Grant: Operating Grant

Loss of neuronal cells is a hallmark of many diseases of the nervous system. and in many cases, this is mediated by loss of survival signals and activation of a process of cell suicide, termed apoptosis. My lab is concerned with identifying the precise cellular signals that regulate cellular life and decisions in the nervous system. This proposal is designed to examine the cellular pathways activated a cell surface receptor termed p75NTR. Previous studies have shown that this single receptor can, in some circumstances, cause cells to survive but in others, to facilitate their death. The mechanisms controlling these processes are complicated but are beginning to be clarified. In this proposal, we will address i) how p75NTR causes cells to commit suicide, ii) how p75NTR present in non-neuronal cells activates death pathways in neurons and iii) how p75NTR can, in some cases, facilitate cellular survival pathways.