Randall D. McKinnon Associate Professor UMDNJ-RWJ Medical School Department of Surgery 675 Hoes Lane Piscataway. NJ 08854 (732) 235-4419 FAX - 4477 mckinnon@umdnj.edu

Developmental neurobiology. neuroncology. growth factors

Our research efforts examine the role of polypeptide growth factors during brain development and the generation of axon ensheathing glial cells of the CNS. using both classical and reverse genetics. Our long term objective is to identify factors with potential for enhancing CNS myelin repair after injury or demyelinating disease. These studies involve several experimental systems and a variety of molecular genetic approaches. First. cells isolated from the rodent brain are examined using cell and molecular techniques in vitro. These studies rely on our extensive experience with primary cell culture and gene transfer technology for both gain and loss of function analysis. Second. cells engineered in vitro to alter specific signaling pathways are examined after transplantation in vivo. Third. signaling pathways important for glial maturation in rodents are examined in the model genetic organism Drosophila melanogaster. Finally. regulators of glial maturation in fly embryogenesis are examined for their roles in vertebrate glia. Such studies are thus aimed at identifying conserved signaling pathways involved in the extensive cross talk between neurons and glia during brain development.

Selected Publications

Chen CP, Kiel ME, Sadowski D, McKinnon RD. (2007) From stem cells to oligodendrocytes: prospects for brain therapy. Stem Cell Rev. 3(4):280-8. Review.

Labrador JP. O'Keefe D. Yoshikawa S. McKinnon RD. Thomas JB. Bashaw GJ. (2005) The homeobox transcription factor even-skipped regulates netrin-receptor expression to control dorsal motor-axon projections in Drosophila. Curr Biol. 15(15):1413-9.

McKinnon. R.D.. Waldron S. and Kiel. M.E. (2005). PDGF a-Receptor signal strength controls an RTK rheostat that integrates Phosphoinositol 3'-Kinase and Phospholipase Cg pathways during oligodendrocyte maturation. J. Neuroscience 25(14):3499-3508.

Wong. Y.F.. et al. (2003). Expression genomics of cervical cancer: molecular classification and prediction of radiotheraphy response by DNA microarray. Clinical Cancer Research. Clinical Cancer Research 9:5485-5492.

Yoshikawa. S. . McKinnon. R.D.. Kokel. R.D. and Thomas. J.B. (2003). Wnt-mediated axon guidance through the Drosophila derailed receptor. Nature 422:583-588.

Bennett. M.R.. Rizvi. T.A.. McKinnon. R.D. and Ratner. N. (2003). Aberrant growth and differentiation of CNS glial progenitors in neurofibromatosis type 1 mutants. J of Neurosci 73:7207-7217.

Deng. W.. McKinnon. R.D. and Poretz. R.D. (2001). Lead exposure delays the differentiation of oligodendroglial progenitors in vitro. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 174:235-244.

Ebner. S.. Dunbar. M. and McKinnon. R.D. (2000). Distinct roles for PI3K in proliferation and survival of oligodendroglial progenitor cells. J. Neurosci. Res. 62:336-35.

Krause. T.J.. Katz. D.A.. Wheeler. C.J.. Ebner. S. and McKinnon. R.D. (1999). Increased levels of surgical adhesions in TGFb1 heterozygous mice. J. Invest. Surgery 12: 31-38.