Date of Award

January 2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biomedical Sciences

First Advisor

John Watt

Abstract

Mature mammalian CNS neurons do not regenerate or recover following injuries. Different transcription factors have been linked to axonal growth and survival, and regulation changes in these transcription factors will affect the expression levels of genes involved in axonal regeneration. A robust collateral sprouting response within the distant terminal field of magnocellular neurons, the neurohypophysis, arising from the contralateral non-injured supraoptic neurons have been shown in response to unilateral denervation of MCNs tracts. This response peaked at age 35 days then it was followed by a complete loss of the regenerative capacity between 35 days and 125 days of age. Our aim is to compare the transcription profile between young regenerating neurons and mature non-regenerating neurons and resident glia, the pituicytes, in the neurohypophysis. The hypothalamic-neurohypophysis system was used to study the epigenetic changes that underlie the decline in neuronal plasticity in the context of dynamic neuronal-glial interaction. RNA-seq analysis and enrichment analysis determined upregulated and downregulated genes with their functional pathway enrichment.

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