Presenter(s)

    Marc Nya, Hayden Ott

    Comments

    9:00-10:15, Kennedy Union Ballroom

    Download

    Download Project (219 KB)

    Description

    As a crucial ionic and chemical messenger essential for a variety of cellular processes, calcium (Ca2+) signaling regulatory processes are of immense significance. Dysfunction of these regulatory mechanisms have been associated with the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and attention deficit hyper-activity disorder (ADHD). An important Ca2+ signaling regulator involved in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis is the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase2 (SERCA2) that works by facilitating the sequestration of Ca2+ into the cells endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Recent Research in our Neuroscience Lab has shown that Phospholamban (PLN), a critical regulator of the SERCA2, is expressed at the protein level within the thalamus of the mouse brain, and that ablation of this gene is linked to a hyperactive behavioral phenotype in adult mice. Such findings suggest a critical role for the PLN/SERCA2 pathway in the development of the brain’s thalamic neural circuits which regulate locomotor activity. In the context of this BSTI fellowship project we utilized immunohistochemistry protocols and confocal microscopy to explore the developmental expression pattern of this molecular player in the mouse brain.

    Publication Date

    4-23-2025

    Project Designation

    Honors Thesis

    Primary Advisor

    Dorian Borbonus, Pothitos Pitychoutis

    Primary Advisor's Department

    Biology

    Keywords

    Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

    Investigating the development expression pattern of PLN in the mouse brain.

    Share

    COinS