Delving into the Latest Updates on Osaka Bioscience Institute with Synapse

Overview

Tags

Nervous System Diseases

Small molecule drug

Disease domain score

A glimpse into the focused therapeutic areas

Technology Platform

Most used technologies in drug development

Targets

Most frequently developed targets

Disease Domain	Count

Nervous System Diseases	1

Top 5 Drug Type	Count

Small molecule drug	1

Top 5 Target	Count

PGD2 receptor(Prostaglandin D2 receptor)	1

During embryonic development, GABAergic interneurons, a main inhibitory component in the cerebral cortex, migrate tangentially from the ganglionic eminence (GE) to cerebral cortex. After reaching the cerebral cortex, they start to extend their neurites for constructing local neuronal circuits around the neonatal stage. Aberrations in migration or neurite outgrowth are implicated in neurological and psychiatric disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. Previous studies revealed that in the early phase of cortical development the neural population migrates tangentially from the GE in the telencephalon and several genes have been characterized as regulators of migration and specification of GABAergic interneurons. However, much less is known about the molecular mechanisms of GABAergic interneurons-specific maturation at later stages of development. Here, we performed genome-wide screening to identify genes related to the later stage by flow cytometry based-microarray (FACS-array) and identified 247 genes expressed in cortical GABAergic interneurons. Among them, Dgkg, a member of diacylglycerol kinase family, was further analyzed. Correlational analysis revealed that Dgkg is dominantly expressed in somatostatin (SST)-expressing GABAergic interneurons. The functional study of Dgkg using GE neurons indicated alteration in neurite outgrowth of GABAergic neurons. This study shows a new functional role for Dgkg in GABAergic interneurons as well as the identification of other candidate genes for their maturation.

01 Oct 2017·Biochemical and Biophysical Research CommunicationsQ3 · BIOLOGY

Molecular structure of a prostaglandin D synthase requiring glutathione from the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

Q3 · BIOLOGY

Article

Author: Suzuki, Mamoru ; Higashiura, Akifumi ; Urade, Yoshihiro ; Nakagawa, Atsushi ; Yamamoto, Kohji ; Aritake, Kosuke

Prostaglandins are involved in many physiological processes, and prostaglandin synthases facilitate the detoxification of xenobiotics as well as endogenous compounds, such as through glutathione conjugation. Specifically, prostaglandin D synthase (PGDS) catalyzes the isomerization of PGH₂ to PGD₂. Here we report the identification and structural analysis of PGDS from the brown planthopper rice pest Nilaparvata lugens (nlPGDS), which belongs to the sigma-class glutathione transferases. The structure of nlPGDS in complex with glutathione was determined at a resolution of 2.0 Å by X-ray crystallography. Bound glutathione was localized to the glutathione-binding site (G-site). Enzyme activity measurements following site-directed mutagenesis of nlPGDS indicated that amino acid residues Tyr8, Leu14, Trp39, Lys43, Gln50, Val51, Gln63, and Ser64 in the G-site contribute to its catalytic activity. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of a PGDS in insects. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of nlPGDS activity and potentially that of other insects and therefore may facilitate the development of more effective and safe insecticides.

01 Jun 2017·Neuroscience ResearchQ4 · MEDICINE

Micro-endoscopic system for functional assessment of neural circuits in deep brain regions: Simultaneous optical and electrical recordings of auditory responses in mouse’s inferior colliculus

Q4 · MEDICINE

Article

Author: Ichiro Nakahara ; Hiroshi Riquimaroux ; Hidetaka Yashiro ; Kazuo Funabiki

In vivo Ca²⁺ imaging is a powerful method for the functional assessment of neural circuits. Although multi-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy has been widely used, observation of circuits in deep brain regions remains challenging. Recently, observing these deep regions has become possible via an endoscope consisting of an optical fiber bundle or gradient-index lens. We have designed a micro-endoscope system that enables simultaneous optical recording of fluorescence and electrical recording of neural activity. Using this system, we recorded auditory responses by simultaneously detecting changes in the fluorescence intensity of a Ca²⁺ indicator dye, multi-unit activities (MUA), and local field potentials (LFP) in the mouse's inferior colliculus (IC). Such simultaneous optical and electrical recordings enabled detailed comparison of electrically recorded phenomena (MUA and LFP) and optically recorded Ca²⁺ response. By systematically changing sound frequency and intensity, we determined the frequency tuning of the recording site. The best frequency shifted higher as the probe advanced more deeply, demonstrating that the system is capable of optically measuring the dorso-ventral organization of IC (i.e., tonotopicity). Thus, our new micro-endoscope system will be useful in the neurophysiological studies of a wide range of brain circuits, including those within the auditory system.

100 Deals associated with Osaka Bioscience Institute

Login to view more data

100 Translational Medicine associated with Osaka Bioscience Institute

Login to view more data

Corporation Tree

Boost your research with our corporation tree data.

login

or

view full example data

Boost your research with our corporation tree data.

Pipeline

Pipeline Snapshot as of 25 Nov 2024

The statistics for drugs in the Pipeline is the current organization and its subsidiaries are counted as organizations,Early Phase 1 is incorporated into Phase 1, Phase 1/2 is incorporated into phase 2, and phase 2/3 is incorporated into phase 3

Preclinical

1

Login to view more data