Functional roles of JmjC histone demethylase on neural stem cell differentiation

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25640012
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: KATADA Sayako 九州大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (00615685)
• Research Collaborator: OOKUNI Aya 九州大学, 医学系学府 ; HONDA Mizuki 九州大学, 医学系学府
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 神経幹細胞 / ヒストン修飾 / エピジェネティクス / 低酸素

Outline of Final Research Achievements

During corticogenesis, neural stem cells sequentially generate neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. The neural stem cell fate is known to be regulated by several epigenetic programs such as DNA methylations and histone modifications. We focused here on the JmjC-family genes, since oxygen levels in tissues including the embryonic brain are generally low compared with that in the atmosphere, and the demethylase activity of JmjC-family is regulated by the intercellular oxygen levels. We found that the expression of histone H3K27 specific demethylase JMJD3 is increased after neural induction of ES cells. Moreover, knockdown of Jmjd3 in neural stem cells, which were isolated from embryonic brain, reduces the generation of GFAP-positive astrocytes under hypoxic culture condition. We demonstrate here for the first time that JMJD3 regulate astrocyte differentiation in hypoxia, which mimic in vivo situation.

Free Research Field

神経科学一般