Analysis of tissue developments regulated by bi-directional Notch-Delta signal

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25840096
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Developmental biology
• Research Institution: National Institute of Health Sciences
• Principal Investigator: Okubo Yusuke 国立医薬品食品衛生研究所, 毒性部, 主任研究官 (80596247)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: Notchシグナル / Deltaシグナル / 後根神経節発生

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Notch-Delta signaling has been known as a mono-directional signaling. Upon binding Delta-Notch, Notch intracellular domain is cleaved and activates the target gene expression. On the other hand, it is reported that Delta intracellular domain (DICD) is also cloven by the binding of Notch and translocates to the nucleus, suggesting that Delta transmits the reverse signaling of Notch. To address this question, we focused on DICD in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) development. We found overexpression of DICD in DRG cells resulted in the promotion of neurogenesis and the inhibition of gliogenesis. Conversely, the inhibition of the DICD production resulted in reduced neurogenesis and promoted gliogenesis. In addition, dispersed culture of neural crest stem cells isolated from DRG overexpressing DICD showed promoted neural differentiation in the absence of endogenous Notch signaling. These results suggest that Delta signal fine tunes DRG development by acting as the reverse signal of Notch.

Free Research Field

発生生物学