Development of mouse model to investigate brain homeostasis using protein-function-enhancing aptamers | Planned Research

Planned Research C01

Leader: Dr. Kaori Tsukakoshi
Affiliation: Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
subject: Development of mouse model to investigate brain homeostasis using protein-function-enhancing aptamers
Purpose: DNA aptamer is a DNA-based ligand that specifically binds to target molecules. Since the concept of aptamers was first proposed in 1990, aptamers that bind to various proteins have been developed. Aptamers have also been found to inhibit or enhance protein function due to their excellent binding specificity and binding affinity. We thought that the application of protein activity regulation by aptamers would allow us to analyze the phenotype of protein function in vivo without genetic modification. In this study, we aim to regulate brain homeostasis using protein-function-enhancing DNA aptamers. First, we attempt to develop aptamers that upregulate (i) enzymatic activity of KLK7 and (ii) CAPON-nNOS interaction. Transfer of the aptamers to the mouse brain would enable us to unveil the relationship between KLK7/CAPON-nNOS and brain homeostasis.