CANDIDATE My immediate goals are to continue my research and training in electrophysiology, biological imaging and neuroscience. During the K99 phase (2 years), I will conduct experiments and be trained in electrochemical recording methods and multi-photon imaging. I will publish papers and search for a job as an independent faculty/investigator during the K99 phase, and will transition to the R00 independent phase (3 years) upon securing a faculty position. The total duration of the project is 5 years. ENVIRONMENT The K99 phase of this project will be conducted at the California Institute of Technology, which affords an excellent research and learning environment for postdoctoral scientists. Caltech has a strong neuroscience community, excellent faculty, and many highly productive and resourceful postdoctoral scholars and graduate students for one to collaborate with. Caltech also runs the Biological Imaging Center through the Beckman Institute, a resource that will be a very important part of my training plan. For the institution where I will conduct my R00 phase studies, I will choose an institute or university with excellent neuroscience resources and faculty that will put me in the best position for growth and success. RESEARCH This research program is designed to test the hypothesis that specific nicotinic ACh receptors are important for modulating release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine. In particular, I will test the idea that nicotinic receptors containing ?6 subunits, which are found on dopamine presynaptic terminals, are important mediators of dopamine release. I will also test the idea that the ability of these receptors to mediate dopamine release is governed by their subcellular regulation by the neurons where they reside. Finally, I will test the idea that ?6 receptor expression and function are significantly altered when animals are exposed to chronic nicotine. Thus, these experiments will determine whether these receptors are important in dopamine release and in disorders such as nicotine dependence. To carry out these experiments, I designed and built a set of novel transgenic mouse lines to particularly isolate aspects of ?6 nAChR biology. For example, some experiments will utilize mice with hypersensitive ?6 receptors that amplify and isolate ?6 physiology and behavior, while other experiments will make use of mice expressing fluorescently-labeled ?6 receptors that allow for direct visualization of these proteins in live neurons.

Public Health Relevance

RELEVANCE TO PUBLIC HEALTH This project is designed to give the research and health care community a better understanding of particular neurotransmitter receptors that may be important in neural disorders such as nicotine dependence, Parkinson's disease, affective disorders, or schizophrenia. The knowledge that will be produced by this research may be useful in designing and testing better drug therapies for these or other related disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Transition Award (R00)
Project #
5R00DA030396-03
Application #
8278502
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (NSS)
Program Officer
Sorensen, Roger
Project Start
2011-06-15
Project End
2014-05-31
Budget Start
2012-06-01
Budget End
2013-05-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$239,548
Indirect Cost
$80,639
Name
Purdue University
Department
Pharmacology
Type
Schools of Pharmacy
DUNS #
072051394
City
West Lafayette
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
47907
Yan, Yijin; Peng, Can; Arvin, Matthew C et al. (2018) Nicotinic Cholinergic Receptors in VTA Glutamate Neurons Modulate Excitatory Transmission. Cell Rep 23:2236-2244
Peng, Can; Engle, Staci E; Yan, Yijin et al. (2017) Altered nicotine reward-associated behavior following ?4 nAChR subunit deletion in ventral midbrain. PLoS One 12:e0182142
Hurtado-Zavala, Joaquin I; Ramachandran, Binu; Ahmed, Saheeb et al. (2017) TRPV1 regulates excitatory innervation of OLM neurons in the hippocampus. Nat Commun 8:15878
Bordia, T; McGregor, M; McIntosh, J M et al. (2015) Evidence for a role for ?6(?) nAChRs in l-dopa-induced dyskinesias using Parkinsonian ?6(?) nAChR gain-of-function mice. Neuroscience 295:187-97
Engle, Staci E; McIntosh, J Michael; Drenan, Ryan M (2015) Nicotine and ethanol cooperate to enhance ventral tegmental area AMPA receptor function via ?6-containing nicotinic receptors. Neuropharmacology 91:13-22
Berry, J N; Engle, S E; McIntosh, J M et al. (2015) ?6-Containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in midbrain dopamine neurons are poised to govern dopamine-mediated behaviors and synaptic plasticity. Neuroscience 304:161-75
Henderson, Brandon J; Lester, Henry A (2015) Inside-out neuropharmacology of nicotinic drugs. Neuropharmacology 96:178-93
Shih, Pei-Yu; McIntosh, J Michael; Drenan, Ryan M (2015) Nicotine Dependence Reveals Distinct Responses from Neurons and Their Resident Nicotinic Receptors in Medial Habenula. Mol Pharmacol 88:1035-44
Henderson, Brandon J; Srinivasan, Rahul; Nichols, Weston A et al. (2014) Nicotine exploits a COPI-mediated process for chaperone-mediated up-regulation of its receptors. J Gen Physiol 143:51-66
Wang, Yuexiang; Lee, Jang-Won; Oh, Gyeon et al. (2014) Enhanced synthesis and release of dopamine in transgenic mice with gain-of-function ?6* nAChRs. J Neurochem 129:315-27

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