Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests
Our lab studies the controls on the development of oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells of the central nervous system, from stem cells through to myelination.

Key words: oligodendrocytes, myelin, growth factors, programmed cell death, hypoxia/ischemia.

Description of Research
In the central nervous system, oligodendrocytes synthesize myelin as an extension of their plasma membranes. This myelin wraps axons and allows rapid and efficient conduction of nervous impulses. Destruction of myelin through injury or disease causes extreme loss of function. Our goal is to try to facilitate remyelination after injury or disease by learning how to manipulate the development of mature oligodendrocytes from neuroepithelial stem cells, a process controlled by extrinsic cell signaling, intrinsic factors, and a variety of regulatory processes. On-going areas of investigation in the lab are as follows:
-The role and interactions of dorsal signaling factors, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and Wnts, in the development of oligodendrocytes and myelination.
-The fate of oligodendrocyte maturation and myelination following hypoxic/ischemic injury in the central nervous system, including the role of dorsal signaling factors.
-regeneration of oligodendrocytes following dys- and de-myelination disease.


Rotation projects for 2009-2010
1)The role of BMP in the inhibition of oligodendrocyte maturation by reactive oxygen species.
2)The role of dorsal signaling factors and reactive oxygen species in oligodendrocyte:neuronal co-cultures.
3)BMP regulation of oligodendrocyte development by non-canonical signaling pathways.
4)Regulation of oligodendrocyte precursors in a model of dsy-myelinating disease


Lab personnel:
Mary Reid research assistant
Keith Feigenson graduate student

Selected Publications

French, H. M., Reid, M., Mamontov, P., Simmons, R. A., Grinspan, J. B.: Oxidative stress disrupts oligodendrocyte maturation. Journal of Neuroscience Research 87: 3076-3087, 2009.

Marek, R., Caruso, M. ,Rostami, A.M., Grinspan, J.B., Das Sarma, J.: CD11b magnetic cell sorting: a fast and effective method of concurrent isolation of high purity viable astrocytes and microglia from neonatal mouse brain tissue. J Neuroscience Methods 175: 108-118, 2008.

Ara, J., See, J., Mamontov, P., Hahn, A., Bannerman, P. Pleasure, D., Grinspan, J.B.: Bone morphogenetic proteins 4, 6, and7 are upregulated in mouse spinal cord during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Journal of Neuroscience Research 86: 125-135, 2008.

Huang, Y., Grinspan, J.B, , Abrams, C. K., Scherer, S. S.: Pannexin 1 is expressed by neurons and glia but does not form functional gap junctions. Glia 55: 46-56, 2007.

See, J., Mamontov, P., Ahn K., Wine-Lee, L., Crenshaw III, E.B., Grinspan, J. B.: BMP mutant mice exhibit glial cell maturation defects. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience 35: 171-182, 2007.

Tseng, H.C., Ruegg, S.J., Maronski, M., Messam, C.A., Grinspan, J.B., Dichter, M.A.: Injuring neurons induces neuronal differentiation in a population of hippocampal precursors cells in culture. Neurobiology of Disease 22: 88-97, 2006.

See, J., Zhang, X., Eraydin, N. Mun, S.B., Mamontov, P., Golden, J. Grinspan, J.B.: Oligodendrocyte maturation is inhibited by bone morphogenetic protein. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience 26: 481-492, 2004.

Gou, C.-J., Douglas, S.D., Gao, Z.-Y., Wolf, B., A., Grinspan, J., Lai, J.-P., Rediel, E., Ho, W.-Z.: Interleukin-1 beta upregulates functional expression of neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R) via NF-kappaB in astrocytes. Glia 48: 259, 2004.

Devaux, J., Alcaraz, G., Grinspan, J., Bennett, V., Joho, R., Crest, M., Scherer, S. : Kv3.1b is a novel component of CNS nodes. J. Neurosci 23: 4509-4518, 2003.

Arroyo, E.J., Xu, T., Grinspan, J, Lambert, S Levinson , S.R., Brophy, P.J., Peles, E., and Scherer, S.S., : Genetic dysmyelination alters the molecular architecture of the nodal region. J. Neurosci. 22: 1726-37, 2002.

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Last updated: 11/20/2009
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