Role of beta-Klotho in regulating fetal growth and body weight in mice

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26870926
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Food science; Eating habits
• Research Institution: Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation
• Principal Investigator: Kobayashi Kanako 公益財団法人先端医療振興財団, その他部局等, 研究員 (10724106)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: β-Klotho / 子宮内胎児発育遅延 / 卵黄嚢 / 分子生物学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study is to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying fetal growth restriction and reduced body weight in β-klotho knockout (KO) mice. Since an embryo absorbs maternal nutrients through its yolk sac before placental maturation, we hypothesized that β-Klotho expressed in the yolk sac plays a key role in supplying maternal nutrients to the embryo. We found that β-klotho mRNA was predominantly expressed in the yolk sac endoderm cells, the primary site of nutrient absorption. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that the gene expression levels of the metabolic enzymes and the nutrient transporters were altered in the KO yolk sac. These results suggest that β-Klotho in yolk sac contributes to the regulation of fetal growth through modulating the expression levels of genes involved in nutrient metabolism.

Free Research Field

代謝学