鲁白博士简介

生物谷

Dr. Bai Lu received his B.Sc. degree from East China Normal University and his Ph.D. from Cornell University Medical College, where he studied regulation of neurotrophin gene expression in the brain with Ira Black. He did his postdoctoral work at Rockefeller University with Paul Greengard and Mu-ming Poo on molecular mechanism of synaptic transmission and development, using the Xenopus neuromuscular synapses as a model system. In 1993, he became a faculty member at Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, where he began studying the role of neurotrophins in synapse development and plasticity. He joined NICHD as an Investigator in 1996. His laboratory investigates the mechanisms underlying neurotrophic regulation of synapses, and their functional significance.

Photo of Bai Lu, Ph.D., Senior Investigator

Research Interests:

The goal of our research is to understand how neuronal communication at synapses is regulated. Specifically, we are interested in the regulation of synapse development by neurotrophic factors. Traditionally, neurotrophic factors are defined as secretory proteins that regulate neuronal survival and differentiation. Recent studies have established a new concept that neurotrophic factors also play important roles in synapse transmission and plasticity in both developing and adult nervous system. Two types of regulation have been discovered: acute modulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity, and long-term alteration of the structure and function of synapses. We were among the first to study the synaptic functions of neurotrophic factors. A combined molecular biological and electrophysiological techniques are employed to study the regulatory effects of neurotrophic factors on the synapses at the neuromuscular junction and in the central nervous system such as hippocampus. We have made two important discoveries. One is that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) acutely facilitates hippocampal LTP, a cellular model for learning and memory. This is achieved, at least in part, by enhancing synaptic responses to high frequency, tetanic stimulation and facilitation of synaptic vesicle docking. The second is that BDNF and neurotrophin-3 (NT3) promotes the long-term maturation at developing neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Both structure and function of the NMJ are altered after prolonged exposure to the neurotrophins. Our recent work focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the acute and long-term neurotrophic regulation, and their relationships. Ongoing projects include: 1) neurotrophic regulation of long-lasting hippocampal synaptic plasticity, using transgenic/knockout mice; 2) biochemical and molecular study of activity-dependent modulation of BDNF receptor trafficking in hippocampal neurons; 3) molecular study of the signaling mechanisms for acute and long-term neurotrophic regulation, using Xenopus nerve-muscle system.

Selected Recent Publications:

H. Lou, S.K. Kim, E. Zaitsev, C.R. Sneil, B. Lu, and Y.P. Loh (InPress) Sorting and activity dependent secretion of BDNF requires an interaction with the sorting receptor Carboxypeptidase E, Neuron.
Y. Ji, P. T. Pang, L. Feng, and B. Lu (InPress) Cyclic AMP Controls BDNF-induced TrkB Phosphorylation and Dendritic Spine Formation in Hippocampal Neurons, Nature Neuroscience.
P. T. Pang, H. K. Teng, N. Woo, E. Zaitsev, K. Sakata, S. Zhen, K. K. Teng, W.-H. Yung, B. L. Hempstead, and B. Lu (2004) Cleavage of ProBDNF by the tPA/plasmin is essential for long-term hippocampal plasticity, Science 306, 487-491. Full Text/Abstract
Bai Lu (2003) Pro-region of neurotrophins: Role in synaptic modulation, Neuron 39, 735-738. Full Text/Abstract
M. F. Egan, M. Kojima, J. H. Callicott, T. E. Goldberg, B. S. Kolachana, E. Zaistev, A. Bertolino, B. Gold, D. Goldman, M. Dean, B. Lu, (co-corresponding author) and D. R. Weinberger (2003) A single nucleotide polymorphism in BDNF gene affects regulated secretion of BDNF and human memory and hippocampal function, Cell 112, 257-269. Full Text/Abstract

Contact Information:

Dr. Bai Lu
Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, NICHD
Porter Neuroscience Research Center
Building 35, Room 1C-1004
35 Convent Drive, MSC 3714
Bethesda, MD 20892-3714

Telephone: (301) 435-2970 (office), (301) 496-1777 (fax)
Email: bailu@mail.nih.gov