2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

The neuroendocrine system, as seen from gut peptides: The expression of emotional and social behaviors, and fluctuations and changes in mood

Planned Research

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Project Area	Creation and Promotion of the Will-Dynamics
Project/Area Number	16H06404
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Review Section	Complex systems
Research Institution	Kagoshima University
Principal Investigator	Inui Akio 鹿児島大学, 医歯学総合研究科, 特任教授 (80168418)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	浅川明弘鹿児島大学, 医歯学域医学系, 教授 (10452947) 須藤信行九州大学, 医学研究院, 教授 (60304812) 佐久間英輔名古屋市立大学, 医薬学総合研究院(医学), 講師 (90295585) 井上浩一名古屋市立大学, 大学院医学研究科, 准教授 (80345818)
Project Period (FY)	2016-06-30 – 2021-03-31
Keywords	腸内細菌叢 / ミクログリア / 消化管ペプチド / 脳内環境 / 食環境 / 社会環境 / 相関・バランス破綻
Outline of Final Research Achievements	In order to elucidate the mechanisms of the disturbed social-brain-body interactions that hinder psychological development and motivation, we focused on the elucidation of molecular and neural bases of the brain-gut interactions controlled by the digestive system. In an anorexia model mouse, artificial flora mice transplanted with the patient's intestinal flora had poor weight gain and were vulnerable to stress, mice with reduced amino acid levels in the blood became overactive, and some gastrointestinal peptides suppressed the brain inflammatory responses with toxic transformation of microglia and amplified adult cranial neurogenesis, It was also found that the fractalkine-CX3CR1 signaling, the green leaf protein-derived peptides, and the vacuolating cytotoxin A produced by helicobacter pylori were involved in emotion. Behavioral model systems for zebrafish were also established.
Free Research Field	心身内科学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	我々の心身に対する多様なストレスは増加し続け、バランスのとれた健全な日常生活の維持が困難な時代が到来している。特にストレス耐性の低い若年者層においては、不登校、休職、ひきこもり、ニートなどの社会問題が顕現化し、社会全体の生産性に影響するのみならず、次世代社会の発展を大きく阻害する要因になり、喫緊の極めて重要な研究課題になっている。本研究によって、次世代の再生・発展のために有望な基軸となる複数の新規治療・予防ターゲット因子が同定された。今後、ターゲット因子に対する研究が進み、革新的治療・全人的予防戦略が提唱されることが期待される。