Research Interests:
Dr. Wood's laboratory is studying mechanisms of cholesterol
regulation in brain and the role of cholesterol in cell structure
and function with an emphasis on cholesterol homeostasis and
Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several different lines of evidence
point to a potentially important but not well understood association
between AD and cholesterol. Epidemiological studies show that
patients taking cholesterol lowering drugs (statins) are at
a lower risk of developing AD than subjects not taking statins.
Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is an important carrier of brain cholesterol
and individuals with the apoE4 allele are at a greater risk
of developing AD compared to individuals with the apoE2 or 3
alleles. There is a growing body of data showing a dynamic interaction
between cholesterol and amyloid beta-protein (Abeta), a protein
that is thought to be an important contributor to neurodegeneration
that occurs with AD. Abeta interacts reciprocally with cholesterol.
Cholesterol levels modulate amyloid precursor protein (APP)
expression and Abeta production. Conversely, Abeta alters cellular
cholesterol dynamics particularly cholesterol trafficking in
astrocytes and neurons.
Dr. Wood's group uses several different techniques (e.g., gene
expression, proteomics, transgenic animal and cell lines, confocal
microscopy) in understanding brain cholesterol. Current research
efforts are: 1) examining how the Golgi complex regulates cholesterol
trafficking and modulation by Abeta; 2) investigating the structure
and function of brain lipid rafts in mice expressing human apolipoproteins
2, 3, and 4; and 3) brain gene expression in mice treated with
different cholesterol lowering drugs.
Selected Publications:
(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)
Johnson-Anuna LN, Eckert GP, Franke C, Igbavboa U, Müller WE, Wood WG. Simvastatin protects neurons from cytotoxicity by up-regulating Bcl-2 mRNA and protein.
J Neurochem. 2007 Apr;101(1):77-86.
Igbavboa U, Johnson-Anuna LN, Rossello X, Butterick TA, Sun GY, Wood WG. Amyloid beta-protein1-42 increases cAMP and apolipoprotein E levels which are inhibited by beta1 and beta2-adrenergic receptor antagonists in mouse primary astrocytes. Neuroscience. 2006 Oct 27;142(3):655-60.
Burns MP, Igbavboa U, Wang L, Wood WG, Duff K. Cholesterol distribution, not total levels, correlate with altered amyloid precursor protein processing in statin-treated mice. Neuromolecular Med. 2006;8(3):319-28.
Wood WG, Igbavboa U, Eckert GP, Johnson-Anuna LN, Muller WE. Is hypercholesterolemia a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease? Mol Neurobiol. 2005;31(1-3):185-92.
Sun GY, Xu J, Jensen MD, Yu S, Wood WG, Gonzalez FA, Simonyi A, Sun AY, Weisman GA. Phospholipase A2 in astrocytes: responses to oxidative stress, inflammation, and G protein-coupled receptor agonists. Mol Neurobiol. 2005;31(1-3):27-41.
Eckert GP, Wood WG, Muller WE. Statins: drugs for Alzheimer's disease? J Neural Transm. 2005 Aug;112(8):1057-71.
Erickson RR, Dunning LM, Olson DA, Cohen SJ, Davis AT, Wood WG, Kratzke RA, Holtzman JL. In cerebrospinal fluid ER chaperones ERp57 and calreticulin bind beta-amyloid. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005 Jun 24;332(1):50-7.
Igbavboa U, Eckert GP, Malo TM, Studniski AE, Johnson LN, Yamamoto N, Kobayashi M, Fujita SC, Appel TR, Muller WE, Wood WG, Yanagisawa K. Murine synaptosomal lipid raft protein and lipid composition are altered by expression of human apoE 3 and 4 and by increasing age. J Neurol Sci. 2005 Mar 15;229-230:225-32.
Johnson-Anuna LN, Eckert GP, Keller JH, Igbavboa U, Franke C, Fechner T, Schubert-Zsilavecz M, Karas M, Muller WE, Wood WG. Chronic administration of statins alters multiple gene expression patterns in mouse cerebral cortex. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2005 Feb;312(2):786-93.
Wood WG, Igbavboa U, Eckert GP, Johnson-Anuna LN, Muller WE. Is hypercholesterolemia a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease? Mol Neurobiol. 2005;31(1-3):185-92.
Sun GY, Xu J, Jensen MD, Yu S, Wood WG, Gonzalez FA, Simonyi A, Sun AY, Weisman GA. Phospholipase A2 in astrocytes: responses to oxidative stress, inflammation, and G protein-coupled receptor agonists. Mol Neurobiol. 2005;31(1-3):27-41.
Eckert GP, Wood WG, Muller WE. Membrane disordering effects of beta-amyloid peptides. Subcell Biochem. 2005;38:319-37.
Current Graduate Students:
Leslie Johnson (Pharmacology, Univ. of Minnesota)
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