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Injured brain signals by left-right side specific hormones: a role of transcriptional mechanisms

Terrmin

HT21

Beskrivning

Neural tracts descending from the left hemisphere of the brain regulate movement of the right limbs, whereas the left limbs are controlled by the right hemisphere. Damage to these tracts by brain trauma or stroke typically occurs on one side of the body and causes asymmetric changes in posture, movement, and limb reflexes. In animals, a unilateral brain injury also results in asymmetric posture with limb contraction, called flexion, on the opposite, contralesional side. Evidence demonstrates that the neuroendocrine system may mediate these sensorimotor impairments induced by brain injury. We demonstrated that the brain injury-induced hindlimb motor deficit, in addition to the descending neural pathways, may be mediated by neurohormonal / neuropeptide systems in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The neurohormonal signals from the injured brain to the spinal cord through the circulation are transmitted in left-right side specific manner, and therefore the generation of these signals could be regulated by transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms differently on the left and right sides of the hypothalamus. Aim of the study is to reveal transcription and epigenetic factors that regulate the left-right side specific neurohormonal genes, to assess whether their expression of is lateralized in the hypothalamus and lumbar spinal cord, and is affected by the unilateral brain injury. Our experimental approach includes molecular analyses of the molecular systems underlying “pathological memory” induced by brain lesions using quantitative Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). This study would shed light on pathogenesis of hemiparesis and hemiplegia and would open a window of possibilities for pharmacological correction of motor deficits induced by traumatic brain injury and stroke.

Huvudområde

Farmaceutisk vetenskap

Ämne

Farmakologi

Typ

Laborativ studie

Företag

Uppsala Universitet

Ort/Plats

BMC/Uppsala

Handledarens namn

Olga Nosova

Handledarens e-post

olga.kononenko@farmbio.uu.se

Institution

Program

Kurs

Omfattning/hp

30hp