Establishment of an IL-1-related gene-manipulated mouse library and dissection of the gene-targeted mice, aiming at identifying new therapeutic targets for diseases

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24220011
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Laboratory animal science
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Science
• Principal Investigator: Iwakura Yoichiro 東京理科大学, 研究推進機構生命医科学研究所, 教授 (10089120)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 西城 忍 千葉大学, 真菌医学研究センター, 准教授 (60396877) ; 海部 知則 東京理科大学, 生命医科学研究所, 助教 (90343037)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-05-31 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: IL-1 / CTRP / C型レクチン / サイトカイン / 遺伝子改変マウス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this project, we aimed to find target molecules for the development of new drugs by generating gene-targeted mice of the IL-1 and its down-stream genes, and tried to distribute these mice to researchers in need. We found that excess IL-1 signaling causes Th17 cell differentiation and induce IL-17 in γδ T cells. Excess IL-1 signaling also affects clonal selection of CD4+ T cells in the thymus and causes autoimmune arthritis. We also showed that many of C-type lectins play important roles in the host defense against fungal and mycobacterium infection. We also found that CTRP3 and CTRP6, which are induced downstream of IL-1, can suppress the development of inflammatory diseases such as autoimmune arthritis, suggesting a possibility that these molecules could be used as medicines. To enhance the research in this field, we distributed these gene-targeted mice to 256 research groups in these 5 years.

Free Research Field

実験動物学