Kizil Lab

October 9, 2016November 22, 2017

We generated an Amyloid-beta42 toxicity model in adult zebrafish brain

We are happy to announce an advance we achieved in #Alzheimer's research here at our lab. We generated an Amyloid-β42 toxicity model in adult #zebrafish #brain, which shows cell death, microglial activation, synaptic degeneration and learning deficits. Unlike humans, fish brain increase stem cell proliferation and neurogenesis upon Aβ42. We found that Interleukin-4 as a …

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August 31, 2016November 22, 2017

Neural stem cells in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease and a worldwide health challenge. Different therapeutic approaches are being developed to revert or slow the loss of affected neurons. Alternatively, we also need to mobilize the existing neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) to regenerate lost neurons despite the existing pathology and unfavorable environment. We need to induce …

Continue reading "Neural stem cells in Alzheimer’s disease"

The brains of aging humans are prone to neurodegenerative disorders and we are unable to counteract neuronal loss by regenerating lost cells. Patients with neurodegenerative conditions progressively loose neurons yet cannot form new neurons that would replace the lost ones – namely, we humans lack the proper “plasticity response”. We are using zebrafish and novel 3D human culture systems as models to investigate the vertebrate neural stem cells.

Zebrafish regenerates its brain successfully. Our goal is to learn from zebrafish how we can enable the human brain to better cope with neurodegenerative disease and regenerate.

The main motivation of our research group is to understand the molecular programs zebrafish brain uses to induce regenerative stem cell plasticity, and harness this knowledge to unlock the regenerative potential of our brains in Alzheimer’s disease conditions.