Role of the tyrosine kinase receptor EphA5 in recovery from perinatal brain injury

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Role of the tyrosine kinase receptor EphA5 in recovery from perinatal brain injury Qi Cheng1, Mark D. Graves1* and Sarah L. Pallas1 1 Georgia State University, Neuroscience Institute and Biology Department, United States Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem and one of the major causes of death and disability in young people. The topographically ordered projection between the retina and midbrain superior colliculus (SC) in rodents is an excellent model system in which to approach this difficult problem. The retina makes a map of visual space on the midbrain superior colliculus. This retinotopic map is established during development in part by a family of graded molecular guidance cues in the SC called ephrin-As, recognized by their EphA tyrosine kinase receptors in the retina. Damage to the caudal part of SC at birth, instead of deleting part of the map, causes it to compress in toto onto the remaining SC. This process of recovery from injury preserves visual function, but the compensatory mechanism underlying map compression is unknown. Our previous results showed that in compressed maps the rostrocaudal gradient of ephrinA expression is steeper than normal. We proposed that the change in the slope of the gradient plays an instructive role in map compression. Here we test the hypothesis that TBI to SC leads to changes in retinal EphA5 receptor expression that are complementary to the changes in collicular ephrinA expression. We measured EphA5 mRNA and protein levels after SC damage, and found that the nasotemporal gradient of EphA5 expression steepens in the retina and overall expression levels change dynamically. Importantly, the alterations in retinal EphA5 expression occur after the change in collicular ephrinA5 expression. Taken together, these findings, suggest that neonatal TBI triggers changes in the ephrinA gradient and then in the retinal EphA gradient. Map compression could be instructed directly by the change in ligand expression or by the subsequent change in receptor expression, guiding the recovery of this visual pathway from early injury. Understanding what molecular signals direct for the response to TBI is important for developing clinical approaches to rehabilitation and for maximizing the potential for recovery. Conference: 2010 South East Nerve Net (SENN) and Georgia/South Carolina Neuroscience Consortium (GASCNC) conferences, Atlanta , United States, 5 Mar - 7 Mar, 2010. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Posters Citation: Cheng Q, Graves MD and Pallas SL (2010). Role of the tyrosine kinase receptor EphA5 in recovery from perinatal brain injury. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 2010 South East Nerve Net (SENN) and Georgia/South Carolina Neuroscience Consortium (GASCNC) conferences. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.04.00045 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 16 Mar 2010; Published Online: 16 Mar 2010. * Correspondence: Mark D Graves, Georgia State University, Neuroscience Institute and Biology Department, Atlanta, GA, United States, biomdg@langate.gsu.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Qi Cheng Mark D Graves Sarah L Pallas Google Qi Cheng Mark D Graves Sarah L Pallas Google Scholar Qi Cheng Mark D Graves Sarah L Pallas PubMed Qi Cheng Mark D Graves Sarah L Pallas Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.