2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Evolutionary aspects of D-serine metabolism in vertebral brain
| Project/Area Number |
24590351
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
General medical chemistry
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| Research Institution | Shiga University of Medical Science |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
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| Keywords | Ｄ-セリン / Ｄ-アミノ酸オキシダーゼ / Ｄ-セリンデヒドラターゼ / PLP酵素 / アストロサイト |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Chicken D-serine dehydratase (DSD) degrades D-serine to pyruvate and ammonia. D-Serine is a physiological coagonist that regulates the activity of the NMDA receptor for L-glutamate. We have found in chickens that D-serine is degraded only by DSD in the brain, whereas it is also degraded to 3-hydroxypyruvate by D-amino acid oxidase (DAO) in the kidney and liver. In mammalian brains, D-serine is degraded only by DAO. It has not been clarified why chickens selectively use DSD for the control of D-serine concentrations in the brain.
In the present study, we measured DSD activity in chicken tissues, and examined the cellular localization of DSD using a specific anti-chicken DSD antibody. In chicken brain, cerebellum showed about 6-fold-higher activity than cerebrum. At the cellular level DSD was demonstrated in Bergmann-glia cells of the cerebellum and in astrocytes. The finding of DSD in glial cells seems to be important because D-serine is involved in NMDAR-dependent brain functions.
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| Free Research Field |
生化学 酵素化学
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