Exploration of novel environmental factors of Parkinson's disease

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21711
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 58:Society medicine, nursing, and related fields
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: Kotake Yaichiro 広島大学, 医系科学研究科(薬), 教授 (20335649)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: p62 / 核蓄積

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Based on the finding that p62 protein, which is originally degraded in the cytoplasm, accumulates in the nucleus under specific conditions, we have established a system to search for conditions under which p62 causes nuclear accumulation. Currently, only low concentrations of MPP+ are found to cause nuclear accumulation with good reproducibility. On the other hand, to explore the function of p62 in the nucleus, we searched for proteins that bind to p62 and found protein X as a p62-binding protein, and identified its binding site.

Free Research Field

神経毒性学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

p62は選択的オートファジーの基質であり、細胞内でさまざまな役割を有する。そのため、期間内に挙げた研究成果を基に本研究がさらに発展し、p62核蓄積がどのような物質、どのような条件で起こるかが判明して核蓄積がもたらす影響の全貌が明らかになると、細胞生物学的に未解明の現象を解明する手がかりとなることが考えられる。また、パーキンソン病をはじめとする関連疾患の病態解明などにつながる可能性が期待される。