2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

The molecular mechanisms underlying neuron-glia interaction during long-term memory formation

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24700415
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Fusional basic brain science
Research Institution	Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
Principal Investigator	MATSUNO Motomi 公益財団法人東京都医学総合研究所, 運動・感覚システム研究分野, 主席研究員 (90392365)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
Keywords	グリア / ショウジョウバエ / 長期記憶 / 遺伝子
Research Abstract	The molecular mechanisms underlying neuron-glia interaction during memory formation are poorly understood. Previously we discovered that a cell adhesion molecule, Klingon (Klg), is expressed in both neurons and glia, and a training-dependent increase in Klg-mediated neuron-glia interactions is required to form long-term memory (LTM). We also found that Klg modulates glial gene expression, which is required for LTM formation. In this study we identified a novel mechanism for glial regulation of LTM formation. We determined that Klg mediates interactions between specific types of neurons and glia, and found that these interactions increase expression of a glial transcription factor, Repo. Repo, in turn, activates a glial gene expression that functions to prevent LTM-induced cell death.

(5 results)