University of California, Los Angeles
Grant: $269,500 - National Institutes of Health - Sep. 29, 2009
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Award Description: Therapeutic approach to Autism Spectrum Disorders using TrkB agonists and the molecular mechanisms of TrkB agonist action in human neurons.
Project Description: The overall goal of this proposal is to examine whether TrkB agonist(s) may have therapeutic values for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Using Rett Syndrome (RTT) as a major model system for ASDs, we plan to study whether 7,8-DHF and its derivatives may reverse the phenotype on neural transmission of MeCP2-null and MeCP2-deficient human neurons. In addition, we plan to determine to what extent the TrkB agonists may reverse the transcriptome, which will not only assist narrowing down the gene candidates involved in creating the excitatory/inhibitory imbalance phenotype, but also potentially revealing novel drug targets for ASDs, including RTT. Lastly,we will extend our study to one additional ASD model (i.e., CamKII-Cre Pten conditional knockout mice), which demonstrates abnormal neuronal dendritic growth. A similar neuronal specific knockout of Pten using the neuronal specific enolase (NSE)-Cre has demonstrated impairment in social behavior and also abnormal neuronal dendritic morphogenesis. The results of this proposal will determine whether 7,8-DHF could potentially be used as a therapeutic intervention for ASDs.
Jobs Summary: N/A (Total jobs reported: 0)
Project Status: Not Started
This award's data was last updated on Sep. 29, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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