2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

The regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics in endothelial cells during acute inflammation

Research Project

Project/Area Number	22890104
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Circulatory organs internal medicine
Research Institution	Osaka University
Principal Investigator	KATO Hisakazu 大阪大学, 大学院・医学系研究科, 特任研究員 (30589312)
Project Period (FY)	2010 – 2011
Keywords	組織・細胞 / 生体分子 / 循環器・高血圧
Research Abstract	In this research project, I examined the role of cytokine-induced kinase NUAK2 in endothelial cells. When NUAK2 was knocked down in endothelial cells, loss of actin stress fiber and decrease in phosphorylation of myosin light chain were observed. Furthermore, I identified several auto-phosphorylation sites in NUAK2, which involved in activation of its kinase. I injected antisense morpholino against NUAK2 into the zebrafish allowing live imaging of blood vessels, and they showed lethal phenotypes. These data suggest that NUAK2-MYPT1 axis involves in the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics in vitro and in vivo.