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SIDDHARTH GAYWALA
PI: Richard Daneman, Ph.D., UCSD School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology
How Do Brain Endothelial Cells Modulate Neuroinflammation?
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The unique properties of the brain vasculature, termed the blood-brain barrier (BBB), are essential to maintain brain health and become dysregulated in neuroinflammatory disease states, such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In preliminary studies, we identified Elovl7 to be downregulated at the protein and transcript level in post-mortem AD-patient vasculature. Elovl7, a long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) elongase, is highly and specifically expressed in brain endothelial cells (BECs), which harbor BBB properties. However, Elovl7’s role in AD pathology is unknown. As many LCFAs function as inflammatory modulators, we hypothesize that Elovl7 is involved in modulating neuroinflammation, and that its downregulation exacerbates neuroinflammation in disease. To test this, we generated a novel Elovl7-floxed mouse line, allowing us to specifically knockout Elovl7 in BECs with temporal control. This project will provide insight into the pathophysiology of AD and novel avenues by which the BBB protects the brain in health.
Nathan Glonek
PI: Karsten Zengler, Ph.D., UCSD School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Understanding Microbiome Assembly Using Synthetically Reconstructed Communities (SynCom)
Synthetic bacterial communities (SynComs) serve as effective microbiological models to better understand the interactions between bacteria, their hosts, and other microbes in their environment. To make these SynComs relevant and representative, a variety of bacterial species must be included to mirror the function of the in vivo community. The Zengler Lab has developed a novel approach that investigates bacterial protein regulation to determine which members of a SynCom work together, and thus, have a similar influence on community assembly and function, i.e. they belong to the same bacterial guild. With this information, I will be utilizing a 16-species SynCom, representing a rhizosphere bacterial community to investigate how microbes exhibit resilience and respond to various perturbations such as antibiotic treatment. This will allow us to better understand how microbial communities assemble and interact, enabling us to leverage their diverse capabilities for industrial and therapeutic applications in the future.
