Adriana Ferreira, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Cell and Molecular Biology Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurite elongation in central neurons Curricula: Cell Biology Neurobiology E-mail:   a-ferreira@northwestern.edu

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The long-term goal of our laboratory is to determine the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of synaptic connections in the mammalian central nervous system. By establishing synaptic contacts, neurons acquire and process information, a mechanism essential for learning and memory. The formation of these connections results from a series of events including neurite elongation, growth cone guidance and pathfinding, differentiation of pre- and postsynaptic elements, and the "locking in" of pre- and postsynaptic membranes. Factors involved in the formation and maintenance of synaptic connections during early stages of development may also play important roles during the loss of synapses observed in neurologic diseases. Several developmental abnormalities (ranging from mild disorders in the development of speech and language to severe mental retardation) as well as neurodegenerative diseases share a common pathological characteristic, i.e. the deterioration of nerve cell connections within the nervous system. As a consequence of the disruption of normal neural connections, patients suffer from a number of cognitive deficits. Specifically, we are interested in determining the contribution of different synaptic proteins to neurite elongation and synapse formation in hippocampal neurons. Currently we are studying: 1) the role of synaptic proteins in neurite elongation; 2) the role of differentiation factors secreted by the presynaptic element (e.g. agrin) in the maturation of the postsynaptic element and hence its competence to receive synapses; and 3) the role of agrin in the organization of the microtubular system, 5) the identification of the agrin receptors and its signaling pathway, and 4) the mechanisms underlying neurite degeneration and synapse loss in the context of Alzheimer’s disease.

Publications:

Rapoport, M. and Ferreira, A. PD98059 prevents neurite degeneration induced by fibrillar beta amyloid in mature hippocampal neurons. J. Neurochem. 74: 125-133, 2000.

Mantych, K.B. and Ferreira, A. Agrin differentially regulates the rates of axonal and dendritic elongation in cultured hippocampal neurons. J. Neurosci. 21: 6802-6809, 2001.

Rapoport, M., Dawson, H.N., Binder, L.I., Vitek, M. and Ferreira, A. Tau is essential for beta-amyloid induced neurotoxicity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 99: 6364-6369, 2002.

Shah, R.D., Rapoport, M. and Ferreira, A. Estrogen-induced changes in the microtubular system correlate with a decreased susceptibility of aging neurons to beta-amyloid neurotoxicity. Mol. Cell. Neurosci. 24: 503-516, 2003.

Paganoni, S., Anderson, K.L., and Ferreira, A. Differential subcellular localization of Ror tyrosine kinase receptors in cultured astrocytes. Glia 46: 456-466, 2004.

View Publications by Adriana Ferreira listed in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed).