The identification of long-noncoding RNAs associated with the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and their therapeutic manipulation strategy

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25670028
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biological pharmacy
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: OBIKA Satoshi 大阪大学, 薬学研究科(研究院), 教授 (80243252)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YAMAMOTO Tsuyoshi (80636994)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: ノンコーディングRNA / 核酸医薬 / 動脈硬化 / マクロファージ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It has not yet been established a therapeutic strategy to reduce atherosclerotic lesions and plaques. We here tried to identify a novel long-noncoding RNA (lncRNA) associated with plaque formation and progression. We initially established an isolation methodology of monocytes from mice and handling of differentiated polarized macrophages. From these isolated primary cells, we prepared complementary DNAs and analyzed up- or down-regulated lncRNAs. We observed significant changes in expression for some lncRNAs upon polarization. We further invested whether oligonucleotide-based therapeutics can be a potential therapeutic strategy for manipulating lncRNA function. These findings would further enable us to develop a therapeutic strategy to treat atherosclerosis.

Free Research Field

核酸医薬