Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons^™

Mtor Signaling And Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress In Mixed Glial Cultures, William Theodore Schreiber-Stainthorp

Senior Theses and Projects

Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating cells of the central nervous system. The extraordinary protein and lipid synthesis that myelin production entails makes oligodendrocytes especially prone to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. In this experiment, we set out to investigate the dynamics of ER stress in mixed glial cultures, and how the consequences of that stress vary based on the activity of the anabolic PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Previous experiments in isolated oligodendrocyte cultures demonstrated a negative correlation between AKT/mTOR signaling and oligodendrocyte cell viability in the presence of ER stressors. Because ER stress leads to a buildup of improperly processed proteins, decreases in mTOR …