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Christoph Proschel, Ph.D.

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Appointment: (585) 273-5368

Administrative: (585) 273-1440

Office: (585) 273-5368

Fax: (585) 273-1450

Research Labs

Faculty Appointments

Biography

Research

Within the context of our work on glial progenitor cells, we are now focusing on the role of astrocytes as critical modulators in response to injury or stress. The importance of understanding this process is emphasized by our discovery that the generation of mature astrocytes may be impaired in Vanishing White Matter leukodystrophy (Nat Med. 2005 Mar;11(3):277-83.).

The ability to study astrocyte development in normal and pathological conditions, provides a unique opportunity to test the utility of glial precursor cells and their astrocytic progeny for cell transplantation therapy in diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), such as traumatic injury (spinal cord and traumatic brain injury) and neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinsons Disease, Multiple sclerosis).

We have identified distinct astrocyte populations that demonstrate different functional properties with respect to their ability to promote injury repair upon transplantation into the injured nervous system. While one type shows little benefit and may even cause neuropathic pain syndrome, the other remodels the injured host tissue, enables axon outgrowth and extensive functional recovery (J Biol 2006 Apr 27, 5(3):7; J Biol 2008 Sep 19;7(7):245). As a prerequisite for the transition to the clinic we are analyzing the factors secreted by these astrocytes and have now derived homologous astrocyte populations from human precursor cells. (PLoS One. 2011 Mar 2;6(3)).

Credentials

Education

1986
BS | Julius-Maximillian Univ.
Biology

1990
M.Sc. | Julius-Maximillian Univ.
Immunology

1995
PhD | LICR Univ. College
Molecular & Cellular Biology

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

1998 - 1998
Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Molecular Cell Biology Göttingen/Germany, Professor P. Gruss

1995 - 2000
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City Research Project: Identification of Molecular Determinants of the Glial Cell Fate in Vertebrates: a potential role of GCM2 in CNS Gliogenesis

Awards

1995
European Molecular Biology Organization, Practical Course: "Mouse Developmental Genetics" Course supervisor: Prof. P. Gruss Max-Planck Institute, Göttingen

1986 - 1987
Scholarship of the University Würzburg: Postgraduate Studies Departments of Molecular Genetics and Neurobiology State University of New York, Albany, U.S.A.

Patents

Patent Title: Transplantation of Glial Restricted Precursor - Derived Astrocytes For Promotion of Axon Growth
Patent #: ZL200680040380.5
Issue Date: Jun 12, 2013
Country: China, People's Republic of
Invented By: Jeannette Davies, Stephen Davies, Margot Mayer-Proschel, Mark D Noble, Christoph Proschel

Publications

Journal Articles

8/30/2022
Hogestyn JM, Salois G, Xie L, Apa C, Youngyunpipatkul J, Pröschel C, Mayer-Pröschel M. "Expression of the human herpesvirus 6A latency-associated transcript U94A impairs cytoskeletal functions in human neural cells." Molecular and cellular neurosciences.. 2022 Aug 30; :103770. Epub 2022 Aug 30.

6/3/2022
Cho H, Abshire ET, Popp MW, Pröschel C, Schwartz JL, Yeo GW, Maquat LE. "AKT constitutes a signal-promoted alternative exon-junction complex that regulates nonsense-mediated mRNA decay." Molecular cell.. 2022 Jun 3; Epub 2022 Jun 03.

11/16/2021
Kurosaki T, Sakano H, Pröschel C, Wheeler J, Hewko A, Maquat LE. "NMD abnormalities during brain development in the Fmr1-knockout mouse model of fragile X syndrome." Genome biology.. 2021 Nov 16; 22(1):317. Epub 2021 Nov 16.

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