Molecular and cellular bases of development, plasticity and regeneration of neural tissues
The central nervous system presents a daunting complexity and variety of cell types and axonal connections. The laboratory aims at the elucidation of the molecular and cellular bases of the regulatory processes involved in the generation of this system. The Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology is divided in several thematic groups that focus i) on the biology of neural stem cells, radial glia stem cells, motoneuron and glial progenitors and their microenvironment, the stem cell niche during development and under pathological conditions; ii) on neuron-glia interactions and their regulatory influence on axon growth and guidance, as well as synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity; iii) on the generation of retinal stem cells, their progeny, the generation of retinal progenitors and subpopulations, their integration into neural networks and the possible application to visual system lesions and degeneration. On the molecular level, glycoproteins, chondroitinsulfate proteoglycans and their receptors, tyrosine phosphatases and downstream GTPases of the RhoA-family and GEFs (e.g. Vav-proteins) are topics that are studied using molecular and cell biological tools, and genetically modified animal models.