2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Clarification of the function and regulation of the rheostat molecule NLK, which fine-tunes the activity strength of signal transduction.
| Project/Area Number |
22689008
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
General medical chemistry
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
ISHITANI Tohru 九州大学, 生体防御医学研究所, 准教授 (40448428)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010 – 2012
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| Keywords | リン酸化 / 器官形成 / がん / イメージング |
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| Research Abstract |
NLK is an evolutionarily conserved protein kinase, which fine-tunes the activity strength of various signal transduction systems. In this study, we discovered that NLK strengthen Wnt signaling activity by phosphorylating a transcription factor Lef1 in neural progenitor cells and this regulation contributes to the size expansion of vertebrate brain tissues. We also found that NLK autoactivates via its autophosphorylation and that DP1 protein inhibits NLK activity. Thus, we revealed new functions and regulations of NLK.
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