CNLM Colloquium UCI Spotlight Series

Regulation of early neural development by glycosylation

Join the CNLM in a hybrid colloquium featuring Dr. Lisa Flanagan, associate professor of neurology at UC Irvine.

This event will be held in-person in the Herklotz Conference Center and virtually via Zoom.

Description:

Deciphering how neural stem cells function in early development to generate the cerebral cortex will help us better understand normal and disrupted brain formation and organization. We used neural stem cells, genetic mouse models, and innovative engineering approaches to uncover a novel role for glycosylation in directing early neural development. N-linked glycosylation of the neural stem cell plasma membrane controls neuronal and astrocytic differentiation, likely through regulation of cell surface protein binding to extracellular ligands. Increased formation of cell surface highly-branched N-glycans promotes astrocyte generation whereas loss of these glycans disrupts neuron differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Glycosylation plays a critical and previously unrecognized role in cell differentiation and early brain development and may help to explain cellular responses to extracellular cues.