EAPSI: Investigating the role of a Putative Lipid-Binding Protein in Hormonal Signaling and Control of Lifespan in the Worm C. Elegans

EAPSI：研究假定的脂质结合蛋白在荷尔蒙信号传导和线虫寿命控制中的作用

• 批准号: 1614375
• 负责人: Dena Block
• 金额: $ 0.54万
• 依托单位: Block Dena
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-06-15 至 2017-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1614375&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAPSI; Investigating; role; Putative; Lipid

The fundamental question of why we grow old has puzzled humans for thousands of years. Widely-accepted evolutionary theories of aging have postulated that aging results from organisms? universal need to reconcile survival and reproduction under changing environmental conditions. However, how animals modify their physiology according to environmental inputs remains unclear. The roundworm C. elegans is an excellent model organism in which to address this question, as it is short-lived and has a genome that can be relatively easily manipulated. The project will investigate a member of the transthyretin-like protein family, TTR-1, which has an unknown function, but is known to affect lifespan in C. elegans. This work will be conducted at Nagoya University in Japan, in the lab of Kunihiro Matsumoto, an expert in cellular signaling in C. elegans. The project will provide new insights into the functions of a virtually uncharacterized gene family and advance knowledge of reproductive control of stress responses and aging. Trade-offs between reproduction and maintenance of the soma are a general feature of organismal physiology reflecting choices in energy allocation and affecting stress resistance and lifespan. How organisms coordinate the complex interplay between environmental inputs, metabolism, stress response, and reproduction remains unclear. Members of the transthyretin-like (ttr) gene family of the nematode C. elegans have been shown to respond to stress and affect lifespan, but the actual roles of these proteins in worm physiology remain elusive. While little is known about ttrs in C. elegans, the single vertebrate transthyretin is a carrier of lipophilic vitamins and hormones. The project will investigate the function of one ttr, TTR-1, by evaluating which types of lipids TTR-1 can bind in vitro. The project will shed light on a gene family of unknown function and its potential role in integration of stress response and lifespan by hormonal signaling. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

为什么我们会变老这个基本问题困扰了人类几千年。被广泛接受的衰老进化理论假设衰老是生物体造成的？在不断变化的环境条件下，协调生存和繁殖的普遍需要。然而，动物如何根据环境输入来改变它们的生理机能仍然不清楚。蛔虫C.秀丽线虫是解决这个问题的一个很好的模式生物，因为它寿命短，基因组相对容易操纵。该项目将研究甲状腺素运载蛋白样蛋白家族的一个成员TTR-1，它具有未知的功能，但已知会影响C。优美的这项工作将在日本名古屋大学的松本邦弘实验室进行，松本邦弘是C.优美的该项目将为一个几乎没有特征的基因家族的功能提供新的见解，并提高对压力反应和衰老的生殖控制的认识。索马的繁殖和维持之间的权衡是生物体生理学的一般特征，反映了能量分配的选择，并影响应激抵抗力和寿命。生物体如何协调环境输入、代谢、应激反应和繁殖之间的复杂相互作用仍不清楚。线虫类甲状腺素运载蛋白（transthyretin-like，ttr）基因家族的成员。线虫已被证明对压力作出反应并影响寿命，但这些蛋白质在蠕虫生理学中的实际作用仍然难以捉摸。而C语言中的ttrs却知之甚少。在线虫中，单一脊椎动物甲状腺素运载蛋白是亲脂性维生素和激素的载体。该项目将通过评估TTR-1可以在体外结合哪些类型的脂质来研究TTR-1的功能。该项目将揭示一个功能未知的基因家族及其通过激素信号在压力反应和寿命整合中的潜在作用。东亚和太平洋夏季研究所计划下的这个奖项支持美国研究生的夏季研究，由NSF和日本科学促进会共同资助。