan 熊本大学, 発生医学研究所, 特別研究員 (50867207)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: RNA-seq / バイオインフォマティクス / 細胞老化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the structural changes of the Golgi apparatus in senescent cells, focusing on transcriptome analysis. While transcriptome analysis is a powerful technique for understanding cellular state and dynamics,a series of data investigations, including differentially expressed gene analysis, data integration, clustering, functional analysis, and visualization, are considerably laborious for most researchers and scientists not specializing in bioinformatics. To remove the barriers to sequence data analysis in the research community, we have developed “RNAseqChef” (RNA-seq data controller highlighting expression features), a web-based platform of systematic transcriptome analysis that can automatically detect, integrate, and visualize differentially expressed genes and their biological functions. A paper reporting the development of RNAseqChef has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

トランスクリプトーム解析は、分野を超えて利用される生命科学・医科学研究における基幹技術である。実験の工程としてはキット化されており比較的簡便にデータを取得できる一方で、そのデータ解析は難易度が高くバイオインフォマティクスの専門家でなければ困難であった。今回開発したRNAseqChefはプログラミングの専門知識を必要とせず、データをアップロードするだけで自動的に解析・可視化・結果の取得ができるツールである。従って、様々な分野において研究促進につながると考えている。