Lester I. Binder
Rank: Professor
Research area: The role of the cytoskeleton in neurodegeneration
Degree: Ph.D., Yale University
Voice: 312.503.0823
Fax: 312.503.7912
e-mail: l-binder@nwu.edu
Detailed research description:
We study the role of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) in the
normal and diseased nervous system. Most of our work has focused on tau,
a protein thought to stabilize axonal microtubules, but, that is also present
in other cellular and subcellular compartments in the central nervous system.
The functions of this extra-microtubule tau is not known although its association
with ribosomes in neurons and astrocytes and with the rRNA gene clusters
in nuclei and on chromosomes of dividing cells suggests some role in protein
synthesis. We have also documented tau's presence in oligodendrocytes,
perhaps associated with membrane vesicles, suggesting yet another function
for this fascinating molecule.
Interest in tau is great in the medical community because we and others have shown that it is the major protein species in the paired helical filaments (PHFs). These filaments comprise the fibrillar pathologies found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's Disease. Furthermore, many forms of human Frontal Lobe Dementias, that are characterized by tau filamentous inclusions, are caused by autosomal dominant mutations in tau. Using cellular, molecular and immunological techniques, my lab studies the mechanism of tau filament formation in vitro and in vivo and seeks to determine the functional consequences of tau polymerization to the neurodegenerative cascade.