CAREER: Understanding the Molecular Mechanics of Growth Cone Motility and Nerve Regeneration

这个职业项目的总体目标是在德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校建立一个具有全国竞争力的项目，该项目将分子和细胞组织工程领域的研究和教育结合起来，特别关注神经系统。该计划的研究部分旨在将神经元生长锥（引导轴突延伸）迁移的定量分子信息与神经再生的现象学观察联系起来。一种导电聚合物，氧化聚吡咯（PP），将被用作刺激轴突延伸的模型系统。这种材料作为局部刺激神经再生装置的组成部分也有明显的潜在应用。为了对电刺激如何影响神经再生有一个基本的了解，需要确定通过PP的电传导是否直接改变对生长锥运动至关重要的各种细胞内事件。这些实验将与在类似条件下评估大鼠坐骨神经再生的体内研究相关。该项目的教育部分包括：课程开发；课程修订;指导;以及拓展项目。＊＊＊

9733156 Schmidt The overall goal of this career program is to build a nationally competitive program at the University of Texas- Austin that integrates research and education in the field of molecular and cellular tissue engineering, with a particular focus on the nervous system. The research part of this program seeks to link quantitative molecular information on the migration of the neuronal growth cone, which guides axonal extension, to phenomenological observations of nerve regeneration. An electrically conducting polymer, oxidized polypyrrole (PP), will be used as a model system with which to stimulate axonal extension. This material also has clear potential applications as a component of devices to locally stimulate nerve regeneration. To gain a fundamental understanding of how nerve regeneration is affected by an electrical stimulus, it is to be determined whether electrical conduction through PP directly modifies various intracellular events which are critical for growth cone motility. These experiments are to be related to in vivo studies assessing rat sciatic nerve regeneration under similar conditions. The education part of this program includes: course development; curriculum revision; mentorship; and outreach programs. ***