University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Title: Organelle quality control in neuronal homeostasis and neurodegeneration
Abstract: Organelle quality control pathways are central to the maintenance of neuronal homeostasis. These pathways involve careful regulation of both biosynthetic and degradative pathways for cellular organelles such as mitochondria. We are interested in the mechanisms that maintain a healthy mitochondrial network in neurons, identifying a novel role for local protein synthesis in mitochondrial fission in axons and dendrites. We are also interested in mechanisms regulating the clearance of aging or damaged organelles. Neurons rely on basal autophagy to maintain axonal health and function, clearing synaptic vesicles and mitochondria from presynaptic sites in the distal axon. Acute damage to organelles induces more specific cellular response mechanisms leading to organelle turnover via stress-induced pathways including mitophagy and lysophagy. Mutations that disrupt any of these pathways lead to either neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative disease, which we are studying in human iPSC-derived neurons.
Host: Erin Barnhart
