The rockefeller university

Event Details

Type

Friday Lecture Series

Speaker(s)

Fred Gage, Ph.D., Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases, head, laboratory of genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Speaker bio(s)

Dr. Gage's work concentrates on the adult central nervous system and unexpected plasticity and adaptability to environmental stimulation that remains throughout the life of all mammals. In addition, his studies focus on the cellular, molecular, as well as environmental influences that regulate neurogenesis in the adult. The first part of his talk will focus on evidence supporting the birth and maturation of new neurons in the adult dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in the mammalian brain, and he will discuss the mechanism by which the cells integrate and become functional. In addition, Dr. Gage will discuss the potential functional significance for adult neurogenesis in the context of the normal function of the hippocampus. In the second part of his talk he will focus on the recent finding that LINE-1 (Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements-1 or L1) retroelements are active in somatic neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) providing an additional mechanism for neuronal diversification. Together with their mutated relatives, retroelement sequences constitute 45 percent of the mammalian genome, with L1 elements alone representing 20 percent. The fact that L1 can retrotranspose in a defined window of neuronal differentiation, changing the genetic information in single neurons in an arbitrary fashion, allows the brain to develop in distinctly different ways. This characteristic of variety and flexibility may contribute to the uniqueness of an individual brain. However, the molecular mechanism that regulates L1 expression in NPCs is not completely understood. L1s are likely silenced in neural stem cells due to Sox2-mediated transcription repression. Downregulation of Sox2 accompanies chromatin modifications, such as DNA demethylation and histone acetylation, which in turn may trigger neuronal differentiation. The characterization of somatic neuronal diversification will not only be relevant for the understanding of brain complexity and neuronal organization in mammals, but may also shed light on the differences in cognitive abilities.

Dr. Gage is the head of the laboratory of genetics at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, which he joined in 1995, and Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases and an adjunct professor in the department of neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego. He received his Ph.D. in 1976 from The Johns Hopkins University. He has won numerous prizes and awards for his work including the IPSEN Prize for Neuroplasticity, the Charles A. Dana Award, the Metropolitan Life Research Award and the Keio Medical Science Prize. He serves on many health related boards, and was president of the Society for Neuroscience and is president-elect of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, and a member of the American Philosophical Society.

Open to

Public

Host

Elaine Fuchs

Reception

Refreshments, 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Abby Lounge

Contact

Robert Houghtaling

Phone

(212) 327-8072

Sponsor

Robert Houghtaling
(212) 327-8072
rhoughtali@rockefeller.edu

Readings

http://librarynews.rockefeller.edu/?p=2546