Understanding of sarcopenia obesity by epigenomic regulation

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K11692
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59040:Nutrition science and health science-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Ito Ryo 東北大学, 医学系研究科, 助教 (80733815)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: エピゲノム / エネルギー代謝 / 脂肪 / サルコペニア肥満

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The living and nutritional environment such as eating habits is thought to play an important role in the development of age-related diseases including lifestyle disease and sarcopenic obesity. The epigenome is chemical modifications of DNA and histones to form cellular memory. How the nutritional environment is converted into epigenomic memory and how it affects aging diseases such as sarcopenic obesity has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we showed that a signal-sensing epigenomic enzyme, JMJD1A, memorized environmental and nutritional cues to the epigenome, contributing to the prevention of sarcopenic obesity.

Free Research Field

遺伝子発現制御学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

サルコペニア肥満などの加齢に伴う生活習慣病の発症機序は理解が進んでおらず、環境変化に適応するエピゲノム調節によるサルコペニア肥満発症の分子基盤解明は学術的意義が高い。JMJD1Aの機能不全によりサルコペニア肥満が惹起されることから、JMJD1Aのヒストン脱メチル化活性を高めることが高齢者の加齢疾患発症を予防することに繋がる可能性が予想され、本研究は社会問題化しているサルコペニア肥満予防研究に貢献できると考えられる。