Zebrafish research part of studies on healing damaged brains

A Western Michigan University professor of biological sciences is learning more about the ability of the adult human brain to recover from damage due to injury or disease through her work with zebrafish.

Christine A. Byrd-Jacobs has received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to study the mechanisms that are part of the degeneration and regeneration of the human brain, research that could ultimately suggest treatments for stroke and degenerative brain diseases.

Byrd-Jacobs recent work on zebrafish involves removing olfactory sensory input, which causes degeneration of the olfactory part of the brain. Zebrafish share similar basic cell types with humans, which makes them useful in predicting similar reactions in human tissue. When she restores sensory input, there is some regeneration of the brain, indicating that the adult central nervous system can recover from long-term damage.

The work involves the study of deafferentation, or the interruption of communication between nerve cells, a method of revealing the complex workings of nerve impulses, in the zebrafish. This, coupled with specific labeling techniques, allows researchers to closely observe the reactions of the cells and track the increase in newly generated cells.

The new grant will allow Byrd-Jacobs to pursue experiments that will examine the mechanisms involved in brain degeneration and regeneration processes, with the future goal of looking for treatments for stroke and degenerative brain diseases.

A WMU faculty member since 1996, Byrd-Jacobs serves as graduate advisor for the Department of Biological Sciences. She has received several National Institutes of Health grants to support her research.

Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Jeanne Baron, Western Michigan University