"Polarity regulation of myelinating cells of the adult mammalian brain"
Host Mentor: Claudia Petritsch
University of California San Francisco
Lethal Giant Larvae (Lgl1) is a protein involved in establishment of cellular polarity and is implicated in numerous cancers by expression or splicing aberration. Studies in the brains of mammalian models have shown protein knockout results in lesions exhibiting overproliferation and differentiation defects reminiscent of neoplasm. Our lab is examining the role of Lgl1 in regulation of key components of tissue homeostasis with emphasis on oligodendrocyte precursors. This cell type differentiates into myelinating oligodendrocytes and constitutes the largest proliferative population of the adult brain. I am working specifically in characterizing the molecular basis of the role of Lgl1 in regulating migration and proliferation in oligodendrocyte precursors derived from the corpus callosum of adult mice. Through motility and cell cycle analysis we have shown phenotypic effect of Lgl1 ablation and are now investigating both the subcellular motor protein dynamics resultant from Lgl1 loss as well as downstream transcriptomic alteration. These studies will help define the role of Lgl1 in the migratory and proliferative oligodendrocyte mutant, and inform of mechanisms of oligodendrocyte development and how this dysfunction can potentiate disease.