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Deciphering the Transcriptional Regulatory Network Controlling RGC Axon Growth to Promote RGC Axon Regeneration and Cell Survival after Axonal Injury

Award Number: R00EY031742
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2027

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Deciphering the Transcriptional Regulatory Network Controlling RGC Axon Growth to Promote RGC Axon Regeneration and Cell Survival after Axonal Injury - Project Summary In the past decade, restoring the intrinsic axon growth ability of mature neurons has received promising results in promoting axon regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS). However, to date, axon regeneration that leads to successful functional recovery in the CNS is still practically impossible, primarily due to the inadequate distance of regeneration and the low number of regenerating axons. Previous studies and my preliminary data have shown that many genes mediating the intrinsic axon growth ability are differentially expressed at different developmental stages in neurons, indicating the altered gene expression level during neuronal maturation is an important factor underlying the diminished intrinsic axon growth capacity. However, how the altered gene expression program is regulated remains largely unknown. Transcription factors (TFs) play important roles during neuronal development, shaping the spatiotemporal gene expression landscape to control cellular activities including axon elongation. Thus, understanding the intricate transcriptional regulatory network orchestrating axon growth during development is critical for solving the challenge of mammalian CNS axon regeneration. In this proposed study, I will perform parallel RNA-seq and ATAC-seq of purified retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) at multiple developmental time points, and use advanced integrative bioinformatics analysis to obtain a comprehensive view of the transcriptional regulatory network controlling the axon elongation function during RGC development, and identify key TFs that function as core regulators of axon growth. The identified TFs will be functionally tested in mouse optic nerve regeneration model to verify if they play important roles in RGC axon regeneration and cell survival. RGCs are comprised of more than forty molecular distinct subtypes. Different RGC subtypes vary in vulnerability to axonal injury and have distinct responses toward gene modulations. I will conduct single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) in RGCs 2 weeks after optic nerve crush from control and TF- manipulated groups to acquire the frequency of each RGC subtype in the final population, and determine what specific RGC subtypes are protected by the manipulation of a specific TF by comparing the frequencies of RGC subtypes between control and TF-manipulated groups. TFs whose manipulations are found to improve survival in distinct RGC subtypes will be combined in the next step to determine if simultaneously manipulating these TFs could protect a wide variety of RGC subtypes from injury-induced cell death and induce synergistic promoting effect on RGC axon regeneration. In addition, I will also combine the manipulations of these TFs with non-muscle myosin IIA/B deletion in RGCs, which produces axon regeneration by modifying cytoskeletal dynamics in the growth cone of injured axons, to find out if this combinatory approach could lead to unprecedented long-distance axon regeneration.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $249,000 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA	4202 E FOWLER AVE	TAMPA	FL	33620	HILLSBOROUGH	USA	Vision Research	000	5	4/1/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$249,000
														Subtotal = $249,000

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $249,000 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA	4202 E FOWLER AVE	TAMPA	FL	33620	HILLSBOROUGH	USA	Vision Research	000	4	3/17/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$249,000
														Subtotal = $249,000

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $249,788 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA	4202 E FOWLER AVE	TAMPA	FL	33620	HILLSBOROUGH	USA	Vision Research	000	3	2/16/2024	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$249,000
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA	4202 E FOWLER AVE	TAMPA	FL	33620	HILLSBOROUGH	USA	Vision Research	001	3	9/17/2024	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$788
														Subtotal = $249,788

Grand Total All Awards = $747,788

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Deciphering the Transcriptional Regulatory Network Controlling RGC Axon Growth to Promote RGC Axon Regeneration and Cell Survival after Axonal Injury

Award Number: R00EY031742

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2027

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