Dean of the College and Biology Program Present
Using C. elegans to Investigate the Nervous System in the Pre-conditioning Response to Oxygen Deprivation
Monday, March 13, 2017
RKC 115
11:00 am EDT/GMT-4
11:00 am EDT/GMT-4
Heather L. Bennett
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute
Neurons require oxygen for proper operation and insufficient oxygen (hypoxia) or the complete lack of oxygen (anoxia) causes neuronal dysfunction and death. Sub-lethal stress prior to a hypoxic or anoxic insult (“pre-conditioning”) can protect neurons from subsequent oxygen deprivation, suggesting that mild cellular stress buffers against a toxic insult and enhances survival. However, the molecular mechanisms, genetic pathways, and overall role of nervous system activity in the pre-conditioning response to oxygen deprivation are not well understood.Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute
We are using Caenorhabditis elegans, a soil nematode to study the molecular pathways and neuronal circuitry underlying the pre-conditioning response to oxygen deprivation. Animals expressing the histamine gated chloride channels in all or select populations of neurons are used to temporally and spatially inactivate the nervous system prior to a hypoxia survival assay. We find young animals (larval stage 4) are sensitive to a 48 hour anoxic insult. However, animals with complete loss of nervous system activity for 3 hours (the pre-conditioning manipulation) prior to the anoxic insult are largely resistant to a 48 hour anoxia stress. These novel findings suggest that loss of neuronal activity protects animals from 48 hour anoxic stress.
Ongoing studies aim to identify the specific neurons and/or neuronal subsets involved in the preconditioning phenomenon.
Understanding the neural circuitry that underlies the pre-conditioning phenomenon could provide insights into the molecular mechanisms that confer resistance to anoxic insult and neuronal stress.
For more information, call 845-752-2309, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 11:00 am EDT/GMT-4
Location: RKC 115