Centre of Biosciences SAS
Topic
Interactions between maternal and embryonal neurotrophic factors: implication for neurodevelopment
PhD. program
Biochemistry
Year of admission
2024
Name of the supervisor
MMedSc Eliyahu Dremencov, DrSc
Contact:
Receiving school
Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava
Annotation
Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the key neurotrophic factors regulating neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. Aside from its primary role in the central neural system (CNS), BDNF also mediate certain functions of the female reproductive system, such as oocyte maturation and embryo development. Decreased levels of maternal BDNF during the pregnancy is associated with the embryo developmental abnormalities, including the CNS-related ones. It can by hypothesized that maternal BDNF induce the expression of the embryonal neurotrophic factors, via a mechanism involving BDNF-TrkB-VGF-TLQP62 pathway, and thereby modulates the development of the offspring CNS. This project will aim to test thus hypothesis, using neurochemical, neurophysiological, and behavioral neuroscience methods.