| Project/Area Number |
12670014
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
General anatomy (including Histology/Embryology)
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| Research Institution | Mie University (2001)
Kyoto University (2000) |
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Principal Investigator |
MIZOGUCHI Akira Mie University, Faculty of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (90181916)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KIMURA Kazushi Kyoto University, Graduate School of Medicine, Assistant, 医学研究科, 助手 (20314180)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2000 – 2001
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2001)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2000: ¥2,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000)
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| Keywords | Nectin / afadin / cadherin / puncta adherentia junctions / synaptic junctions / シナプス / 可塑性 / Puncta Adherentia Junction / アドヘレンスジャンクション / タイトジャンクション |
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| Research Abstract |
The nectin-afadin system is a novel cell-cell adhesion system that organizes adherens junctions cooperatively with the cadherin-catenin system in epithelial cells. Nectin is an immunoglobulin-like adhesion molecule, and afadin is an actin filament-binding protein that connects nectin to the actin cytoskeleton. Nectin has four isoforms (-1, -2, -3, and -4). Each nectin forms a homo-cis-dimer followed by formation of a homo-trans-dimer, but nectin-3 furthermore forms a hetero-trans-dimer with nectin-1 or -2, and the formation of each hetero-trans-dimer is stronger than that of each homo-trans-dimer. We show here that at the synapses between the mossy fiber terminals and the dendrites of pyramidal cells in the CA3 area of adult mouse hippocampus, the nectin-afadin system colocalizes with the cadherin-catenin system and that nectin-1 and -3 asymmetrically localize at the presynaptic and postsynaptic sides of puncta adherentia junctions, respectively. During development, nectin-1 and -3 asymmetrically localize not only at puncta adherentia junctions but also at synaptic junctions. Inhibition of the nectin-based adhesion by an inhibitor of nectin-1 in cultured rat hippocampal neurons results in decrease in size and concomitant increase in number of synapses. These results indicate a key role of the nectin-afadin system in formation of synapses.
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