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| Lynne A. Oland |
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Research Scientist
Arizona Research Laboratories Division of Neurobiology
Ph.D. 1985, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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| Office:
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Gould-Simpson
Bldg. Rm. 624a |
| Email: |
lao@neurobio.arizona.edu |
| Phone: |
(520) 621-7215 |
| Fax: |
(520) 621-8282 |
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Neuron-glia interactions in the
development of the nervous system
Glial cells, the most numerous cell type in the brain, once were relegated to
the status of supporting cells for neurons. Recent research, however,
has cast the glia in a new light, revealing them to be involved
with neurons in complex interactions that strongly affect the viability,
growth, and functioning of the neurons. During development, glial
cells have especially important roles in the survival and migration
of neurons, guidance of axons, and formation of neuronal branching
patterns. But most interestingly, the neurons in turn influence
glial cell development, suggesting that a dynamic interaction between
the two cell classes is a necessary element in correct development
of the nervous system. Because recognition of these neuron-glia
interactions is so new, our knowledge of the repertoire of interactions
undoubtedly is incomplete and our understanding of the underlying
mechanisms is nascent.
To study the role of neuron-glia interactions
during development, I use the developing olfactory system of
the moth Manduca sexta, an animal whose sensory periphery is
easily accessible and manipulable, and whose olfactory pathway
develops during metamorphosis. During this period, olfactory
receptor neurons send their axons to the antennal (olfactory)
lobe. There the axons induce the formation of structures called
glomeruli, which appear in virtually all olfactory systems
across the animal kingdom. We have found that glial cells have
a vital
role in the process of glomerulus formation. Although the receptor
axons initiate the formation of glomeruli, the newly forming
glomeruli must be stabilized by glial cells, which form a glomeruli.
When the glial cell population is severely reduced, the mature
antennal lobe lacks glomeruli. The involvement of glial cells
in the development of the antennal lobe begins even earlier,
however, when the receptor axons first approach the antennal
lobe. Just outside the lobe, the axons enter a glia-rich domain where they undergo a sorting process that changes
their topographic organization to a chemotopic organization,
a process that also must be accomplished by vertebrate olfactory
axons. In the moth, the axons fail to sort properly in glia-deficient
olfactory systems, strongly suggesting that a glia-neuron interaction
underlies the process of axon sorting.
In ongoing studies done in collaboration with
Leslie Tolbert, we are using a variety of techniques to examine
the cellular and molecular bases of the neuron-glia interactions
in the sorting zone and in the developing glomeruli. These include
cell culture, electrophysiology, immunocytochemistry, electron
microscopy, confocal microscopy and live-cell imaging. Given
the many similarities between the moth and the vertebrate olfactory
systems, we expect that insights gained in studying the moth
system will be broadly applicable in understanding the role of
neuron-glia interactions in the developing vertebrate system.
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Selected
Recent Publications
Abeytunga DT, Glick JJ, Gibson NJ, Oland LA, Somogyi A, Wysocki VH, Polt R. Jul 2004. Presence of unsaturated sphingomyelins and changes in their composition during the life cycle of the moth Manduca sexta. J Lipid Res, 45:1221-31
Tolbert LP, Oland LA, Tucker ES, Gibson NJ, Higgins MR, Lipscomb BW. Jun 2004. Bidirectional influences between neurons and glial cells in the developing olfactory system. Prog Neurobiol, 73:73-105
Tucker ES, Oland LA, Tolbert LP. May 2004. In vitro analyses of interactions between olfactory receptor growth cones and glial cells that mediate axon sorting and glomerulus formation. J Comp Neurol, 472:478-95
Oland LA, Pott WM, Howard CT, Inlow M, Buckingham J. Jul 2003. A diffusible signal attracts olfactory sensory axons toward their target in the developing brain of the moth. J Neurobiol, 56:24-40
Oland LA, Tolbert LP. Jan 2003. Key interactions between neurons and glial cells during neural development in insects. Annu Rev Entomol, 48:89-110
Lohr C, Tucker E, Oland LA, Tolbert LP. Aug 2002. Development of depolarization-induced calcium transients in insect glial cells is dependent on the presence of afferent axons. J Neurobiol, 52:85-98
Gibson NJ, Rossler W, Nighorn AJ, Oland LA, Hildebrand JG, Tolbert LP. Dec 2001. Neuron-glia communication via nitric oxide is essential in establishing antennal-lobe structure in Manduca sexta. Dev Biol, 240:326-39
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