Thesis Defence "Control of glutamate transmission in neurological disorders: Regulation of glutamate transporter splice variants and the associated protein PICK1 " of Madam Marylène Focants.
In the glutamatergic synapse, the efficient uptake ensured by the glial glutamate transporter GLT-1 represents the principal mechanism that limits the amplitude and duration of the excitatory transmission. In this study, we have demonstrated that alternative splice variants of GLT-1 (GLT-1a and GLT-1b) are differentially expressed in astrocytes exposed to a pro-inflammatory environment. Moreover, the GLT-1b associated protein, PICK1, is upregulated in reactive astrocytes in the spinal cord of animals suffering from a motor neuron disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Altogether, the data presented in this thesis indicate that the neuroinflammatory-induced activation of astrocytes, a feature of many neurological disorders, may be correlated with alterations of GLT-1 activity through the differential expression of GLT-1 splice variants and the associated protein PICK1.
For more detail, her thesis defence will take place at Maisin Auditorium at 5 pm.
Jury's members: Prof. Frédéric Clotman (Président du jury), Prof.Emmanuel Hermans (promoteur) Docteur Stéphanie Goursaud (Co-promoteur)Prof.Pierre Courtoy, Prof.Philippe Gailly, Prof.Bernard Knoops, Prof. Laurence Had-Aissouni, Prof. Bernard Lakaye.