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MAILMAN RESEARCH CENTER

Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory

Molecular Neurobiology Lab Staff

The Molecular Neurobiology Lab Staff
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How neurons acquire and maintain neurotransmitter specificity is a fundamental issue because it critically influences the formation of the neural circuitry and the etiology of associated brain diseases.

Catecholamine (CA) neurons are an ideal system to study this issue because the hierarchical expression of biosynthetic enzyme genes determines the subspecificity of neurotransmitter phenotypes, i.e., dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and adrenergic neurons. We are investigating molecular mechanisms underlying CA-specific gene regulation and their phenotype specification. These studies have not only led us to molecular understanding of CA-specific gene expression, but also to development of novel gene delivery systems that can target transgene expression in a CA neuron-specific manner.

Improper regulation of the CA neurotransmitters has been implicated in several major psychiatric and neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, affective disorders, and Parkinson's disease. We have recently identified several novel mutations that affect the metabolism of CA neurotransmitter. We are further investigating whether these mutations are associated with psychiatric disorders. In addition, we are exploring to genetically modify the mouse embryonic stem cells to develop them as a potential cell source for transplantation therapy of Parkinson's disease.

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Representative Publications