This
image captured by a confocal microscope shows some of the processes of
two neurons in a living tadpole brain. Frank Miskevich, Texas A&M University-Commerce
biology professor, is exploring the brain's visual system and shedding
light on the basic process of how the brain becomes "wired" properly.
(Texas A&M University-Commerce photo by Frank Miskevich)
(Commerce)—A
neuroscientist at Texas
A&M University-Commerce is aiming at a better understanding of
diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's by setting his sights on the
brain's visual system.
By shedding light on the basic processes that help the brain become "wired" properly,
Frank Miskevich's work may one day aid in the development of treatments
for neurodegenerative diseases.
Miskevich, an assistant professor of developmental biology at A&M-Commerce,
works from A&M-Commerce's new $28 million, state-of-the-art Science
Building, which opened in January and was dedicated April 4.
He studies the complex biochemical signals responsible for forming connections
between brain cells, or neurons, and the eyes. While his work has broad
applications in understanding how vision works, much of his research focuses
on how calcium moving in and out of neurons interacts with other molecules
and proteins in those cells.
Those interactions, called "signaling pathways," activate genes
that ultimately change the physical makeup and function of the brain. Calcium
signaling also plays a role in determining the fate of neural stem cells,
special cells in the brain that have the potential to become any type of
brain cell.
"Scientists are very interested in studying neural stem cells," Miskevich
said. "The idea is that, eventually, we could take these undifferentiated
stem cells, put them into a brain damaged by Parkinson's or Alzheimer's and
replace the neurons that are lost in those diseases—theoretically. But
you have to know the signals that are involved in converting those cells into
functioning brain cells. Calcium is one of those signals."
Neural stem cells that receive one type of chemical signal may be coaxed
to turn into neurons that can produce dopamine, Miskevich said.
The degeneration of these so-called dopaminergic neurons is a hallmark
in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease. Similarly, loss of
brain cells called cholinergic neurons is associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Calcium ions—atoms of calcium with a +2 charge—travel in and
out of cells through pores in the cell membrane called ion channels. Once
inside the cell, calcium ions trigger a cascade of biochemical reactions
that lead to genes being turned on and off. Activated genes produce proteins,
which carry out all of life's functions.
"Calcium is able to signal processes that turn on specific genes and change
the proteins that the cell is making," Miskevich said. "This then
changes the characteristics of the cell."
Calcium, for example, is key to making the connections between neurons
stronger and increasing the stability of the "wiring" within
the brain. While researchers have been studying calcium and other signaling
processes in the brain for many years, Miskevich said new research tools
and information are allowing more questions to be investigated.
One of those new research tools is called RNA interference. In a paper
to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal
of Neuroscience Methods, Miskevich and his former colleagues from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology describe how they used the technique
to reduce the amount of ion channels in frogs in an effort to better understand
the channels' role in forming neural connections.
"We're looking at the basic mechanisms involved in neural development,
how are these connections being made and what genes are involved," he
said. "There is still much more to learn about these processes, and how
they relate to human health and disease."
Miskevich uses animals, such as chickens and frogs, in his research because
while their visual systems are very similar to that of humans, they are
much simpler organisms to work with.
"In the visual system of any vertebrate, you not only have to form the
correct cells at the right locations in the brain, but also you must get the
connections going from the eyes to the rest of the brain," Miskevich said. "Those
connections are very specific. There are a lot of proteins and molecules involved
in this complex process, but the signaling pathway I'm most interested in involves
calcium ions."
Miskevich, who joined the faculty of A&M-Commerce's Department of Biological
and Environmental Sciences in 2004, said one of his goals is to bring more
students into his research. A grant proposal he has submitted to the National
Institutes of Health would not only aid his research program, but also
help support more students.
In addition to Miskevich's department, the Department of Physics and Department
of Chemistry also call the new Science Building home. The 110,000-square-foot,
three-story Science Building features modern classrooms and up-to-date
laboratories for biology, physics, chemistry and agricultural research.
The complex also includes a state-of-the-art planetarium.