Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Member : Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research
Center
Ph.D. |
1997 Osaka University, Japan |
Postdoctoral |
IBDM, INSERM U.382, France
Washington Univ. Sch. of Med., St. Louis
Harvard Univ. Dept. MCB, Cambridge |
C.E. Henderson
lab
J.R. Sanes lab
J.R. Sanes lab |
email: hnishimune@kumc.edu
The nervous system functions by cell-cell communication based
on a structure called a synapse. We are interested in the molecular
mechanisms of synapse formation and maintenance.
Presynaptic voltage gated calcium channels (VGCCs) are absolutely required for
neurotransmission, but its role in presynaptic differentiation has not been fully
understood. Our previous research discovered the first extracellular ligand for
the VGCCs, and demonstrated the functional role for organizing Active Zones (AZs)
at the motor neuron terminal (Nature 2004). These results provided a new conceptual
framework for the mechanism of AZ-formation/maintenance by extracellular ligands.
We hypothesize that VGCCs at the nerve terminals
are important scaffolding proteins to organize AZs. We approach
this hypothesis by combining studies of genetically modified
knockout and transgenic mice, neuronal cell cultures, and biochemical
protein-protein interaction; as level of analysis spanning from
whole animal to molecules. We are focusing on the search for
novel extracellular ligand for the VGCCs at the brain synapse,
and the cytosolic interaction of VGCC at the nerve terminal.
We hope these studies will shed light on the mechanism of neurological
diseases and/or aging, including Channelopathies or Lambert-Eaton
Myasthenic Syndrome.


Lab members
|
|
|
Hiroshi
Nishimune, PhD Assistant Professor |
Takafumi Mizushige, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Jie Chen, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Funding
Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grant, NCRR/NIH
Whitehall foundation
KU Medical Center Among Top Postdoctoral Research Locations