Hello everyone! This week I wrote about the overall research project in Kuo Lab and describe my particular role in it. I hope you enjoy it!
Ependymal cells located in the walls of brain ventricles play an important role in neurogenesis (the growth and development of nervous tissue) and maintenance of brain homeostasis through regulation of cerebrospinal fluid. They are derived from radial glial cells which also give rise to the neural stem cells responsible for adult neurogenesis. The neural stem cells located in the subventricular zone of the brain are surrounded by ependymal cells and need these cells to differentiate into new neurons, astrocytes and other type of neural cells. Although some studies have claimed to show that ependymal cells may also give rise to new neurons under certain conditions such as concussions or brain injuries, this subject is fairly controversial and need to be studied further to provide a clear answer. Recently, my lab discovered a gene that is critical for maintaining ependymal cell stability. I am conducting mutagenesis experiments to identify functional residues of this protein to make it non-degradable and further investigate the role of it in ependymal cells.
Hopefully, I will be able to find some answer to my questions by the end of the summer and continue to develop this project in the foreseeable future.
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