| Project/Area Number |
16591104
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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 |
Dermatology
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| Research Institution | Saga University |
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Principal Investigator |
NARISAWA Yutaka Saga University, Faculty of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (60164498)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
INOUE Takuya Saga University, Faculty of Medicine, Instructor, 医学部, 助手 (50380754)
MISAGO Noriyuki Saga University, Faculty of Medicine, Lecturer, 医学部, 講師 (90199977)
NAKAFUSA Jyunnji Saga University, Faculty of Medicine, Instructor, 医学部, 助手 (50253828)
MIURA Yoshihiro Saga University, Faculty of Medicine, Instructor, 医学部, 助手 (20304892)
鈴木 康之 佐賀大学, 医学部, 助手 (20363434)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2005
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2005)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥2,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000)
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| Keywords | Merkel cell / culture cystem / coculture / nerve cell / CK20 / シナプトフィジン / trichoblastoma / basal cell crcinoma / Merkel cell / follicular germinative cells |
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| Research Abstract |
Merkel cells have been assumed to guide nerve fibers to the skin. However, there has been little in vitro evidence that supports this hypothesis, because there is no suitable established culture system of Merkel cells. Here we show that Merkel cells isolated from rat footpad skin were successfully cultured in a monolayer with keratinocytes. Keratinocytes did not affect any structural changes in Merkel cells. When nerve cells (NG108-15 or PC12) were added to the culture system, both nerve fibers and cytoplasmic processes of Merkel cells outgrew and cooperatively organized synapse-like structures at their contact points. Nerve cells promoted Merkel cell survival, compared with keratinocytes only. Merkel cell proliferation was not detected in all conditions, even with nerve growth factor, neurotrophin-3, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-*. The data suggest firstly, that Merkel cells may guide nerve fibers to the skin by interacting with nerve cells ; and secondly, that nerve cells, but not keratinocytes, may produce some survival factors other than the cytokines above for Merkel cells, although Merkel cells may be a terminally differentiated cell type. Our method could open a way to study Merkel cell biology.
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