2012 Fragile X Research Awards Total $1,132,923
$1,132,923 in New Program Grants, Postdoctoral Fellowships, and Renewals have been approved for the next year. We are funding over $846,000 in new projects; renewals total $285,678 and will increase as additional projects reach their one year mark.
Functional Interplay Between FMRP and CDK5 Signaling
With a $180,000 grant from the FRAXA Research Foundation over 2011-2014, Dr. Yue Feng and Dr. Wenqi Li at Emory University will study CDK5 pathway function and regulation in an effort to break down whether and how CDK5 signaling is affected by the loss of the Fragile X protein, FMRP, in the Fragile X mouse model.
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Small Molecules To Target r(CGG) Expansions to Treat Fragile X Syndrome
With a 2-year, $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation, Dr.’s Matthew Disney and Wang-Yong Yang worked to correct the underlying problem in Fragile X: the silencing of the Fragile X gene (FMR1) and the resulting lack of FMRP (Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein). Their approach was to use novel small molecules to target the abnormal CGG repeats before the FMR1 gene.
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Potassium Channel Modulators to Treat Fragile X
With $246,000 in funding from FRAXA over 2012-2014, the Yale University team of Leonard Kaczmarek, PhD, showed that loss of FMRP leads to an increased Kv3.1 potassium currents and decreased Slack potassium currents in neurons. Both of these changes impair timing of action potentials in auditory neurons (and likely others throughout the brain). The team also found that the firing pattern of neurons in response to repeated stimulation is severely abnormal in Fragile X mice. Based on these results, they are collaborating with the UK-based company Autifony to develop and test advanced compounds which may reverse these deficits.
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Social Behavior as an Outcome Measure for Fragile X Clinical Trials
One of the features of the Fragile X mouse model which is relevant to the human Fragile X syndrome (and autism) is social behavior. Several tests show consistent social behavioral abnormalities in the Fragile X mouse model. With a $140,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation in 2012-2013, Dr. Willemsen at Erasmus University used social behavior tests to measure the effectiveness of several drug strategies.
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Translation-Independent Functions of FMRP in Excitability, Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity
With a $140,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation, Dr. Vitaly Klyachko and team at Washington University explored STP (short-term plasticity) in Fragile X, namely looking at presynaptic calcium dynamics as a major underlying cause of the STP defects.
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK3), Lithium and Fragile X
With $208,000 in funds from FRAXA Research Foundation, Dr. Richard Jope and his team at the University of Miami tested whether newly developed, highly specific inhibitors of GSK3 can reduce behavioral abnormalities in Fragile X mice.
Read More »The mTOR Pathway in Fragile X Syndrome
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation over 2012-2013, Dr. Eric Klann and Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Aditi Bhattacharrya of New York University investigated alterations in the mTOR pathway in Fragile X syndrome – which is also known to be defective in several forms of autism. Their work was published in September 2012 and received international attention.
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Matrix Metalloproteinase Therapeutic Treatments for Fragile X Syndrome
With a $157,000 grant from the FRAXA Research Foundation in 2012-2013, Dr. Kendal Broadie and Dr. Cheryl Gatto worked to define the distinct but also overlapping roles for MMP-1 and MMP-2 in synaptic structural and functional development. In drug studies with Fragile X fruit flies, they will be testing a range of MMPIs in drug treatments to compare effectiveness during development and at maturity, in order to define the contributions of FXS developmental impairments and adult recovery/plasticity.
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Effects of minocycline on vocal production and auditory processing in a mouse model of Fragile X
With $135,000 in grants from FRAXA Research Foundation over several years, Dr. Khaleel Razak and Dr. Iryna Ethell explored robust biomarkers relevant to the FXS and the efficacy of minocycline treatment.
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