Independent Study

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Protein S mediated TAM signaling in development: Using advanced transgenic mouse models, we have recently identified PROS1 expression in adult hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs) (Zelentsova et al, Stem Cells, 2016). NSC proliferation and differentiation are essentially developmental processes that also occur postnatally, in the adult organism. PROS1 expression in adult NSC biology is multi-functional. We found that PROS1 functions as a stem cell quiescent factor, and maintains NSC quiescence through regulation of Notch. Later on, PROS1 is instructional for the birth of new neurons, in a process termed neurogenesis. Previously, we found that PROS1 is important for the development of blood vessels and for their healthy function in adulthood (Burstyn-Cohen et al, (2009) JCI). We are interested to learn more about the role of TAM signaling in the developing vasculature and the developing nervous system. Specifically I am comparing brain cells between knockout mice and control mice for Protein S in microglia to see if knockout in these cells affect the rate of neural stem cell regeneration and differentiation into astrocytes (it has already been shown that knockout of Protein S in neural stem cells do affect these rates). If you need me to, I can talk more about the specific procedure that I am responsible for.