Research Overview of the Lab. of Molecula Biology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Agricultural Science(Recent Topics of the Agricultunal Biological Science in Tohoku University)

Abstract

In our laboratory, mainly three different projects described below are now carried out. 1) "Generation and application of the cell membrane permeabilized protein", 2) "Studies on epigenetic regulation of eukaryotic genes through analyses of actin-related proteins" and 3) "Generation of the oxytocin receptor KO (OXTR-/-) mice, and molecular physiological and behavioral analysis of the oxytocin receptor KO (OXTR-/-) mice." In the first project, we generated recombinant Cre protein fused to TAT PTD (protein transduction domain), and the application of this protein into several primary cells prepared from mouse, showed significant recombinase activity. In the second project, we studied epigenetic regulation of eukaryotic genes through analyses of actin-related proteins. In the third project, we obtained several new findings in reproduction, sociosexual behaviors and in physiology of energy/temperature homeostasis of mice as the functions of oxytocin/oxytocin receptor system in vivo, using the oxytocin and its receptor genes deficient (OXT-/- and OXTR-/-) mice. Here we introduce a little about those three projects, respectively