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2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Identification of downstream factors of the ERK-MAP kinase pathway as a putative target for treatment of signal transduction disorders.

Research Project

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Project/Area Number 18K06694
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 47040:Pharmacology-related
Research InstitutionDoshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts (2020)
Osaka University of Pharmaceutical Sciences (2018-2019)

Principal Investigator

Kei-ichi Ozaki  同志社女子大学, 薬学部, 教授 (50252466)

Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) 福永 理己郎  大阪薬科大学, 薬学部, 教授 (40189965)
Project Period (FY) 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
KeywordsERK1/2 / MNK1/2 / がん / 糖尿病 / 脂肪細胞 / NLRP3
Outline of Final Research Achievements

We have clarified the possibility of effective drug treatment using MEK inhibitors, which are specific blockers of the ERK pathway, for cancer cells and hypertrophic adipocytes with constitutive activation of the ERK pathway.
In this study, we focused on the MNK kinase downstream of the ERK pathway and the NLRP3 molecule forming inflammasome, which was found to be the target gene of the ERK pathway, as new therapeutic targets. Finally, we found that the combination treatment of an MNK inhibitor called MNK-I1 and an HDAC inhibitor shows a remarkable cell death-inducing effect on some cancer cells having BRAF active mutations. In addition, we found a new drug comparable to a MEK inhibitor that suppresses NLRP3 induction in 3T3-L1 adipocytes stimulated by TNFα.

Free Research Field

生物系薬学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

1)BRAFやRASという分子の活性変異を有することでERK経路という細胞内シグナルが恒常的に活性化している、がんの薬物治療に対して新たな知見が得られた。すなわち、現在は固形がんへの使用が未承認であるHDAC阻害剤という抗がん剤を、今回明らかにしたMNKという酵素阻害剤と併用することで新たな固形がん治療法につながる可能性がある。
2)脂肪細胞において、炎症にかかわるNLRP3という分子の発現誘導を抑制することのできる新しい薬物ソースを発見したことから、糖尿病などの肥満関連疾患の新たな治療薬の候補に繋がる可能性がある。

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Published: 2022-01-27  

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