Regeneration in the Adult Drosophila Brain

描述(由申请人提供)：适当的细胞增殖和分化调节对于神经系统的正常发育和维持以及疾病或创伤后的神经再生是必不可少的。我们正在研究遗传模型系统黑腹果蝇的神经再生，在这个系统中，我们可以在一个完整的大脑的背景下操纵神经前体。我们关注的是成年果蝇蘑菇体，这是大脑中在学习和记忆中发挥关键作用的一部分。虽然神经干细胞在成年期之前经历了凋亡，但我们已经证明了蘑菇体在损伤后可以再生。我们的工作假设是，某些类型的神经胶质细胞接受神经前体命运，增殖，并同时产生新的神经元和新的神经胶质细胞。本申请中提出的实验的目标是识别 在损伤后增殖，并了解它们产生新神经元和新胶质细胞的过程。一旦我们完成了本提案中描述的目标，我们将准备对果蝇神经再生进行进一步的分析，包括对再生过程的调节进行正向遗传筛选。我们的长期目标是获得足够的调控基因网络知识，以便我们能够在疾病或损伤后激活神经再生程序。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Appropriate regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation is essential for normal development and maintenance of the nervous system and for neural regeneration following disease or traumatic injury. We are studying neural regeneration in the genetic model system Drosophila melanogaster where we can manipulate neural precursors in the context of an intact brain. We have focused on the adult Drosophila mushroom body, a part of the brain that plays critical roles in learning and memory. Although the neural stem cells undergo apoptosis prior to adulthood, we have shown that the mushroom body can undergo regeneration following injury. Our working hypothesis is that certain types of glial cells adopt neural precursor fates, proliferate, and give rise to both new neurons and new glial cells. The goal of the experiments proposed in this application is to identify the cells that proliferate following injury and understand the process by which they give birth to new neurons and new glial cells. Once we have accomplished the aims described in this proposal, we will be poised to undertake further analyses of Drosophila neural regeneration, including forward genetic screens for regulators of the regenerative process. Our long-term goal is to gain sufficient knowledge of the regulatory gene networks that we can activate neural regenerative programs following disease or injury.