Mentor/s:
Yancy Ferrer Acosta, Ph.D
Project Title:
Expression and characterization of the TREM-Like Transcript-1 protein in the brain
Project Description:
Neurological disorders like stroke and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) are characterized by vascular injury, disrupting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and brain homeostasis. Our study aims to elucidate a role within the brain for TREM-like Transcript-1 (TLT-1), an abundant platelet immunoreceptor that plays an important role in immuno- hemostasis. Following a pro-inflammatory insult such as sepsis, TLT-1 in platelets is cleaved, releasing soluble TLT- 1 (sTLT-1) into the bloodstream as an important biomarker of coagulation. In microvascular brain endothelial cells, sTLT-1 was shown to affect their actin cytoskeleton by increasing cell area. In vivo studies from our lab show TLT-1 knockout mice have increased brain permeability.
Nevertheless, the physiological consequences of these results at the CNS level, need to be further explored. TLT-1’s expression was identified in our lab in cultured brain cells, including astrocytes, microglia, and neurons by western blot, suggesting a possible role for TLT-1 in the central nervous system (CNS). Our studies identified TLT-1 protein expression in rat brain by immunofluorescence, colocalizing with brain cells such as astrocytes. Ongoing experiments are directed towards developing an in vitro BBB model to test the effect of sTLT-1 on BBB permeability using resistance measurements. These studies will examine a physiological function of this immunoreceptor in the CNS and explore its relevance in physiological and pathological states. Research into new molecules involved in neurovascular injury can uncover new avenues for therapeutic intervention, such as strategies for repairing the blood-brain barrier or modulating neuroinflammatory responses, which could have broad implications for treating various neurodegenerative diseases.
Mentor/s:
PENDING
Project Title:
PENDING
Project Description:
PENDING
