Erika L.F. Holzbaur, Ph.D.
Erika L.F. Holzbaur, Ph.D.
Professor of Physiology
Department: Physiology
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
D400 Richards Building
3700 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6085
3700 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6085
Office: 215 573-3257
Fax: 215 573-5851
Fax: 215 573-5851
Email:
holzbaur@mail.med.upenn.edu
holzbaur@mail.med.upenn.edu
Publications
Education:
B.S. (Chemistry/History)
College of William and Mary, 1982.
Ph.D. (Biochemistry)
Pennsylvania State University, 1987.
Permanent linkB.S. (Chemistry/History)
College of William and Mary, 1982.
Ph.D. (Biochemistry)
Pennsylvania State University, 1987.
Description of Research Expertise
Research InterestsMicrotubule-based motility.
Key words: Dynein, cytoplasmic dynein, dynactin, microtubule motors, microtubules, microtubule dynamics, EB1.
Description of Research
Our laboratory is focused on the microtubule-based motor cytoplasmic dynein and its activator dynactin. Dynein and dynactin are required for vesicular trafficking, microtubule organization, mitotic spindle assembly, and development of polarity. We are interested in the mechanisms of force production and motor function, mechanisms of cargo coupling and regulation, effects of dynein and dynactin on dynamics of the cytoskeleton, and the analysis of neurodegenerative diseases resulting from impairments in dynein/dynactin function. Disruptions in dynein/dynactin function cause motor neuron degeneration and muscle atrophy, leading to motor neuron diseases similar to ALS. Approaches in the lab include in vitro motility assays for motors, microtubules and organelles, biochemical and cellular assays for binding partners, live cell microscopy, and development and characterization of transgenic mouse models for motor neuron disease.
Rotation Projects for 2006-2007
1. Investigating mechanisms of cargo coupling of cytoplasmic dynein.
2. Investigating the coordinated regulation of bidirectional microtubule-based transport.
3. Investigating the role of the microtubule plus end-binding protein EB1 in mediating cytoskeletal dynamics.
4. Investigating the cellular effects of dynactin mutations linked to motor neuron disease.
5. Investigating the role of axonal transport in motor neuron disease.
Lab personnel:
Juliane Caviston – Graduate Student
Jennifer Levy – Graduate Student
Jenny Ross, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow
Eran Perlson, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow
Ram Dixit, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Fellow
Erica Chevalier-Larsen, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Fellow
Karen Wallace, VMD - Postdoctoral Fellow
Sheila Antony, BS - Research Specialist
Mariko Tokito, MS - Research Specialist
Selected Publications
Perlson Eran, Jeong Goo-Bo, Ross Jenny L, Dixit Ram, Wallace Karen E, Kalb Robert G, Holzbaur Erika L F: A switch in retrograde signaling from survival to stress in rapid-onset neurodegeneration. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 29(31): 9903-17, Aug 2009.Caviston Juliane P, Holzbaur Erika L F: Huntingtin as an essential integrator of intracellular vesicular trafficking. Trends in cell biology 19(4): 147-55, Apr 2009.
Dixit Ram, Barnett Brian, Lazarus Jacob E, Tokito Mariko, Goldman Yale E, Holzbaur Erika L F: Microtubule plus-end tracking by CLIP-170 requires EB1. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106(2): 492-7, Jan 2009.
Dixit Ram, Levy Jennifer R, Tokito Mariko, Ligon Lee A, Holzbaur Erika L F: Regulation of dynactin through the differential expression of p150Glued isoforms. The Journal of biological chemistry 283(48): 33611-9, Nov 2008.
Perlson Eran, Holzbaur Erika L F: Myosin learns to recruit AMPA receptors. Cell 135(3): 414-5, Oct 2008.
Levy Jennifer R, Holzbaur Erika L F: Dynein drives nuclear rotation during forward progression of motile fibroblasts. Journal of cell science 121(Pt 19): 3187-95, Oct 2008.
Chevalier-Larsen Erica S, Wallace Karen E, Pennise Cynthia R, Holzbaur Erika L F: Lysosomal proliferation and distal degeneration in motor neurons expressing the G59S mutation in the p150Glued subunit of dynactin. Human molecular genetics 17(13): 1946-55, Jul 2008.
Ross Jennifer L, Shuman Henry, Holzbaur Erika L F, Goldman Yale E: Kinesin and dynein-dynactin at intersecting microtubules: motor density affects dynein function. Biophysical journal 94(8): 3115-25, Apr 2008.
Dixit Ram, Ross Jennifer L, Goldman Yale E, Holzbaur Erika L F: Differential regulation of dynein and kinesin motor proteins by tau. Science (New York, N.Y.) 319(5866): 1086-9, Feb 2008.
Ligon Lee A, Holzbaur Erika L F: Microtubules tethered at epithelial cell junctions by dynein facilitate efficient junction assembly. Traffic (Copenhagen, Denmark) 8(7): 808-19, Jul 2007.