Establishment of a new model rat for immunological diseases deleting the Ly49 gene regulating immune reactions

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24500484
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Laboratory animal science
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: YAMADA Toshiyuki 弘前大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (20183981)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TSUCHIDA Shigeki 弘前大学, 医学研究科, 教授 (20142862)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 弘前ヘアレスラット / 胸腺 / 制御性T細胞 / B1-B細胞 / Ly49s3遺伝子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Hirosaki hairless rats (HHRs) exhibit immunological abnormalities in their thymus such as differentiation inhibition of regulatory T (Treg) cells and unusual presence of mature B cells, which appear to be B1-B cells. HHR also shows symptoms of autoimmune diseases that are thought to be results of its immunological abnormalities. In this study, we showed that HHR deletes the Ly49s3 gene, regulating cell-cell interactions of immunological cells and normally expressed in thymic dendritic cells, and that functional failure of HHR thymic dendritic cells due to loss of the expression of the gene is the reason for the immunological abnormalities in HHR.

Free Research Field

免疫細胞の発生学