Honors Theses

Illuminating the putative expression of PLN in different mouse brain cell types

Advisor

Pothitos Pitychoutis, Ph.D.

Department

Biology

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Abstract

Calcium (Ca2+) is a versatile intracellular signaling molecule which participates in a variety of cellular processes throughout the cell life cycle. In neurons, Ca2+ signaling is crucial to neurotransmitter release and the development of dendritic spines. The sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) pump is an ATPase which facilitates Ca2+ reuptake into the sarco-/endoplasmic reticulum (SR/ER). SERCA-dependent dysregulation of Ca2+ has been implicated in numerous disorders which affect cognition, such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Darier’s disease. Phospholamban (PLN) is a critical SERCA regulator, as reversible binding of PLN reduces SERCA’s affinity for Ca2+, thereby reducing SERCA-facilitated Ca2+ sequestration into the SR/ER. While the role of PLN as a SERCA- regulator has been well-defined in cardiac muscle, our lab has identified PLN to be selectively expressed in the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic neurons of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) in the mouse brain. In the context of this honors thesis, we used a density gradient-based isolation protocol as well as fluorescent immunocytochemical staining processes coupled with epifluorescence microscopy to assess the putative expression of PLN protein in selective cell types of the mouse brain.

Permission Statement

This item is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and may only be used for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly purposes.

Keywords

Undergraduate research

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