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Current Research
Interest
Neurodegenerative diseases – pathophysiology: Basis of neuronal loss in Parkinson’s disease, neurolathyrism and Huntington’s disease is investigated employing animal models, human postmortem brain tissues, primary cell cultures, cell lines and modified cell lines (cybrids). Analyses of behavioral abnormalities, neurotransmitter metabolism, reactive oxygen species, cellular events of apoptosis, calcium homeostasis, membrane potential/currents, mitochondrial functions and gene expression are carried out. What makes the substatia nigra dopaminergic neurons to die, whereas other dopaminergic neurons of the brain are spared is a major interest in the laboratory.
Neurodegenerative diseases – drug development. Animal cellular models are used for target identification and for drug screening. Novel molecules are isolated from plant sources, identified, and modeled with the help of bio-informatics, and synthesized. These are gained by means of vigorous, active collaborative research with synthetic organic chemists and bioinformatics specialists. Of special interests are herbals used in traditional and folk-medicines.
Neurodegenerative diseases – transplantation recovery: Stem cells are differentiated into dopaminergic neurons, characterized and transplanted in animal models of parkinsonism. Recovery in terms of neurochemistry and behaviors are examined. Survival of the grafts, stereology, neurogenesis, and brain transplantation loci are of prime interest.
Developmental neurobiology – ASD and ADHD: Autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorders are of special interests in terms of the involvement of mitochondrial genes in the development of these diseases. Human samples from patient population are investigated for mitochondrial genes and their gene expression pattern for examining pathophysiology of these diseases.
Research collaborations: Active collaborative research with funding have been established with Manovikas Kendra, Kolkata, Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata and Assam Central University, Silchar.
Facilities: Dedicated facilities include HPLC-electrochemistry, small brain stereotaxic apparatus, patch clamp amplifier, intracellular calcium assays, tools for protein separation and analysis including a Chemidoc system, PCR, real-time PCR, stereo-, fluorescent- and IR-DIC microscopes and a modern cell culture laboratory.
| Names
of the group members including regular staff
with designation and research fellows: |
| Fellow/RA |
Staff |
- Dr. Emili Benerjee, R.A., DBT banerjeeemily@yahoo.com
- Miss Debasmita Tripathy, SRF, CSIR debasmitatripathy@rediffmail.com
- Mr. Joy Chakraborty, SRF, CSIR joe4u_agt@yahoo.co.in
- Mr. Amit Naskar, SRF, DBT infinite_amit32@yahoo.com
- Mr. Raghavendra Singh, SRF, CSIR singh_sarvesh01@yahoo.co.in
- Mr. Debashis Dutta, SRF, CSIR ddebashis22@yahoo.com
- Miss Nilufar Ali, SRF, CSIR nilufar.ali.87@gmail.com
- Miss Poonam Verma, JRF, CSIR pv1585@gmail.com
- Mr. Nthenge Dominic Ngumbau Ngima, DBT-CICS-TWAS Fellow; ngutimba17@gmail.com
- Miss Alpana Singh, JRF,UGC alpanasingh2008@gmail.com
- Miss Meghna Banerjee, JRF, UGC meghna000@gmail.com
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- Mr. Debdas Guhathakurta, P. S.
debdas_g@yahoo.com
- Mr. Gobinda Sardar (On Contract)
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List
of important Publications :
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Madathil KS, Saravanan KS and Mohanakumar KP. Sodium salicylate protects against rotenone-induced parkinsonism in rats. Synapse doi: 10.1002/syn.21658 2013.
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Madathil KS, Karuppagounder SS, Haobam R, Varghese M, Rajamma U, Mohanakumar KP. Nitric oxide synthase inhibitors protect against rotenone-induced, oxidative stress mediated parkinsonism in rats. Neurochem Int 62, 674-683, 2013.
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Karuppagounder SS, Madathil KS, Pandey M, Haobam R, Rajamma U, Mohanakumar KP. Quercetin up-regulates mitochondrial complex-I activity to protect against programed cell death in rotenone model of Parkinson’s disease in rats. Neuroscience 236, 136–148, 2013.
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Sengupta T and Mohanakumar KP. 2-Phenylethylamine, a constituent of chocolate and wine, causes mitochondrial complex-I inhibition, generation of hydroxyl radicals and depletion of striatal biogenic amines leading to psycho-motor dysfunctions in Balb/c mice. Neurochem Int 57, 637-646, 2010.
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Borah A, Mohanakumar KP. Salicylic acid protects against chronic L-DOPA-induced 6-hydroxydopamine generation in experimental model of parkinsonism. Brain Res 1344, 192-199, 2010.
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Pandey M, Mohanakumar KP, Usha R. Mitochondrial functional alterations in relation to pathophysiology of Huntington’s disease. J Bioenerg Biomemb 42, 217-226, 2010.
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Borah A, Mohanakumar KP. Denervated, but not innervated striatum of parkinsonian rats is sensitive to 6-hydroxydopamine production in vivo following prolonged L-DOPA administration. Neurochem Int 56, 357-362, 2010.
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Borah A, Mohanakumar KP. Melatonin inhibits 6-hydroxydopamine production in the brain to protect against experimental parkinsonism in rodents. J Pineal Res 47, 293-300, 2009.
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Pandey M, Borah A, Varghese M, Barman PK, Mohanakumar KP and Usha R Striatal dopamine level influences oxidative stress mediated neurodegeneration in 3-nitropropionic acid-induced Huntington’s disease. Neurochem Int 55, 431-437, 2009.
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Varghese M, Pandey M, Samanta A, Gangopadhyay PK, Mohanakumar KP. Reduced NADH coenzyme Q dehydrogenase activity in platelets of Parkinson’s disease, but not Parkinson plus patients, from an Indian population. J Neurol Sci 279, 39-42, 2009.
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Borland MK, Mohanakumar KP, Rubinstein JD, Keeney PM, Xie J, Capaldi RA, Dunahm LD, Trimmer PA, Bennett Jr. JP. Relationships among molecular genetic and respiratory properties of Parkinson's disease cybrid cells show similarities to Parkinson's brain tissues. BBA – Molecular Basis of Disease, 1792, 68-74, 2009.
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Borland MK, Trimmer PA, Rubinstein JD, Keeney PM, Mohanakumar KP, Liu L, Bennett Jr JP. Chronic, low-dose rotenone reproduces Lewy neurites found in early stages of Parkinson's disease, reduces mitochondrial movement and slowly kills differentiated SH-SY5Y neural cells. Molecular Neurodegeneration, 3:21, 2008.
Detail list of Publications upto April 2013 ==>> Click here
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