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Zhiping Pang
Assistant
Professor
UMDNJ
Dept. of Neuroscience & Cell Biology
The Child Health Institute of NJ
89 French Street, Room 3277
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
(732) 235-8074
FAX - 8612
pangzh@umdnj.edu
Visit the Pang Lab |
Mechanisms of synaptic regulation: From stem cell to the
brain
My laboratory studies the neural basis of the regulation of feeding,
satiety, metabolism and obesity. Our studies may provide insights into the
neural causes and consequences of childhood obesity. We also developed
novel techniques for deriving neuronal cells from primary skin cells and
pluripotent stem cells, providing novel opportunities to study the
pathogenesis of neurological disorders, including pediatric developmental
disorders and autism spectrum disorders.
Energy homeostasis is tightly regulated by the central nervous system
which controls food intake and energy expenditure and the hypothalamus is
the key neural circuit for energy homeostasis. Dysfunctions in
hypothalamic circuitry result in obesity/anorexia and impairment of
cognitive function. Information flow within neural circuitry relies on
synaptic transmission, i.e. calcium-mediated synaptic vesicle release. The
long-term goal of my laboratory is to understand the neural circuitry that
controls feeding and obesity in the human brain. The hypothalamus is
enriched with neuropeptides but has a complicated synaptic wiring pattern.
To understand the cell type- and pathway-specific regulations of synaptic
transmission by hormones controlling obesity and feeding such as leptin,
synaptic outputs (axonal projections) from hypothalamus will be identified
using neural tracers including fluorescent beads or viral-mediated
expression of fluorescent proteins; synaptic inputs to hypothalamus will
be identified using optogenetic manipulations. High-resolution
electrophysiological and optical methods will be used for the readout of
calcium triggered synaptic vesicle release. Molecular perturbations
including mouse genetics will be utilized to manipulate specific proteins
involved in synaptic functions, neuropeptide release and regulations.
Research areas in my lab are to investigate several fundamental questions
including: 1) how peptidergic hormones including leptin, ghrelin and
insulin, and neuropeptides including neuropeptide Y and
proopiomelanocortin regulate synaptic functions with defined synaptic
connections within the hypothalamic region in control and obese states,
and to evaluate the behavioral outcomes in animals; 2) to unravel the
molecular mechanisms of peptidergic regulation of synaptic functions in
the hypothalamus; 3) to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of neuropeptide
release in hypothalamic neurons regulated by peptidergic hormones; and
finally 4) to establish a cellular-based model using derived human neurons
from pluripotent stem cells or fibroblasts for study of hormonal
regulation on synaptic functions in human brain.
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