The role of SARM1 in inflammatory and viral neuropathies

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The Coleman laboratory has primarily focused on injury-induced axon degeneration, known as Wallerian degeneration.The lab has played a central role in elucidating the molecular mechanisms regulating Wallerian degeneration and hasdemonstrated that the pathway is activated in several disease models, including glaucoma and Parkinson's disease.Work in the lab is currently trying to fully understand the roles of NMNAT2 and SARM1, the two key regulators of thepathway. SARM1 is a Toll-like receptor adaptor protein, which in addition to its role in Wallerian degeneration, influencesand is influenced by a number of viral disorders. As a continuation of my MPhil project, I am interested in investigatingthe role of SARM1 in viral and inflammatory neuropathies by testing how SARM1 levels in primary cultures of CNS andPNS neurons are affected by models of viral infection and other inflammatory stimuli. As well as SARM1 expression, Iam interested in testing whether any viral and inflammatory stimuli alter SARM1 activation. My overall aim is toinvestigate whether changes in SARM1 expression and/or activation lead to axon and cell body loss. I will also contributeto studies to understand how SARM1 is regulated. This work may ultimately lead to new treatments for viral andinflammatory neuropathies.