Construction of a switching system for vascular function controlled by food compounds.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K19156
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 38:Agricultural chemistry and related fields
• Research Institution: Kagoshima University
• Principal Investigator: KAJIYA Katsuko 鹿児島大学, 農水産獣医学域農学系, 准教授 (00379942)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-06-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: マイクロドメイン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

I have discovered that microdomains in vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells maintain vascular function. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that microdomains cluster and enlarge in size and incorporate entrapment structures in pathological conditions where endothelial function is disrupted by reduced nitric oxide production and smooth muscle function is disrupted by sustained Ca2+ concentration-independent vasoconstriction. When the pathological state was artificially created by preincubating the food compounds with vascular cells, microdomain clustering did not occur. The special structural properties of food compounds in the formation of complexes with membranes were also revealed by three-dimensional analysis using molecular simulations.

Free Research Field

食品科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果は、病気の予防・診断・治療法の確立や医療費の削減という医療分野に寄与するだけでなく、血管機能の向上による細胞内酸素の取り込みや栄養のエネルギー効率上昇による運動分野での新機能向上という多様性を獲得する可能性を含んでいる。また、血管機能のスイッチングにかかわる食品成分の健康機能性が見直され、食に対する関心が向上し、食料生産分野での成長にも繋がることから、多角的に持続可能な開発目標(SDGs)に貢献でき、我々の世界を変革する取り組みとなる。