Morphological and functional analyses of isolation membrane-associated tubules

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24390048
• 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: Fukushima Medical University
• Principal Investigator: WAGURI Satoshi 福島県立医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (30244908)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KAMETAKA Satoshi 福島県立医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (10303950) ; YAMAMOTO Masaya 福島県立医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (20446115) ; UEMURA Takefumi 福島県立医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (80548925)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KOMATSU Masaaki 新潟大学, 医歯(薬)学総合研究科, 教授 (90356254)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: オートファジー / オメガソーム / 電子線トモグラフ法 / 電子顕微鏡 / 固定法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A cluster of thin tubules near the rim of autophagic isolation membrane was identified as a novel fine structure, and each element was named as the isolation membrane-associated tubule (IMAT). By electron tomography, IMAT was found to be continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and isolation membrane (IM). Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that the cluster of IMATs corresponds to omegasome, a precursor structure of IM at light microscopic levels. Moreover, IMAT is suggested to be involved in the early events of isolation membrane formation on the ER. Also, we developed a new method using osmium tetroxide for detecting IMAT. This study would pave the way for clarifying mechanisms of the early events of IM formation on the ER membrane.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学、細胞組織学、電子顕微鏡学