Home Department: undeclared
Mentor: Frank Longo (Neurology & Neurological Sciences)

“Examining the Role of p75 Neurotrophin Receptor in Pathological Synapse Removal by Microglia in Huntington’s Disease"

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a mutation in the HTT gene that increases neuroinflammation and disrupts the signaling of neurotrophins (brain growth factors). Microglia, the brain’s inflammatory cells, can become hyperactive in HD, causing synapse and neuron loss. Microglial activity can be reduced by regulating p75 neurotrophin receptor signaling with the drug LM11A-31. Jenna’s project will see if LM11A-31 can reduce microglia engulfment of synapses in HD mice and will utilize single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to analyze microglial gene expression from LM11A-31-treated HD mice to further understand the roles of p75 and microglia in HD.