My long-term objective is to develop and analyze invertebrate models to obtain a mechanistic understanding of hereditary human neurological diseases. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans will be used for genetic analysis of loss-of-function diseases such as lissencephaly (LIS), and gain-of-function diseases, such as familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS). Loss-of-function neurological diseases will be modeled by disrupting C. elegans disease gene homololues. Gain-of-function neurodegenerative disorders will be modeled by generating transgenic worms carrying gain-of-function disease transgenes. The powerful genetics of C. elegans will then be applied to analyze the molecular basis of neuronal cell death or dysfunction in these disorders. Suppressor and enhancer screens will be performed to identify novel genes that interact with loss-of-function disease gene homologues or gain-of-function disease transgenes, an approach not possible in transgenic mice. Such novel genes may not only provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of action of neurological disease genes, but may also constitute potential therapeutic targets. Genetic analysis of diverse aspects of C. elegans development has identified genes and pathways relevant to disease. Studies of apoptosis in C. elegans defined genes composing a programmed cell death pathway that is conserved in human. The creation of worm models of neurological diseases will provide an opportunity to study how upstream disease genes and downstream cell-death genes might interact. Because a large number of disease gene homologues have been identified in C. elegans, the project could in principal establish an approach with future applications to a wide range of neurological disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) (K08)
Project #
5K08NS002083-05
Application #
6937062
Study Section
NST-2 Subcommittee (NST)
Program Officer
Tagle, Danilo A
Project Start
2001-08-01
Project End
2007-07-31
Budget Start
2005-08-01
Budget End
2006-07-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$136,026
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
082359691
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02138
Hao, Limin; Ben-David, Oshrit; Babb, Suzann M et al. (2017) Clozapine Modulates Glucosylceramide, Clears Aggregated Proteins, and Enhances ATG8/LC3 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Neuropsychopharmacology 42:951-962
Hao, Limin; Buttner, Edgar A (2014) Methods for studying the mechanisms of action of antipsychotic drugs in Caenorhabditis elegans. J Vis Exp :e50864
Saur, Taixiang; DeMarco, Sarah E; Ortiz, Angelica et al. (2013) A genome-wide RNAi screen in Caenorhabditis elegans identifies the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit ACR-7 as an antipsychotic drug target. PLoS Genet 9:e1003313
Karmacharya, Rakesh; Lynn, Spencer K; Demarco, Sarah et al. (2011) Behavioral effects of clozapine: involvement of trace amine pathways in C. elegans and M. musculus. Brain Res 1393:91-9
Karmacharya, Rakesh; Sliwoski, Gregory R; Lundy, Miriam Y et al. (2009) Clozapine interaction with phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/insulin-signaling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans. Neuropsychopharmacology 34:1968-78
Buttner, Edgar A; Gil-Krzewska, Aleksandra J; Rajpurohit, Anandita K et al. (2007) Progression from mitotic catastrophe to germ cell death in Caenorhabditis elegans lis-1 mutants requires the spindle checkpoint. Dev Biol 305:397-410