Molecular basis and physiological function of cellular lipid homeostasis in the brain and immune stromal cells

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24390047
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: General anatomy (including Histology/Embryology)
• Research Institution: Tohoku University (2015); Yamaguchi University
• Principal Investigator: Owada Yuji 東北大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (20292211)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YOSHIKAWA Takeo 理化学研究所, 脳科学研究センター, 主任研究員 (30249958)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: FABP / アストロサイト / 脂肪酸 / クッパー細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we revealed for the first time that alteration of lipid homeostasis in the glial cells affects their response to the external stimuli such as growth factors.
We showed that intracellular lipid binding protein, FABP7, regulates the membrane lipid raft function in astrocytes through the caveolin gene expression. We also showed that glial FABP7 is involved in the control of excitatory synaptic neurotransmission in the medial frontal cortex, and possible associated with the human psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia.

Free Research Field

神経科学　解剖学