Analysis of D-serine dynamics for the development of new drug against neuropsychiatric disorders
Description: In the mammalian brain, L-serine produced in astrocytes is transported to neurons and changes into D-serine by serine racemase (SRR). D-Serine returns to astrocyte, and this process is hypothesized as “serine shuttle” based on the in vitro experiments. However, this hypothesis is not examined in vivo. In this study, we generated novel two transgenic mouse strains inducing the D-serine degradation in astrocytes- or neurons-specific manner. Both transgenic mouse strains showed significant reduction of D-serine in the brain, suggesting the novel mechanism of D-serine transport from astrocytes to neurons. Furthermore, we generated another novel mouse strain detecting SRR gene expression with bioluminescence in vivo. Using this mouse strain, we identified some compounds affecting the gene expression of SRR.
Amount: ¥4,420,000
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Start date: 2018-04-01
End date: 2021-03-31
Investigator: Hisashi Mori (lead)
Institution: University of Toyama
Subfield: Biochemistry
Domain: Life Sciences
Funded outputs count: 14
Funder award ID: 18K06888
OpenAlex ID: G1964330545