October 13, 2017
Niigata University
Keio University School of Medicine
A research group led by Associate Professor Masato Yano and Researcher Kayoko Yano (JSPS Research Fellow-RPD) from the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, and Professor Hideyuki Okano of the Keio University School of Medicine, has identified the RNA-binding protein Quaking5 (Qki5) as a novel neural stem cell regulatory factor. This was achieved through a joint research project with Shonan Incubation Laboratories, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Using comprehensive RNA mapping technology (the HITS-CLIP method), they have elucidated a new molecular mechanism by which Qki5 regulates neural stem cells depending on its binding sites on target RNAs.
The central nervous system is mainly composed of neurons and glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes). During the formation of the cerebral cortex, it is known that neural stem cells sequentially generate various types of neurons and glial cells. The disruption of this process is said to lead to various psychiatric and neurological disorders and cancers. The research group of Associate Professor Yano et al. has now elucidated that Qki5, which they identified as a novel neural stem cell regulatory factor, is a type of RNA-binding protein that binds to RNA (ribonucleic acid). They found that it plays an important role in maintaining the function of neural stem cells in the embryonic cerebral cortex and in the production of neurons by regulating the RNA diversity of a group of molecules involved in cell-cell adhesion within neural stem cells.
This achievement is expected to lead to the elucidation of the pathogenesis of and new drug development for a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders, cancers, and other conditions.
[Key Points of This Research]
・Identified the RNA-binding protein Quaking5 (Qki5) as a novel neural stem cell regulatory factor.
・Elucidated the RNA binding sites and regulatory principles of Qki5 using comprehensive RNA mapping technology.
・Qki5 contributes to the maintenance of stem cell function and the proper production of neurons by regulating the cell adhesion of neural stem cells through RNA regulation.
・The results of this research will contribute to the elucidation of the pathogenesis of a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders and cancer, and to the development of new therapeutic methods.
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