The Molecular Neurobiology of Breathing

呼吸的分子神经生物学

• 批准号: G0900585/1
• 负责人: Ivo Lieberam
• 金额: $ 63.37万
• 依托单位: King's College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2010 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=G0900585%2F1
• 关键词: Molecular; Neurobiology; Breathing

Most ?higher? animals that live on land, including humans, breathe air through lungs. The expansion andcontraction of the lungs during breathing(respiration) is driven by a group of muscles that are attached to the rib cage. The breathing rhythm itself is generated in the brain and then conveyed to the muscles through a specialized type of nerve cell called respiratory motor neuron . I propose to investigate the genetic program that instructs some embryonic cells to become respiratory motor neurons prior to birth. Such a program typically consists of two sets of molecules: One set controls when and where genes are active within the body, and it defines the identity of the cells. A second set of molecules, regulated by the first one, allows developing motor neurons to connect to their ?right? target muscle. The genetic elements that constitute the ?respiratory motor neuron? program and their logical relationships to each other are currentlynot known. Once I have decoded the program, I may be able to artificially create new nerve cells of thistype from embryonic stem cells and use them to replace dead or disconnected ones. Such a therapeuticapproach could restore the ability to breathe in patients suffering from neuromuscular disease or spinal cord injury.

大部分？更高？生活在陆地上的动物，包括人类，通过肺呼吸空气。呼吸时肺的扩张和收缩是由一组附着在胸腔上的肌肉驱动的。呼吸节律本身是在大脑中产生的，然后通过一种称为呼吸运动神经元的特殊类型的神经细胞传递到肌肉。我建议研究的遗传程序，指导一些胚胎细胞成为呼吸运动神经元出生前。这种程序通常由两组分子组成：一组控制基因在体内何时何地活跃，它定义了细胞的身份。第二组分子，由第一组调节，允许发育中的运动神经元连接到它们的神经元。是吧？目标肌肉基因的组成成分是什么？呼吸运动神经元程序及其相互之间的逻辑关系目前尚不清楚。一旦我破译了这个程序，我也许就能从胚胎干细胞中人工制造出这种类型的新神经细胞，并用它们来取代死亡或断开的神经细胞。这种治疗方法可以恢复患有神经肌肉疾病或脊髓损伤的患者的呼吸能力。