Immune Cytokines in the Regulation of Neuronal Homeostasis (C01 [B06])

• Subject Area: Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology ; Experimental Models for the Understanding of Nervous System Diseases
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 221828878

We are focusing on the direct roles of major T cell-derived cytokines in the central nervous system (CNS). As we have shown that interleukin (IL)-4 receptors are present in a subset of cortical and hippocampal neurons, and that IL-4 treatment regulates the axonal cytoskeleton, we will now further characterize IL-4R synaptic partners and downstream targets, as well as its functions in synaptic vesicle cycling and transmission. A possible mediation by microglia will also be addressed, and the therapeutic effect of IL-4 treatment on hyperexcitability will be investigated in anxiety mouse models and also after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1080: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neural Homeostasis
• Applicant Institution: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Jonathan Kipnis, until 12/2020; Christina Francisca Vogelaar, Ph.D., since 1/2021; Professorin Dr. Frauke Zipp