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Laboratory of Dr. Patrizia Casaccia
Department of
Neuroscience and Cell Biology
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
675
Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854
Tel. 732-235-4215 Fax. 732-235-4029
RESEARCH SUMMARY
The main goal of our research is to understand the mechanisms regulating PROLIFERATION and DIFFERENTIATION of progenitors in the central nervous system. These two events are crucial during normal development and in repair after injury, and therefore are under a very strict molecular control from the environment. There are three main areas of research in the laboratory:
1. Study the mechanisms regulating proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitors and neural stem cells. This project asks what are the molecular components responsible for the decision of a cell to continue to divide or stop proliferating.
Our laboratory is interested in discovering the molecules controlling the decision of oligodendrocyte progenitors and neural stem cells to either proliferate and or differentiate. When proliferation is "under control" in the developing brain, it is crucial to generate the appropriate number of cells. In the adult brain, "controlled proliferation" is also beneficial because it allows to replace with "new" cells, those that were lost after an injury, stroke, or due to auto-immunity (like in multiple sclerosis). However when proliferation is "OUT of control", it can be very harmful and lead to brain tumors. Typically, a biochemical approach is used to identify the molecules responsible for a specific event (e.g. proliferation). We then ask if this molecule is necessary or "dispensable" to obtain the desired response (either proliferation or growth arrest) using a loss of function approach in vitro (using gene transfer of dominant negative molecules) and in vivo (by phenotypic analysis of knockout animals). Finally, we ask whether the identified molecule by itself is sufficient to induce the desired response, using a gain of function approach.
2. Investigate the mechanisms responsible for the morphological differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitors into myelin forming cells.
3. Investigate epigenetic mechanisms and transcriptional events leading to the expression of myelin genes.
