Establishment of the concept of broad organ-forming network in cardiovascular formation and models for tissue reconstruction

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24249047
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Circulatory organs internal medicine
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: KURIHARA Hiroki 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 教授 (20221947)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TOMITA Sachiko ヤマザキ学園大学, 動物看護学部, 教授 (40231451)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KURIHARA Yukiko 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 講師 (80345040) ; NISHIYAMA Koichi 熊本大学, 国際先端医学研究拠点, 特任准教授 (80398221) ; UCHIJIMA Yasunobu 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 助手 (90272426) ; KAWAMURA Yumiko FMI研究所, Biomedical Research, 海外特別研究員 (70599779) ; ASAI Rieko カリフォルニア大学, CVRI, 海外特別研究員 (90625526)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 心臓 / 血管 / 発生・分化 / 循環器 / 再生医学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we identified the preotic cranial neural crest, which gives rise to craniofacial skeletons especially in the pharyngeal arch-derived structures, as a novel origin of cells constituting the heart to differentiate into coronary artery smooth muscle cells and other various cell types. In addition, we discovered another novel candidate origin of the heart in a region of mesoderm, which may contribute to cardiomyocytes and vascular endothelial cells. These cells from novel origins may participate in cardiovascular differentiation and morphogenesis through cell-to-cell interactions via signaling molecules such as endothelin and semaphorin-plexin. Identification of these cell origins and lineages enables us to analyze a broad cellular network to drive organogenesis and to establish different models for tissue regeneration from a novel viewpoint.

Free Research Field

発生学・循環器内科学・血管生物学