Jiang Wu
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, TX·Neuroscience
The brain turns brief experiences into lasting changes. One way it does this is by switching on activity-regulated genes (ARGs) when neurons fire, which reshape connections between neurons and, ultimately, behavior.
- Fields
Neuroscience
Genetics
Biochemistry
- Topics
epigenetics
epigenetic memory
chromatin remodeling
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Dec 2029
What they work on
- Determine how phosphorylation of BRG1, a chromatin remodeling protein, triggered by neuronal activity primes enhancers of activity-regulated genes by setting up a cohesin-dependent folding of chromosomes in 3D.
- Define the role of cohesin, a ring-shaped protein that holds DNA loops, in BRG1 phosphorylation-dependent priming of activity-regulated gene enhancers, using genetic tools and genomic approaches.
- Test whether BRG1 phosphorylation controls cocaine-induced gene activation and priming in the reward circuit, using mice carrying knock-in mutations at the BRG1 phosphorylation site.
More about the research
The team showed for the first time that stimulating these genes once can "prime" them, so they respond faster and more strongly the next time, possibly through a lasting molecular memory in the chromatin. Chromatin is the packaging of DNA and proteins that controls which genes are accessible. Cocaine also triggers this kind of priming in the brain's reward circuit. This project asks how chromatin proteins hold activity-regulated genes in a ready state long after a stimulus ends, a question that bears on learning, brain disorders and addiction.
Why it matters
Understanding how neurons keep a lasting memory of past activity could clarify the basis of neural plasticity and drug addiction. Because mutations in the BRG1-containing BAF complex are linked to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, this work could also reveal how faulty chromatin regulation contributes to these conditions. The cocaine experiments could inform understanding of how drug exposure leaves long-lasting changes in the brain's reward circuit.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Vipul Shukla
Northwestern University, IL·Microbiology & Immunology
Define how the Arid1a-dependent cBAF complex, a DNA-packaging remodeler, controls which genes are accessible and active as germinal center B cells mature, testing whether it establishes the germinal center gene program.
Hamilton Hodges
Baylor College of Medicine, TX·Biochemistry
Determine how cellular signals influence which binding partners SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers (cBAF, PBAF, GBAF) select, using rapid perturbations in living cells with epigenomic and proteomic readouts.
Pin-Xian Xu
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY·Genetics
Test whether removing Brg1, part of the Brg1-BAF chromatin remodeling complex, from Eya1-expressing inner ear progenitors at different stages closes off enhancers that guide sensory and neuronal fate.
The school
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: 40 labs on PI Pages, $869M a year on research, 86 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.