On July 10, 2020 the University of Pittsburgh Senior Vice Chancellor Seminar Series will feature the work of our own Matthew MacDonald, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry.

Reductions in dendritic spines, the postsynaptic component of excitatory synapses, have been observed in multiple brain areas in schizophrenia (Sz) and are believed to underlie cortical processing deficits. Synaptic plasticity is regulated by synaptic protein network features, like protein trafficking and activity, both of which are mediated by posttranslational modifications (e.g., phosphorylation); and a significant number of Sz risk genes code for synaptic proteins. In cortical tissue from 50 Sz and 50 matched controls, MacDonald and colleagues used parallel microscopy, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic approaches to identify protein phosphorylations highly correlated with both dendritic spine loss and synaptic protein level alterations in Sz.

Dr. MacDonald and colleagues observed robust changes to phosphorylation levels of canonical postsynaptic proteins in Sz. WGCNA and cross-network analyses observed significant correlations among synaptosome, phosphorylation, and dendritic spine alterations in Sz. Phosphorylation sites on eight proteins were highly correlated with both synaptic protein alterations and spine loss. Of these eight proteins, all but one have well-documented roles in vesicular trafficking of postsynaptic glutamate receptors and/or regulating dendritic spines. When modeled in mice, one of these candidate phosphorylations (MAP2 S426E) decreased cortical dendritic spines numbers, further supporting a causal role for these phosphorylations in Sz pathology.

Date & Time. July 10, 2020, 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Virtual Lecture Instructions.  You must register for the lecture before it begins to receive event information. Because of concerns about COVID-19 transmission and containment, all remaining and rescheduled 2020 SVC lectures will be virtual.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credits. To receive CME credit for this lecture, text the code CADHUM to 412-312-4424 within 24 hours of the session’s start. (Your mobile phone number first must be linked to your account at cce.upmc.com.) You can also email kbg12@pitt.edu to receive credit for this session. Click here for more information about CME.

For More Information. Visit the Senior Vice Chancellor's Seminar Series website for more information.