Dalva, Matthew
<p>Feb 05, 2015 10:52 AM talk today in Clark.</p>
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Assoc Prof in Neurosci at Thomas Jefferson Univ</p>
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title: Visualizing the dynamics of cell signaling as synapses form</p>
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<strong >Abstract</strong>
The structure of the nervous system varies tremendously across phylogeny; organisms such as the C. elegans function with a few hundred neurons, whereas humans have tens of billions.
Yet communication in all neural circuits is controlled by a remarkably similar, highly specialized site of cell-cell contact known as a synapse.</p>
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The long-range goal of my research is to discover <b>how synapses are formed and lost,</b> and what impact <b>normal morphology and numbers of synapses have on brain function</b>.
Determining how synapses develop and mature will provide insights toward understanding of neuronal networks and brain function.</p>
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To determine how synapses are formed and lost, I have focused on understanding the molecules that control their generation. My lab has targeted<b> EphB proteins and their ephrin-B ligands,</b> because we have shown these molecules are required both in vitro and in vivo for normal synapse formation.<b> EphBs are transmembrane signaling molecules</b> and are the largest known family of <b>receptor tyrosine kinases</b> in the mammalian genome that <b>bind to ephrin-Bs</b>, which are <b>transmembrane proteins also capable of signaling</b>. Our findings from the past decade demonstrate that EphBs and ephrin-Bs have a role in: <b>(1) how are specific types of morphological specialization like spines are formed,</b> (2) in dendritic filopodia dependent synaptogenesis, (3) in the control of synapse density; and (4) <b>how are glutamate neurotransmitter receptors directed to the synapse</b>. Recently we have begun to explore the role that EphBs and ephrin-Bs play in the control of migration of cells in the adult brain and developed tools to visualize cell signaling in living neurons.</p>
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