Photopharmacological regulation of circadian rhythms with caged clock-modulating compounds for investigation of cell-cell interactions

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21269
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 38:Agricultural chemistry and related fields
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Hirota Tsuyoshi 名古屋大学, トランスフォーマティブ生命分子研究所, 特任准教授 (50372412)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 概日時計 / ケミカルバイオロジー / ケージド化合物 / 細胞間相互作用

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Circadian clocks are hierarchically integrated from molecules to organisms in time and space to generate diurnal rhythms of diverse physiological processes. A key challenge in understanding the multicellular circadian clock system is cell-cell communications. In this study, we developed compounds that modulate the function of clock proteins in response to light and enabled temporal control of circadian rhythms in cell populations. By combining these compounds with single-cell imaging of circadian rhythms, we attempted spatial manipulation toward the analysis of cell-cell communications.

Free Research Field

時間生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

私たちはケミカルバイオロジーの手法を応用し、概日リズムの周期を変化させる新規化合物を発見して鍵となる制御機構を明らかにしてきた。この時計調節化合物と光薬理学を組み合わせることによって、狙ったタイミングに狙った細胞で概日時計を定量的に操作する新技術の開発につながるであろう。光を用いたタンパク質の活性制御という観点から、概日時計分野を超えて広く細胞間相互作用の研究に応用できると期待される。