Role of bioactive lipid signaling in homeostatic control of excitatory transmission. (B05)

• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
• Term: from 2013 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 221828878

In the upcoming funding period, we will 1) address the role of PRG-1/CaM binding, which appears to be dynamically regulated, using electrophysiological and behavioral methods. 2) Further, we will analyze the role of the LPA-synthesizing enzyme ATX, present at perisynaptic lamellae of astrocytes, in excitatory synapses. 3) Finally, we will assess LPA-uptake and resulting Ca2+-transients in dendritic spines using single-spine 2P-imaging with a temporal resolution in the milliseconds range. This will allow to determine kinetics and to arrive at a quantitative mathematical model for synaptic phospholipid function. These data will provide a new view on the homoeostatic control of synaptic signaling by bioactive lipids.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1080: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neural Homeostasis
• Applicant Institution: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
• Project Heads: Jisen Huai, Ph.D., until 12/2016; Professor Dr. Robert Nitsch, until 12/2016; Professor Dr. Johannes Vogt