Signalling mechanisms regulating neurogenesis and neurite outgrowth

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Injury and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), such as traumatic injury, stroke, Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's disease, affect a substantial number of Australians each year and often have long-term consequences for sufferers and their families. This is primarily due to a lack of robust repair of the damage and a paucity of therapeutic strategies available for treatment. However, although many hurdles are yet to be faced, there is a substantial body of evidence that has emerged in recent years, that has led to the view that repair of the central nervous system following injury of disease may indeed be a possibility. Effective neural repair is likely to require a multi-factorial approach, including blockage of neuronal death, replacement of lost neurons by neural stem cells, and regulation of appropriate subsequent neurite outgrowth and formation of correct connections. We have shown that a regulator of cytokine signaling, SOCS2, promotes neuronal differentiation and neurite outgrowth. This project aims to continue our investigations of the role of SOCS2 and interacting factors in regulating neuronal differentiation as well as substantially expanding our investigations into the role of SOCS2 in regulating neurite outgrowth, using both in vitro and in vivo models. An understanding of the mechanisms involved in these processes may allow us to derive therapies for the repair of the nervous system after injury or disease.