S E M I N A R   &   V I S I T I N G   S P E A K E R   S E R I E S

D AT E

Friday, February 24, 2017    9:00AM

LO C AT I O N

PX236/238  PsychHealth Building

S P E A K E R

Dr. Stephanie Booth

Adjunct Professor - Department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases,
University of Manitoba

Chief - Molecular PathoBiology, National Microbiology Laboratory,
Public Health Agency of Canada

Topic:  Untangling the brains neurodegenerative transcriptional response in
presymptomatic prion disease

ABSTRACT

Neurite degeneration represents a common characteristic of neurodegenerative  diseases including those caused by prions. In fact, in mouse  models the loss of dendritic spines and reduction in neurite outgrowth is one of the earliest pathological changes observed in vivo. However, the underlying mechanisms that regulate these processes remain elusive. By harnessing laser capture microdissection to specifically isolate neuronal cell bodies from the hippocampus we were able to identify genes and miRNAs  miRs) that are induced during preclinical prion disease. A functional genomics approach in primary hippocampal neurons suggests that these miRs regulate degeneration of neurites in these cells. Targeted transcriptional profiling has great potential to identify both therapeutic targets for patients with prion disease, as well as early markers of  prion infection that may be translatable to other neurodegenerative diseases.

/sent on behalf of

Eftekhar Eftekhapour
Coordinator, Seminar & Visiting Speaker Program
Manitoba Neuroscience Network

Email:  networking@manitobaneuroscience.ca
Tel: 204.235.3939 
Fax: 204.237.4092

St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre
Room R4046 - 351 Taché  Avenue,  Winnipeg, MB  R2H 2A6  CANADA

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