Crucial role for Elovl6 during bone development in mice

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26560393
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: Sagami Women's University
• Principal Investigator: Shimada Masako 相模女子大学, 栄養科学部, 教授 (30637369)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 生活習慣病 / 骨・軟骨代謝

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Elongation of very long chain fatty acids (Elovl6) is a microsomal enzyme, which regulates the elongation of C12-16 saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. To investigate a role of Elovl6 during bone development, we examined a skeletal phenotype of Elovl6 knockout (KO) mice. The Elovl6KO skeleton was smaller in size. Histological analysis showed an elongated length of hypertrophic chondrocyte layer expressing Collagen10a1 in Elovl6KO mice compared with controls. These results were presumably due to an accelerated differentiation of cells of the chondrocyte lineage. Furthermore, this elevated expression of Collagen10a1 of Elovl6-null chondrocytes was likely associated with increased levels of Foxa2/a3 and Mef2c mRNA expression. Relative increases in protein levels of nuclear Foxa2 and cytoplasmic HDAC4/5/7 were also observed in Elovl6 knockdown chondrocytes. Thus, our data are suggestive of a critical role of Elovl6 for proper development of embryonic growth plate.

Free Research Field

代謝学