Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch
Drug Development and Plasticity Section
Overview
The Development and Plasticity Section studies cellular mechanisms of drug effects on cell growth, differentiation, and function, and neural plasticity and adaptational processes involved in effects of drugs of abuse. The Cellular Pathobiology Unit (described separately), which studies signaling pathways involved in drug abuse, is organizationally within this Section.
Areas of Research
- Human embryonic stem cells: characterization and differentiation
- Development of immortal rodent and human neural cell lines from primary cultures and from neural progenitor cells
- Cellular mechanisms and signaling pathways involved in effects of drugs and drug abuse
- Identification of gene transcripts and pathways involved in drug abuse and effects of drugs of abuse
- Transplantation of cell lines in animal models in order to elucidate mechanisms involved in behavioral and functional recovery from brain injury.
- Cell line models for in vitro studies of effects of drugs of abuse.
Future Directions
Future studies will focus on the development of techniques for producing specific neural cell types in vitro, for use as in vitro models as well as for neural transplantation and repair techniques. These experiments will include genetic modification of human embryonic stem cells, derivation of specific cell phenotypes and immortalized cell lines from differentiating human embryonic stem cells as well as other primary cell sources.
Specific cell types, especially human cells, will be employed for the development of in vitro models, and further improved by genetic modification for use in neural transplantation and repair.
In addition, studies of human postmortem brain tissue will continue, incorporating techniques for gene expression profiling, protein expression, analysis of cellular pathways, genotyping, and further improvements in tissue collection and characterization techniques to elucidate mechanisms and pathways which are involved in human drug abuse.
Section Chief: William J. Freed, Ph.D.
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Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch
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