Mark A. Bothwell, Ph.D.
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Email: mab@u.washington.edu
The differentiative processes of embryonic development are coordinated by cell-to-cell communication. Cell membrane-anchored signaling molecules convey information between cells in direct contact, while diffusible polypeptide growth factors convey information between cells at a distance. Activation of cell membrane receptors by such signaling molecules regulates cellular functions as diverse as directed cell migration, transcription of genes responsible for cellular differentiation, and programmed cell death.
My laboratory uses the tools of molecular biology to examine both the biological functions and the cellular mechanisms of action of such signaling molecules. A major focus of our research is the family of growth factors known as neurotrophins, which have functions ranging from regulation of neuron survival and axon growth during embryonic development to regulation of synaptic function during the processes of learning and memory.
Other active areas of investigation in my laboratory include characterization of genes regulating the development and regeneration of the sensory cells of the inner ear, and characterization of genes regulating the induction of cardiac tissue from embryonic lateral mesoderm.
Selected Relevant Publications Mason K, Peale FV, Stone JS, Rubel EW, Bothwell M. Hearing research: expression of novel potassium channels in the chick basilar papilla. Hear Res 125:120-130, 1998.
- Koblar SA, Krull CE, Pasquale EB, McLennan, Eberhart RJ, Peale FD, Cerretti DP, Bothwell M. Spinal motor axons and neural crest cells use different molecular guides for segmental migration through the rostral half-somite. J Neurobiol 42:437-447, 2000.
- Bothwell M. Neurotrophin receptors. In: Neurotrophins. I Marchetti, ed. Sulzburger and Graham Publishing, 2000.
- Gunther EC, von Bartheld CS, Goodman LJ, Johnson JE, Bothwell M. The G-protein inhibitor, pertussis toxin, inhibits the secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Neurosci 100:569-579. 2000.
- Bothwell M, Giniger E. Alzheimer’s disease—Neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration converge. Cell 102:271-273, 2000.
- Hutson L., Bothwell M. Expression and function of Xenopus laevis p75(NTR) suggest evolution of developmental regulatory mechanisms. J Neurobiol 49:79-98, 2001.
- Karam SD, Kim YS, Bothwell M. Granule cells migrate within raphes in the developing cerebellum: an evolutionarily conserved morphogenic event. J Comp Neurol 440:127-135, 2001.
- Iwamoto S, Burrows RC, Kalina RE, George D, Boehm M, Bothwell M, Schmidt R. Immunophenotypic differences between uveal and cutaneous melanomas. Arch Ophthalmol, in press.