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Assistant
Professor, Depts.
of
Pediatrics, Division of Neuroscience and Program in Developmental
Biology, Baylor
College of Medicine
B.S.,
National
Taiwan Univ., Taiwan, 1991
Ph.D., Baylor
College of
Medicine. 1997
Post-Doc, Baylor
College of
Medicine (1997-2003)
Research
Interests: Molecular
Mechanisms of Cortical Map
Development
One
prominent feature of the mammalian brain is the topographical
representation of the external sensory world. Common examples are the
homunculus map in somatosensory cortex representing the body surface
and the retinotopic map in visual cortex. These maps are distinguished
by their extraordinary precision, with organized arrays of afferents
projecting into distinct neuronal modules. Remarkably, these cortical
maps that form in every individual can be altered by exposure to
abnormal sensory experience during a “critical
period” of
postnatal development. Mis-wiring of neuronal circuits during early
life is likely to be a major cause for neurological disorders,
including autism, dyslexia, schizophrenia, and congenital epilepsy.
What is
the nature of such
activity-dependent
processes? How does sensory experience influence the organization of
neural circuits? What determines the critical period of cortical map
plasticity? We use mouse barrel map as a model system to explore the
activity-dependent processes affecting cortical map development and
plasticity to take advantage of the beautiful pattern as well as the
power of transgenic mouse technology. The prominent anatomical feature
of “barrels” has allowed the identification of
several mutants with barrel map deficits, includes barrelless
mice (the null mutant mice of calcium-activated adenylyl cyclase I,
AC1), the loss-of-function mutant mice of mGluR5 (metabotropic
glutamate receptor) and PKARIIβ (protein kinase A regulatory
subunit II β subunit).
Our
previous studies with barrelless
mice strongly support the role of cAMP in activity-dependent processes
in the precise whisker-to-barrel connections, and protein kinase A
(PKA) is its major target. We will use several barrelless mice
to focus on the role of cAMP/PKA signaling cascades in cortical map
development. A combination of electrophysiological, pharmacological,
anatomical, and biochemical techniques will be employed to elucidate
the molecular mechanism underlying cortical map development and
plasticity.
Selected
Publications:
- Beat Lutz*,
Hui-Chen Lu*, Gregor
Eichele, David Miller and Thomas C. Kaufman (1996) “Rescue of Drosophila
labial
null
mutant by the chicken ortholog Hoxb-1 demonstrates that the function of
Hox gene is phylogenetically conserved”, Genes
and Development,
10: 176-184. (* equal
contributions)
- Hui-Chen Lu,
Gregor Eichele and Christina Thaller (1997) “Ligand-bound RXR
can mediate retinoid signal transduction during
embryogenesis”, Development, 124:
195-203.
- Hui-Chen Lu,
Jean-Pierre Revelli, Lisa Goering, Christina Thaller and Gregor Eichele
(1997) “Retinoid signaling is required for the establishment
of a ZPA and for the expression of Hoxb-8, a mediator of ZPA
formation”, Development,
124: 1643-1651.
- Hui-Chen Lu,
Eric C. Swindell, Walter D. Sierralta, Gregor Eichele and Christina
Thaller (2001) "Evidence for a role of protein kinase C in FGF signal
transduction in the developing chick limb bud", Development,
128: 2451-2460.
- Hui-Chen Lu,
Ernesto Gonazlez and Michael C. Crair (2001) "Barrel cortex critical
period plasticity is independent of changes in NMDA receptor subunit
composition”, Neuron,
32: 619-634.
- Hui-Chen Lu,
Wei-Chi She, Daniel T. Plas, Paul E. Neumann, Roger Janz and Michael C.
Crair (2003) "Adenylyl cyclase I regulates AMPA receptor trafficking
during mouse cortical ‘barrel’ map
development”, Nature
Neuroscience,
6: 939-947.
- James
Carson, Tao Ju, Hui-Chen Lu,
Christina Thaller, Mei Xu, Sarah L. Pallas, Joe Warren, Michael C.
Crair, Wah Chiu, and Gregor Eichele (2005) “A digital atlas
to characterize the mouse brain transcriptome”, PLoS
Comput Bio, 1: e41.
- Yuan
Fan, Desdemona Fricker, Darrin H. Brager,
Xixi Chen, Hui-Chen Lu,
Raymond A. Chitwood,
and
Daniel Johnston (2005) “Activity-dependent decrease of
excitability in hippocampal neurons through increases in Ih”,
Nature
Neuroscience, 8:1542-51.
- Lu
HC, Butts DA, Kaeser PS, She
WC, Janz R, Crair MC. Role of
efficient neurotransmitter release in barrel map development. Journal
of Neuroscience
2006 Mar
8;26(10):2692-703.
- Inan M, Lu HC, Albright MJ, She
WC, Crair MC.
Barrel
map development relies on protein kinase A regulatory subunit II
beta-mediated cAMP signaling. Journal
of Neuroscience
2006 Apr
19;26(16):4338-49.
- Jane
E. Lauckner, Jill B. Jensen,
Huei-Ying Chen, Hui-Chen
Lu, Bertil
Hille, and Ken Mackie (2008) "GPR55 is a cannabinoid receptor that
increases intracellular calcium and inhibits M current", Proc Natl Acad
Sci U S A (in press).
Contact
Information:
Hui-Chen
Lu, Ph.D.
The Cain Foundation Laboratories
The Feigin Center, Suite 955 MC 3-6365
1102 Bates Street
Houston, Texas 77030
Tel: 832-824-3966
Email:
hclu@bcm.tmc.edu
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(c)1998-2006
Baylor College of Medicine
Gordon and
Mary
Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation Laboratories
Feigin Center, Suite 955, Texas Children's Hospital
1102 Bates Avenue, MC 3-6365
Houston, TX 77030
Phone:
832-824-3968 | Fax:
832-825-4217
E-mail: Cain_Found@bcm.tmc.edu
Last Modified:
September 17, 2009
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