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Stephen
M. Echteler, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor,
Department of Otorhinolaryngology
School of Medicine
Abramson Research Building, Rm 510
34th St. and Civic Center Boulevard/4318
(215)-590-3949 FAX: (215)-590-5202
email: echteler@mail.med.upenn.edu
Click here for selected publications since Dr. Echteler's arrival at Penn
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of synapse formation within the developing
ear. RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Time-lapse video and confocal microscopy, tissue culture, neural tract tracing, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, molecular biology.RESEARCH SUMMARY
The central research focus of our laboratory is to examine the mechanisms underlying the formation of neural connections between developing mammalian auditory receptors (hair cells) and their postsynaptic partners, the primary auditory neurons which relay acoustic signals to the brain. In adult animals, these neural connections are the most precise observed for any sensory system: ninety-five percent of all auditory neurons contact one hair cell receptor by means of a single synapse. This precision in neural wiring underlies, in large measure, the ability of mammals to detect extremely small changes in the timing and frequency of acoustic stimuli.
To study the formation of these neural connections we use both in vivo methods applied to developing mongolian gerbils and in vitro methods applied to organotypic cultures obtained from the neonatal gerbil cochlea (the mammalian auditory endorgan). Neural tract tracing and immunocytochemical methods applied in vivo permit the examination of normative neural development within the inner ear; whereas tissue culture preparations allow in vitro manipulation of the extracellular environment and, in combination with intracellular labeling of auditory neurons and time-lapse video microscopy, permit us to observe the formation of receptor-neural connections in real time.
Currently, we are especially interested in the role of neurotrophic molecules in the formation and maintenance of neural connections within the developing ear. We are presently using molecular biological methods, including in situ hybridization, to examine the spatiotemporal expression pattern of neurotrophin genes within the developing cochlea and to explore the role of neurotrophin proteins in programmed auditory neuron death.
KEY WORDS:
auditory development, hair cells, synapse formation, neurotrophins
