2004 NIH Neuroscience Seminar Series
Monday, April 5, 2004,  Noon
Building 10, Lipsett Amphitheater
NICHOLAS SPITZER, PH.D.,  University of California, San Diego
"Activity-Dependent Homeostatic Specification of Transmitter Expression
in Embryonic Neurons"
What are the mechanisms by which neurons differentiate to achieve the
spectacular complexity of the brain?  Remarkably, voltage-dependent ion
channels and neurotransmitter receptors are expressed at early stages of
development, substantially before synapse formation, suggesting that ion
channel activity participates in signal transduction that directs
subsequent steps of development.   Dr. Spitzer's lab has discovered that
spontaneous transient elevations of intracellular calcium, generated by
ion channels and receptors, control differentiation during an early
period in embryonic development.   Some of these calcium transients are
terminated by subsequent development of voltage-dependent potassium
current.   Dr. Spitzer's work is aimed at understanding the mechanisms
of generation of spontaneous calcium transients and the mechanisms by
which they exert their effects, and at determining the molecular basis
of regulation of potassium currents.  (from
http://www.biology.ucsd.edu/labs/spitzer/researchoverview.html)
Selected Publications:

Borodinsky,L.N., Root,C.M., Cronin,J.A., Sann,S.B., Gu,X. and
Spitzer,N.C. (2004) Activity-dependent homeostatic specification of
transmitter expression in embryonic neurons. Nature, in press.
Gorbunova, Y.V. and Spitzer, N.C. (2002) Dynamic interactions of cAMP
transients and spontaneous calcium spikes. Nature 418:93-96.
Ming, G., Wong, S.T., Henley, J., Yuan, X, Song, H., Spitzer, N. and
Poo. M. (2002) Adaptation in the chemotactic guidance of nerve growth
cones. Nature 417:411-418.
Gomez, T.M., Robles, E., Poo, M.-m. and Spitzer, N.C. (2001) Filopodial
calcium transients promote substrate-dependent growth cone turning.
Science 291:1983-1987.
Watt, S.D., Gu, X., Smith, R.D. and Spitzer, N.C. (2000) Specific
frequencies of spontaneous Ca2+ transients upregulate GAD 67 transcripts
in embryonic neurons.  Molec. Cell. Neurosci. 16:376-387.
Vincent, A., Lautermilch, N.J. and Spitzer, N.C. (2000) Antisense
suppression of a potassium channel gene demonstrates its role in
maturation of the action potential. J. Neurosci. 20:6087-6094.
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