Characterization of intracellular Zn signaling and its relationship to diseases

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24249028
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Immunology
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: HIRANO Toshio 大阪大学, その他部局等, 学長 (40136718)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MURAKAMI Masaaki 北海道大学, 遺伝子病制御研究所, 教授 (00250514)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 亜鉛シグナル / 自己免疫疾患 / 炎症回路

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Zinc is one of the essential metal elements, which is indispensable for the functions of various molecules in the body. However, it is not well understood how zinc levels inside and/or outside cells are regulated. In the course of research about interleukin-6 and its signal transduction, we found that zinc acts as a second messenger in a cell, and established a scientific field of “zinc signaling”. In this study, we revealed molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of zinc signaling using various knock-out mice related to zinc signaling such as zinc-binding molecules and zinc transporters.

Free Research Field

免疫学