Presented by:
Chuan Xue
Date:
Wednesday 4th May 2016 - 15:00 to 16:00
Venue:
INI Seminar Room 2
Abstract:
The shape and function of an axon is dependent
on its cytoskeleton, including microtubules, neurofilaments and actin.
Neurofilaments accumulate abnormally in axons in many neurological disorders
including ALS. In many situations, an early event of such accumulation is a
striking radial segregation of microtubules and neurofilaments. This phenomenon
has been observed for over 30 years now, but the underlying mechanism is still
poorly understood. To address this problem, we developed a stochastic
multiscale model for the cross-sectional cytoskeleton dynamics in an axon. The
model successfully explained the cytoskeletal segregation and generated
testable predictions. Based on the insights obtained using the stochastic
model, we extracted a heuristic nonlocal PDE model that has led to further
insights into this problem through mathematical analysis and fast computation.
These modeling efforts have motivated new experiments in Dr. Anthony Brown’s
lab from Dept. of Neuroscience at the Ohio State University.