Seema Agarwala - US grants

The rapid retrograde degeneration of neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) following damage to the visual cortex in adult mammals precludes subsequent axonal regeneration and restoration of function. In young animals of many species, LGN neurons also degenerate after damage to the visual cortex but, in contrast to adults, some neurons are spared and are able to establish new pathways resulting in remarkable behavioral compensation. Recent evidence suggests that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) may prevent neuronal death. However, the lack of a suitable delivery system for administering trophic factors or their genes to non-dividing neurons has been a major obstacle in determining their efficacy in vivo. This Small Grant for Exploratory Research will permit the development of a Herpes simplex viral vector carrying the bFGF gene. This vector will be used to determine whether the production of bFGF in LGN neurons will prevent their degeneration after damage to the visual cortex in adult rat. These studies have the potential for improving the technology for gene therapy not only for treating damaged neurons in the visual system, but also neurons affected by damage, disease or genetic abnormality in any system in the mammalian brain or peripheral nervous system.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We know very little about the molecular mechanisms underlying the organization of cell-fates and circuitry in the vertebrate midbrain. The midbrain contains important nuclei (dopaminergic, oculomotor and red nuclei) that govern addictive behaviors, eye, limb and voluntary movements. I have shown that during development, these nuclei emerge from stripes of cell-fates (arcs) specified by a source of Sonic Hedgehog (SHH). But my recent findings suggest an as yet unexplored hypothesis: that though sufficient, SHH is not necessary for midbrain specification and that multiple hedgehogs (SHH. Indian, Desert) derived from neural (chick) or extraneural sources (mouse, chick) could jointly pattern the ventral midbrain. How is the multi-ligand HH signal transduced to produce specific midbrain cell-fates? I examine this issue at the level of the HH ligands (Aims 1 and 2) and the final and essential effectors of the HH cascade: the Gli genes (Aim 3). Gli 1,2 and 3 carve out 3 discrete progenitor domains in the midbrain, possibly reflecting a mechanism by which distinct midbrain cell-fates could be specified. Although Shh:Gli gene interactions have been studied in the spinal cord, these studies do not elucidate how important midbrain nuclei (e.g. dopaminergic) develop. The aim of this proposal therefore is to investigate the interactions between multiple HH and multiple Gli genes in specifying midbrain cell-fates. The first aim will explore the role of individual HH genes and all HH signaling by gene expression analyses of the shh-/-, Indian Hedgehog (ihh-/-), shh:ihh-/- and smoothened (smo-/-) mice (where all HH signal is lost). The second aim will determine whether SHH is necessary or if other HH genes are involved in midbrain patterning in acute loss of function experiments in chicks and mice. All HH gene function will be blocked by electroporating negative regulators of HH signaling (Ptc-delta-loop2, HHIP). Next, individual Hh gene function will be blocked in chicks and mice by electroporation of RNA interference (RNAi) constructs. The third aim will examine the role of Gli genes in midbrain patterning. Gli genes will be overexpressed and knocked down (RNAi) in the discrete midbrain domains delineated by Gli gene expression. SHH-Gli gene interactions will be analyzed in the shh-/-, smo-/- and gli3 -/- single and double knockouts by gene expression and the misexpression and knockdown of HH pathway genes in organotypic explants. Finally, midbrain and spinal cord defects in the chick Talpid2 mutant, where the SHH:GLI3 ratio and lateral floor plate specification are perturbed, will be characterized by gene expression. Attempts will be made to rescue the Ta2 mutant by misexpression of candidate Hh pathway genes (SHH, GLI3, DZIP1, HHIP; PTC1, SCUBE2). Significance: A study of the HH-GLI pathway is critical for understanding how the cell fates and circuitry of midbrain neurons, which govern motor and addictive behaviors, are determined. Understanding the specification of midbrain neurons is also crucial to the development of stem cell based therapeutic strategies to combat Parkinson's disease and stroke.