Associate Professor
Rutgers University
Cell Biology & Neuroscience department
New Beunswick, New Jerwey, USA
Lecture summary by Dr. Firestein:
My laboratory is interested in understanding mechanisms that are
important for setting up proper neuronal connections in the brain. can
also stop the growth of these neurons as they develop. We focus on how
the patterning of dendrites, which look like tree branches and receive
information from appropriate sources, is regulated. This process is
important since an imbalance in dendrite growth is thought to lead to
cognitive disorders. Understanding pathways that shape dendrites may
lead to the treatment of learning disorders, such as mental retardation
and autism.
In addition, my laboratory is interested in developing strategies to
protect neurons from death during spinal cord injury. It has been
reported that uric acid, a compound naturally found in the body, can
promote recovery after spinal cord injury. We have found that uric acid
acts via a previously unknown mechanism. Elucidating the molecular
pathways that uric acid acts on will give us more targets for
therapeutic development for people with spinal cord injury.
Selected References*:
Van den Bergh, G., Clerens, S., Firestein, B.L., Bernat, K. and Arckens, L. (2006)
Development and plasticity-related changes in protein expression patterns in cat visual cortex:
a fluorescent two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis approach. Proteomics, in press.
Chen, M.*, Lucas, K.G.*, Akum, B.F., Balasingam, G., Stawicki, T.M., Provost, J.M., Riefler, G.M.,
Jornsten, R., and Firestein, B.L. (2005) A novel role for snapin in dendrite patterning: Interaction
with cypin. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 16 (11), 5103-14. (*co-first authors)
Xu, B., Wratten, N., Charych, E.I, Buyske, S., Firestein, B.L., and Brzustowicz, L.M. (2005)
Increased Expression in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex of CAPON in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder.
PLoS Medicine, 2 (10), e263.
Akum, B.F., Chen, M.*, Gunderson, S.I.*, Riefler, G.M., Scerri-Hansen, M.M. and Firestein, B.L. (2004)
Cypin regulates dendrite patterning in hippocampal neurons by promoting microtubule assembly. Nature Neuroscience,
7:145-152. (*equal contributors) Featured in Faculty of 1000
Riefler, G.M., Balasingam, G.*, Lucas, K.G.*, Wang, S., Hsu, S.-C., and Firestein, B.L. (2003)
Sec8 binds to Postsynaptic Density Protein 95: A Novel Interaction Regulated by Cypin. Biochemical
Journal, 373:49-55. (*equal contributors) This work was cited in Hoogenraad, C.C. and Sheng, M.
The return of the exocyst. Nat Cell Biol. 2003 Jun; 5(6): 493-5.
Zimmerman, C., K. C. Klein, P. K. Kiser, A. R. Singh, B. L. Firestein, S. C. Riba, and J. R. Lingappa. (2002)
Identification of a host protein essential for assembly of immature Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 capsids.
Nature, 415:88-92.
