报告题目： Dysregulation of neuronal survival machinery by chaperone-mediated autophagy in Parkinson’s disease
报告人：毛子旭教授（Zixu Mao）
报告时间：6月2日（周二）下午2：30
报告地点：医学院国际会议厅
Current Titles and Affiliations:
Associate Professor
Primary appointment: Departments of Pharmacology, Emory University School of Medicine, 2005-present
Secondary appointment: Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Emory University School of Medicine, 2005-present
Research Focus:
We study the mechansims by which neuronal cells control survival vs. death and differentiation vs. proliferation during cellular development and in more mature stages. De-regulation of these processes is believed to underlie the pathogenesis of neurological disorderss ranging from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases to brain tumors. We are particularly interested in the roles of nuclear factors in regulating these central processes. In this context, we want to determine how signals specifying these distinct processes are relayed to the nucleus, what the key mediators are involved in the relaying process, what modifications to the nuclear factors are improtant in response, and how these modifications may control subsequent cellular response. As a model, we are currently focusing on the signaling and regulation of two proteins, a nuclear transcriptional fator MEF2 and a cellular kinase Cdk5. We are investigating the fundmantal roles that these factors may play in neurons using a wide range of molecular and cellular biological tools. By dissecting the signal transduction pathways and network that mediate nuclear response controlled via MEF2 and Cdk5, our studies may illustrate basic principles that modulate neuronal survival and death. Illustrating how these control and signaling mechanisms may be altered under pathological conditions will help reveal the pathological processes of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
