Estrogen and Glutamate Receptors in Plasticity and AD
Michel Baudry, Ph.D. Director

This project addresses the cellular mechanisms underlying the dual actions of estrogen in women with Alzheimer's Disease, i.e., the improvement of the cognitive deficits and the reduced incidence of AD in women with estrogen replacement therapy.

Specific Studies

  1. Cultured hippocampal slice preparations will be used to study effects of acute as well as chronic treatment with 17-ß-estradiol on glutamate receptors.
  2. Hippocampal slice preparations will be used to evaluate the acute and chronic effects, and the mechanisms of action, of E2 on tetanus and glycine induced LTP.
  3. Cultural hippocampal slice preparations will be used to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of estrogen on excitotoxicity. Potential interactions between neuronal and glial responses to estrogen will also be examined using slices from various knock-out mice.
  4. Cultured hippocampal slice preparations will be used to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of estrogen and ß-amyloid peptide toxicity in cultured hippocampal slices.

Michel Baudry, Ph.D. (PI)
baudry@neuro.usc.edu

Marianne Crispino, Ph.D.
crispino@hbpmb.usc.edu

Ruifen Bi, Ph.D.

 

 

Publications

 

  1. Bi R, Broutman G, Foy M, Thompson RF, Baudry M.  The tyrosine kinase and MAP kinase pathways mediate multiple effects of estrogen in hippocampus.  PNAS 97: 3602-07, 2000.  (PDF file)

 

  1. Bi R, Rong Y, Bernard A, Khrestchastisky M, Baudry M.  SRC-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2 subunits of NMDA receptors protects from calpain-mediated truncation of their C-terminal domains.  J Biol Chem 275: 26477-83, 2000.   (PDF file)

 

  1. Lu X, Wyszynski M, Sheng M, Baudry M. Proteolysis of glutamate receptor interacting protein (GRIP) by calpain in rat brain: implications for synaptic plasticity.  J Neurochem, 77:1553-1560, 2001    (PDF file)

 

  1. Rong Y, Lu X Bernard A, Khresctchatisky M, Baudry M.  Tyrosine phosphorylation of ionotropic glutamate receptors by Fyn or Src differentially modulates their susceptibility to calpain and enhances their binding to spectrin and PSD-95, J Neurochem 79:382-390, 2001   (PDF file)

 

  1. Bi, R., Foy, M.R., Vouiimba, R.M., Thompson R.F. and Baudry, M.  Cyclic Changes in Estrogen regulate synaptic plasticity through the MAP kinase pathway. PNAS 98:13391-13395, 2001  (PDF file)

 

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