DF/HCC Program Affiliation

Cancer Cell Biology
Neuro-Oncology, Co-Leader

DF/HCC Associations

Member, Center Scientific Council

Research Abstract

The Stiles laboratory studies basic principles of growth factor signal transduction in nerve cells and in the developing nervous system. Two examples of work in progress are as follows:

Growth Factor signal transduction through long axons.
In myelinated nerve cells, target-derived neurotrophins must communicate with a nucleus that can be more than a meter away. In collaboration with Dr. Rosalind Segal (Dept. of Pediatric Oncology, DFCI) we are learning how target-derived neurotrophins transmit information through long nerve axons.

Regulation of Neuronal Development by Platelet-Derived Growth Factor.
Neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in the central nervous system are thought to be derived from a pluripotential stem cell in the embryonic neural plate. Our laboratory has shown that uncommitted stem cells from the developing cortex of embryonic rats develop into neurons following exposure to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). The laboratory is using adenoviral vectors to probe the signal transduction pathways that regulate this PDGF-mediated developmental switch. In addition, we are using subtractive hybridization methods to isolate PDGF-responsive gene sequences from the uncommitted stem cells.

Publications

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