Regulatory roles of NRSF/REST variants in the aging brain

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14352
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University
• Principal Investigator: MORI Nozomu 長崎大学, 医歯薬学総合研究科(医学系), 教授 (00130394)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MURAI Kiyohito 長崎大学, 医歯薬学総合研究科(医学系), 助教 (90362540)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 老化脳 / 神経老化 / 転写制御 / 遺伝子発現

Outline of Final Research Achievements

NRSF/REST was originally reported as a transcriptional master regulator of neuronal differentiation during early neural development. However, recent report claimed that REST is key regulator of brain aging, and in human REST expression levels highly correlated with cognitive function in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. We explored whether REST gene expression and their potential roles in neuronal protection in the aged neurons, with special interest on REST splicing variant, named REST4. REST and REST4 expression was altered during aging of neurons, but the functional significance of the REST4 short isoform remain uncertain.

Free Research Field

分子神経老年学