2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Molecular basis of hematopoietic stem and progenitor niche formation

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23790533
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Immunology
Research Institution	Kyoto University
Principal Investigator	OMATSU Yoshiki 京都大学, 再生医科学研究所, 助教 (80437277)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2012
Keywords	サイトカイン / 造血幹細胞ニッチ
Research Abstract	We have shown that CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL)12-abundant reticular (CAR) cells have potential to differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblasts,and play an essential role in maintenance of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in vivo, meeting the criteria for “niche”. However, themolecular basis of the formation of cellular niches remain unclear. In this study, we found several candidate genes that play essential roles for developmentand maintenance of CAR cells, using microarrayandqRT-PCR analysis, and we generated conditional knock-out mice of these genes.