Biomodulation with D-amino acids: molecular mechanism and application

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25292059
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied biochemistry
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Yoshimura Tohru 名古屋大学, 生命農学研究科, 教授 (70182821)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): HEMMI Hisashi 名古屋大学, 大学院生命農学研究科, 准教授 (60302189)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: D-アミノ酸 / D－セリン / D-アスパラギン酸 / セリンラセマーゼ / D-セリンデヒドラターゼ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the current studies, we intended to clarify the molecular bases of the physiological functions of D-amino acids, especially D-Ser and D-Asp. We clarified the reaction mechanism of D-Ser metabolizing enzymes、serine racemase and D-serine dehydratase with focusing on the elimination of the hydroxyl group of substrate. We examined the role of D-Ser and serine racemase in the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum, and found that serine racemase probably regulates L-serine concentration. We tried to clarify the synthetic enzyme of D-Asp in mammals, and found that Got1l1 is not an aspartate racemase but a L-glutamate transaminase. We tried to improve the sensitivity of our enzymatic D-Ser assay system, and succeeded to increase it ten times. We attempted to regulate the brain D-Ser concentration with PEGylated D-serine dehydratase. We also studied the protein structure recognizing D-amino acids.

Free Research Field

生物化学