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In this Section
- Major Initiatives
- Medications Development Program
- Underage Drinking Research Initiative
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- COMBINE Study
- Quetiapine Study
- Collaborative Studies on Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) Study
- NIAAA-Funded Research Centers
- NIAAA Institutional Research Training Programs
- Other Key Extramural Research Activites
- Guidelines and Resources
- Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research
- NIAAA Laboratories
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience
- Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies
- LCTS - Office of the Chief
- LCTS - Section of Brain Electrophysiology and Imaging (BEI)
- LCTS - Section of Clinical Assessment and Treatment Evaluation (CATE)
- LCTS - Section on Clinical Psycho-neuroendocrinology and Neuro-psychopharmacology (CPN)
- LCTS - Section on Human Psychopharmacology (HP)
- LCTS - Section of Molecular Pathophysiology (MP)
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience
- Laboratory of Liver Diseases
- Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics
- Laboratory of Metabolic Control
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology
- Laboratory of Molecular Signaling
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics
- Laboratory for Neuroimaging
- Laboratory of Physiologic Studies
- Chemical Biology Research Branch (joint lab with NIDA)
- Office of the Scientific Director
- Office of Laboratory Animal Science (OLAS)
- Research and Training
- Clinical Trials at NIAAA/NIH
- NIAAA Laboratories
Laboratory of Molecular Physiology
Section on Cellular Biophotonics
Section on Model Synaptic Systems
Section on Transmitter Signaling
The Section on Cellular Biophotonics studies how protein complexes are formed and maintained in living cells, and how these complexes regulate cellular functions. In particular, the Section is interested in the way that protein complexes regulate synaptic function by responding to an influx of calcium ions. The Section is currently engaged in three projects. The first involves the construction of a microscope that can be used to study protein complexes in living cells by measuring time resolved fluorescence anisotropy and fluctuations in fluorescence. The second project monitors changes in the multimeric structure of Cam kinase-II, an abundant synaptic enzyme that plays a critical role in learning, memory and heart disease. Results from this work suggest that anisotropy imaging can be used to detect structural changes in CaM kinase-II, and the Section is currently examining the activation of this protein complex in living zebrafish hearts. The third project examines the function of dysferlin, a calcium binding protein implicated in two forms of muscular dystrophy. This work has suggested that anti-sense mopholinos against dysferlin inhibit the secretion of ATP in response to plasma membrane wounding.
The Section on Model Synaptic Systems uses genetically marked neural proteins in Zebrafish to clarify the basic principles of synapse function. The Section’s work is divided into two areas: the neuromuscular junction and the effects of ethanol on neural networks in the central nervous system. Work on the neuromuscular junction involves two lines of mutant Zebrafish: one lacks acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and the other possesses a dysfunctional rapsyn gene. Working with these mutants, the Section has determined that AChR actively directs rapsyn molecules to the synapse and that rapsyn mutants show a marked attenuation in the amplitude of AChR when motor neurons fire repeatedly. The Section is also conducting research on zebrafish embryos grown in ethanol solutions to investigate neurobiological mechanisms of fetal alcohol syndrome.
The Section on Transmitter Signaling considers the way G-protein coupled receptors modulate voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in neuronal systems. The Section’s work focuses on the creation of systems for studying these mechanisms. For example, the Section has created a model system for rapid, target-directed proteolysis in mammalian cells. This system, which includes an inducible protease and a substrate recognition sequence from the tobacco etch virus, has been demonstrated to completely cleave the targeted substrate. A second model system provides a platform for candidate molecules that facilitate the transport of endocannabinoids (eCBs) across the plasma membrane. This system uses isolated rat sympathetic neurons, which have been modified to express four components required for eCB production and detection. A third model system provides a platform for expressing heterologous proteins in adult mammalian neurons by using in vitro-transcribed mRNA and a cationic lipid transfection reagent. A fourth model system uses Rohon-Beard primary sensory neurons from Zebrafish to identify how G-protein coupled receptors modulate Ca2+ channels and contribute to mechnosensory function.
