2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Role of lung epithelial Akt signaling in respiratory distress syndrome
| Project/Area Number |
23659536
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Embryonic/Neonatal medicine
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| Research Institution | Kansai Medical University (2012)
Osaka University (2011) |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2011 – 2012
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| Keywords | 未熟児医学 / シグナル伝達 / 発生・分化 |
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| Research Abstract |
Akt is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is activated by insulin and regulates multiple cellular processes including cell growth and glucose metabolism. Overexpression of Akt in lung epithelium resulted in reduced capillary density and downregulation of HIF-2 and VEGF, leading to RDS in preterm infants born by Caesarean section. Treatment with rapamycin restored the expression of VEGF and HIF-2 and improved the lung pathology of transgenic mice. These results suggest that aberrant activation of Akt/mTOR pathway in the lung epithelium plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of RDS.
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