Regenerative Medicine Utrecht

Regenerative Medicine Utrecht

Jeroen Pasterkamp, MD, PhD

Professor
Translational Neuroscience
UMC Utrecht
R.J.Pasterkamp@umcutrecht.nl

Motivated by curiosity, we use biology
to understand brain disease.

In 2000, Jeroen Pasterkamp obtained a PhD degree in Neuroscience while working under the supervision of Joost Verhaagen en Dick Swaab (Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience). His PhD work focused on the role of repulsive guidance cues in axon regeneration. His postdoctoral work was performed in the laboratory of Alex Kolodkin (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA) and financially supported by NWO Talent and HFSP fellowships. These studies focused on novel functions and the downstream signaling pathways of axon guidance cues.

In 2004, Jeroen moved to the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus (Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands) to start his own lab focused on molecular mechanisms underlying Neural Circuit Development and Disease (www.jeroenpasterkamplab.com). Currently, he is professor of Translational Neuroscience and studies mechanisms underlying axonal development and disease. His lab focuses on the role of semaphorins, non-coding RNAs and RNA binding proteins using induced pluripotent stem cell and genetic models, molecular cell biology, and 3D microscopy.

He participates in different European consortia and is a recipient of TOP, VENI, VIDI and VICI grants from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Further, he serves on different committees and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Epilepsiefonds. He regularly organizes international meetings, including KNAW and EMBO symposia.

Research

Our research focuses on understanding 1) the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of neuronal connections, and 2) the disease mechanisms responsible for changes in or loss of neuronal connectivity during epilepsy and motor neuron disorders (ALS, SMA). RNA biology (RNA binding proteins, non-coding RNAs) and axon guidance proteins play a central role in many of our projects, as do mouse genetics, humanized cell models (iPSC, organoids), molecular cell biology, and (light sheet) microscopy. The ultimate goal of our work is to design (regenerative) strategies for combatting neurological disorders.

Selected literature

Pubmed search: Pasterkamp RJ

  1. Henshall DC, Hamer HM, Pasterkamp RJ, Goldstein DB, Kjems J, Prehn JH, Schorge S, Lamottke K, Rosenow F (2016). MicroRNAs in epilepsy: pathophysiology and clinical utility. Lancet Neurology 15, 1368-1376.
  2. Kong Y, Janssen BJ, Malinauskas T, Vangoor VR, Coles CH, Kaufmann R, Ni T, Gilbert RJ, Padilla-Parra S, Pasterkamp RJ*, Jones EY* (2016). Structural Basis for Plexin Activation and Regulation. Neuron 91, 548-60. *Shared senior authors.
  3. Harschnitz O, van den Berg LH, Johansen LE, Jansen MD, Kling S, Vieira de Sá R, Vlam L, van Rheenen W, Karst H, Wierenga CJ, Pasterkamp RJ*, van der Pol WL* (2016). Autoantibody pathogenicity in a multifocal motor neuropathy induced pluripotent stem cell-derived model. Ann Neurol 80, 71-88. *Shared senior authors.
  4. Van Erp S, van den Heuvel DMA, Fujita Y, Robinson R, Hellemons AJCGM, Adolfs Y, Van Battum EY, Blokhuis AM, Kuijpers M, Demmers J, Hedman H, Hoogenraad CC, Siebold C, Yamashita T, Pasterkamp RJ (2015) Lrig2 negatively regulates ectodomain shedding of axon guidance receptors by ADAM proteases. Dev Cell 35, 537-552.
  5. Koppers M, Blokhuis AM, Westeneng HJ, Terpstra ML, Zundel CA, Vieira de Sá R, Schellevis RD, Waite AJ, Blake DJ, Veldink JH, Van den Berg LH, Pasterkamp RJ (2015) C9orf72 ablation in mice does not cause motor neuron degeneration or motor deficits. Ann Neurology 78, 426-438.
  6. Van Battum EY, Brignani S, Pasterkamp RJ (2014). Axon guidance proteins in neurological disease. Lancet Neurology 14, 532-546.
  7. Schmidt ER, Brignani S, Adolfs Y, Lemstra S, Demmers J, Vidaki M, Donahoo AL, Lilleväli K, Vasar E, Richards LJ, Karagogeos D, Kolk SM, Pasterkamp RJ (2014). Subdomain-mediated axon-axon signaling and chemoattraction cooperate to regulate afferent innervation of the lateral habenula. Neuron 83, 372-387.
  8. Van Battum EY, Gunput RA, Lemstra S, Groen EJ, Yu KL, Adolfs Y, Zhou Y, Hoogenraad CC, Yoshida Y, Schachner M, Akhmanova A, Pasterkamp RJ (2014). The intracellular redox protein MICAL-1 regulates the development of hippocampal mossy fibre connections. Nature Communications 5, 4317.

Contact

Tel: +31 88 7568831
www.jeroenpasterkamplab.com
Twitter: @JeroenPasterk
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwJUKNL_evFLkm2tHPQ4OOA