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Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology

Axonal Transport And Life Cycle Of Mitochondria In Parkinson's Disease Model, Hyun Sung Apr 2016

Axonal Transport And Life Cycle Of Mitochondria In Parkinson's Disease Model, Hyun Sung

Open Access Dissertations

In neurons, normal distribution and selective removal of mitochondria are essential for preserving compartmentalized cellular function. Parkin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase associated with familial Parkinson’s disease, has been implicated in mitochondrial dynamics and removal. However, it is not clear how Parkin plays a role in mitochondrial turnover in vivo, and whether the mature neurons possess a compartmentalized Parkin-dependent mitochondrial life cycle. Using the live Drosophila nervous system, here, I investigate the involvement of Parkin in mitochondrial dynamics; organelle distribution, morphology and removal. Parkin deficient animals displayed less number of axonal mitochondria without disturbing organelle motility behaviors, morphology and metabolic state. …


Analysis Of Mitochondrial Turnover In Neuromuscular Junctions Of Parkin Mutants, Kenny Nguyen, Hyun Sung, Peter J. Hollenbeck Aug 2015

Analysis Of Mitochondrial Turnover In Neuromuscular Junctions Of Parkin Mutants, Kenny Nguyen, Hyun Sung, Peter J. Hollenbeck

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The accumulation of dysfunctional or damaged mitochondria in neurons has been linked to the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease. It has been proposed that proteins PINK1 and Parkin regulate mitochondrial quality control by selectively targeting depolarized mitochondria for autophagic degradation, a process known as mitophagy. Though previously analyzed in the cell bodies and axons of neurons, the role of the PINK1/Parkin pathway in the synapse is unclear, and it is not known whether mitochondrial turnover occurs in the neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). To study this, intact Drosophila nervous systems were analyzed in vivo by performing gentle dissections …


A Screen To Identify Saga-Activated Genes That Are Required For Proper Photoreceptor Axon Targeting In Drosophila Melanogaster, Kaelan J. Brennan, Vikki M. Weake, Jingqun Q. Ma Aug 2015

A Screen To Identify Saga-Activated Genes That Are Required For Proper Photoreceptor Axon Targeting In Drosophila Melanogaster, Kaelan J. Brennan, Vikki M. Weake, Jingqun Q. Ma

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The inherited human genetic disease spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and visual impairment that ultimately leads to blindness. SCA7 results from a mutation in the human ATXN7 gene that causes an expansion of polyglutamine tracts in this gene’s corresponding protein. Human ATXN7 protein serves as a component of the deubiquitylase (DUB) module of the large, multi-subunit complex Spt-Ada-Gcn acetyltransferase, or SAGA. SAGA is a transcriptional coactivator and histone modifier that functions to deubiquitylate histone H2B and allow for transcription of SAGA-mediated genes to occur. In Drosophila, mutations in SAGA DUB’s Nonstop and sgf11 components …