Plasticity of the echinoderm nervous system: cellular and molecular mechanisms of central nervous system regeneration

棘皮动物神经系统的可塑性：中枢神经系统再生的细胞和分子机制

• 批准号: 1252679
• 负责人: Jose Garcia-Arraras
• 金额: $ 47.5万
• 依托单位: University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1252679&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Plasticity; echinoderm; nervous; system; cellular

Following injury to the nervous system, the damaged tissue must be replenished with new cells, and the damaged neuronal connections must be re-wired properly for the original function to be restored. Most adult vertebrates show little if any regeneration after damage to the central nervous system. However, other animal groups, specifically echinoderms, provide excellent examples of fast and complete nervous system regeneration. This research makes use of a novel echinoderm model organism, the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima that can regenerate their central nervous components following transection. This project studies the cellular and molecular events that take place in order to undergo successful neural repair. Specifically the contributions of cell death and cell proliferation to central nervous system regeneration and the possible role of several genes that are highly expressed during neural regeneration will be analyzed. The results will correlate the expression of regeneration-associated genes to the cells and/or processes where they are involved and will help elucidate their possible function. This project provides "hands-on" research training to underrepresented Hispanic students at various levels, from high-school to doctoral. Students will be exposed to competitive research in the field of neural plasticity, an area of research that has an increasingly high profile and that serves to attract students with various interests. Moreover, the research outreach will extend to science teachers and the general public via web page information, press releases and interviews. Finally, the findings from these experiments explore basic components of regenerative processes that can be used to understand the regenerative limitations in other animal groups, including humans, and that in the future could constitute the basis for applications in biotechnology and medicine.

神经系统受伤后，受损的组织必须补充新细胞，受损的神经元连接必须正确重新连接才能恢复原始功能。 大多数成年脊椎动物在中枢神经系统受损后几乎没有再生能力。然而，其他动物群体，特别是棘皮动物，提供了快速且完整的神经系统再生的极好例子。 这项研究利用了一种新型棘皮动物模型生物——海参 Holothuria glaberrima，它可以在横断后再生其中枢神经成分。 该项目研究为了成功进行神经修复而发生的细胞和分子事件。具体来说，将分析细胞死亡和细胞增殖对中枢神经系统再生的贡献以及神经再生过程中高表达的几种基因的可能作用。 结果将把再生相关基因的表达与它们所涉及的细胞和/或过程相关联，并有助于阐明它们可能的功能。该项目为从高中到博士等各个级别的代表性不足的西班牙裔学生提供“实践”研究培训。 学生将接触到神经可塑性领域的竞争性研究，该研究领域的知名度越来越高，吸引了各种兴趣的学生。 此外，研究范围将通过网页信息、新闻稿和采访扩展到科学教师和公众。最后，这些实验的结果探索了再生过程的基本组成部分，可用于了解包括人类在内的其他动物群体的再生局限性，并且在未来可能构成生物技术和医学应用的基础。