Alexandra Byrne
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, MA·Neuroscience
Why do some neurons survive stresses that kill others? Brain cells in Alzheimer's disease degenerate and die.
- Fields
Neuroscience
Genetics
Microbiology & Immunology
- Topics
neurodegeneration
Alzheimer's disease
C. elegans
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through May 2028
What they work on
- Determine how TIR-1/SARM1, a conserved protein that usually drives axon degeneration, instead protects C. elegans neurons from damage caused by excess acetylcholine receptor activity or paraquat-induced oxidative stress.
- Determine how 10 mutations found in an unbiased forward genetic screen protect aged C. elegans neurons against excitotoxic and oxidative axon degeneration and cell death.
- Determine how vitamin B12 made by bacteria protects C. elegans neurons against degeneration driven by TIR-1/SARM1, using worms raised on defined bacterial diets.
- Determine how the gut bacterium Buttiauxella protects worm neurons from degeneration through a route that does not depend on vitamin B12.
- Identify bacteria from Alzheimer's patients and healthy adults, and the molecular mechanisms they act through, that alter degeneration in a C. elegans model of Alzheimer's disease.
More about the research
Whether this happens depends on context, such as a person's age, genes and gut bacteria. Each of these factors makes the root causes hard to untangle in humans. Both projects use the roundworm C. elegans, which has a simple nervous system, is easy to study genetically, and can be raised on chosen bacteria. The goal is to find natural pathways that protect neurons.
Why it matters
The molecular causes of neuron death in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are poorly understood. By finding genes, gut bacteria and bacterial products such as vitamin B12 that keep neurons intact, this work could inform future strategies to protect against neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. It could also clarify how the microbiome affects a person's risk.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Mark Alkema
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, MA·Neuroscience
Identify the neuronal targets and molecular pathways through which nitric oxide made by gut bacteria suppresses seizures in C. elegans unc-2/CaV2α gain-of-function mutants, a worm model of a migraine-linked calcium channel disorder.
Melissa Borgen
Florida Institute of Technology, FL·Neuroscience
Map the genetic network linking Tau (ptl-1) and the RPM-1 signaling pathway in neurodegeneration, using genetic analysis in a C. elegans tauopathy model.
Mohanish Deshmukh
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC·Neuroscience
Identify which brain cell types are most affected when miR-29, a microRNA that rises during brain maturation, is reduced in the adult mouse brain, using single-cell RNA sequencing and analysis of dendritic spines and neuron branching.
The school
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School: 29 labs on PI Pages, $350M a year on research, 55 research doctorates a year.
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