UMDNJ - ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY AND LABORATORY MEDICINE

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  Faculty Information

William Wadsworth, Ph.D.

Position:  Associate Professor,  Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Administrative:

Department: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Lab Url: http://rigel.umdnj.edu/

Phone Number: 732-235-5768

Fax Number: 732-235-4825

Email Address: William.Wadsworth@umdnj.edu

 
Clinical and Research Interests
During development, some cells must migrate to distant sites before dividing and differentiating. In the developing nervous system, precise patterns of synaptic connections are formed as pioneering axons migrate to find their correct target regions. Our goal is to understand how axon and cell migrations are guided.

Our research employs the powerful genetic and molecular techniques available to study development and function in the nematode C. elegans. The unc-6 gene is required for guiding dorsal and ventral migrations on the basal surface of the epidermis. This gene encodes a laminin-related extracellular matrix protein. A family of vertebrate axon outgrowth-promoting proteins, the netrins, are homologous to UNC-6. The analysis of UNC-6 in the nematode and of the netrins in the developing spinal cord indicate these molecules guide circumferential axon migrations. As a simple hypothesis, UNC-6/netrin is a secreted matrix guidance cue which is tracked by receptors expressed on the surface of migrating cells. This model provides the basis to study structural arrangements and biological properties of the various components which comprise this guidance system. This laboratory is studying the spatial and temporal expression of UNC-6, is studying structure /function relationships using transgenic strains expressing netrin or UNC-6 mutant alleles, and is studying biochemical relationships between UNC-6, netrin, and other extracellular matrix proteins.


 

Training

 
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St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, B.A., Biology, 1982

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University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, M.A., Biology, 1985

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University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, Ph.D., Biology, 1989

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Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, Postdoctoral, 1993

 
Certifications Licensure

N.A.

   N.A.
 
Office Address   Mailing Address
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Room 228
675 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA 		same
 
Selected Publications

  1. Quinn, C. C., Pfeil, D. S., Chen, E., Stovall, E. L., Harden, M. V., Gavin, M. K., Forrester, W. C., Ryder, E. F., Soto, M. C., and Wadsworth, W. G. (2006). UNC-6/Netrin and SLT-1/Slit guidance cues orient axon outgrowth mediated by MIG-10/RIAM/Lamellipodin. Curr Biol 16, 845-53.

  2. Quinn, C. C., and Wadsworth, W. G. (2006). Axon guidance: ephrins at WRK on the midline. Curr Biol 16, R954-955.

  3. Kao, G., Huang, C. C., Hedgecock, E. M., Hall, D. H., and Wadsworth, W. G. (2006). The role of the laminin beta subunit in laminin heterotrimer assembly and basement membrane function and development in C. elegans. Dev Biol 290, 211-9.

  4. Wadsworth, W.G. (2005) Axon pruning; C. elegans makes the cut. Curr Biol. 15(19), R796-8.

  5. Yurchenco P.D., Wadsworth W.G. (2004). Assembly and tissue functions of early embryonic laminins and netrins. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 16(5), 572-9.

  6. Huang, C. C., Hall, D. H., Hedgecock, E. M., Kao, G., Karantza, V., Vogel, B. E., Hutter, H.,  Chisholm, A. D., Yurchenco, P. D., and Wadsworth W.G. (2003). Laminin alpha subunits and their role in C. elegans development. Development 130, 3343-3358.

  7. Merris, M., Wadsworth W.G., Khamrai, U., Bittman, R., Chitwood, D. J., and Lenard, J. (2003). Sterol effects and sites of sterol accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans: developmental requirement for 4alpha-methyl sterols. J Lipid Res 44, 172-181.

  8. Li, S., Edgar, D., Fassler, R., Wadsworth W.G., and Yurchenco, P. D. (2003). The role of laminin in embryonic cell polarization and tissue organization. Dev Cell 4, 613-624.

  9. Lim, Y.S. and Wadsworth W.G. (2002) Identification of domains of netrin UNC-6 that mediate attractive and repulsive guidance and responses from cells and growth cones. J Neurosce, 22, 7080-7087.
  10. Wadsworth W.G. (2002). Moving around in a Worm; Netrin UNC-6 and Circumferential Axon Guidance in C. elegans. Trends in Neurosci 25, 423-429.
  11. Wang, Q., and Wadsworth W.G. (2002). The C domain of netrin UNC-6 silences calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase- and diacylglycerol-dependent axon branching in Caenorhabditis elegans. J Neurosci 22, 2274-82.
  12. Kim, S., and Wadsworth, W. G. (2000). Positioning of longitudinal nerves in C. elegans by nidogen. Science 288:150-154.
  13. Lim, Y. S., Mallapur, S., Kao, G., Ren, X. C., and Wadsworth, W. G. (1999). Netrin UNC-6 and the regulation of branching and extension of motoneuron axons from the ventral nerve cord of Caenorhabditis elegans. J Neurosci 19:7048-7056.
  14. Kim, S., Ren, X. C., Fox, E., and Wadsworth, W. G. (1999). SDQR migrations in Caenorhabditi elegans are controlled by multiple guidance cues and changing responses to netrin UNC-6. Development 126:3881-3890.
  15. Ren, X. C., Kim, S., Fox, E., Hedgecock, E. M., and Wadsworth, W. G. (1999). Role of netrin UNC-6 in patterning the longitudinal nerves of Caenorhabditis elegans. J Neurobiol 39:107-18.
  16. Wadsworth, W. G. (1999). The regulation of cell and growth cone migrations during the development of C. elegans. In: Development - Genetics, Epigenetics, and Environmental Regulation. V. E. A. Russo, D. Cove, L. Edgar, R. Jaenisch, & F. Salamini, Eds. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg .
  17. Wadsworth, W. G., Bhatt, H., and Hedgecock, E. M. (1996). Neuroglia and pioneer neurons express UNC-6 to provide global and local netrin cues for guiding migrations in C. elegans. Neuron 16: 35-46.
  18. Wadsworth, W. G., and Hedgecock, E. M. (1996). Hierarchical guidance cues in the developing nervous system of C. elegans. Bioessays 18: 355-362.
  19. Ishii, N., Wadsworth, W. G., Stern, B. D., Culotti, J. G., and Hedgecock, E. M. (1992). UNC-6, a laminin-related protein, guides cell and pioneer axon migrations in C. elegans. Neuron 9: 873-881.
  20. Wadsworth, W. G., and Riddle, D. L. (1989). Developmental regulation of energy metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev Biol 132, 167-73.
  21. Wadsworth, W. G., and Riddle, D. L. (1988). Acidic intracellular pH shift during Caenorhabditis elegans larval development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 85, 8435-8.
  22. Wadsworth, W. G., and Wadsworth, Jr., W.S. (1983). A cyclic phosphate: base and metal acetate catalyzed ring opening. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 105; 1631-1637.
     
Postdoctoral Position Available
Inquire
 
Staff Position Available

None Currently
 
Updated Date
08/11/2008

 

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