Research Description:
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My laboratory is concerned with the development of the nervous system and understanding
the mechanisms by which neurons establish their specific connections. After birth,
neurons initiate axons and dendrites that are tipped by growth cones. The latter
are important structures not only for neurite elongation, pathfinding, target
identification and, likely, synapse formation, but also in the regenerating nervous
system, where growth cones are formed from the proximal axonal stumps of injured
neurons. It is the regulation of neuronal growth cone form, especially the regulation
of filopodia, that is in the center of our research.
We employ identified neurons from the pond snail Helisoma trivolvis and dorsal
root ganglion (DRG) neurons from chicks to investigate the signaling pathways
by which growth cone filopodia are being regulated in length and number. With
this knowledge we start to understand how extracellular signals such as trophic
factors, molecules of the extracellular matrix, neurotransmitter, etc., can,
by activating specific second messenger systems, stereotypically affect neuronal
filopodia with likely far-reaching consequences for growth cone navigation.
In our studies we employ light microscopy, electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry,
video-enhanced imaging, quantitative calcium imaging and molecular biological
techniques.
Recent Publications:
Zou J, Hofer A, Lurtz M, Gadda G, Ellis A, Chen N, Huang Y, Holder A, Ye Y, Louis C, Welshhans K, Rehder V, Yang J (2007) "Developing sensors for real time measurement of high Ca2+ concentrations". Biochemistry 46:12275-12288
Tornieri K, Rehder V. (2007) Nitric oxide release from a single cell affects filopodial motility on growth cones of neighboring neurons. Dev. Neurobiol. 67:1932-1943
Welshhans K, Rehder V. (2007) Nitric oxide regulates growth cone filopodial dynamics via ryanodine receptor-mediated calcium release. Eur J Neurosci 26:1537-1547
Tornieri K, Welshhans K, Geddis MS Rehder V. (2006) The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase pathway controls neurite outgrowth and growth cone motility. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 63:173-192
Welshhans K, Rehder V. (2005) Local application of nitric oxide regulates the length of growth cone filopodia via the sGC/PKG pathway. Eur J Neurosci 22:3006-3016
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