AGEP-T FRAME Fellow: Ariel Negrón
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Ariel Negrón Graduate Student, Stony Brook University Department of Neuroscience Specialty: Neuroendocrinology/ Reproductive Neuroendocrinology AGEP-T FRAME Research Mentor: Dr. Maricedes Acosta-Martinez Email: Ariel.Negron@stonybrook.edu |
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Ariel is a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience at Stony Brook University. Under the mentorship of Dr. Maricedes Acosta, his research focuses on PTEN and its role in kisspeptin neurons, which are pivotal for puberty and fertility in mammals. Ariel's research interests include studying brain sex differences and how they influence endocrine and neurological pathologies. Ariel earned his B.S. in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico. In addition to AGEP-T, Ariel is a W. Burghardt Turner Fellow and a mentor to junior graduate students at SBU. Ariel is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and The Endocrine Society. Seminar Title: Targeted Deletion of PTEN in Kisspeptin Cells: Effects on Kisspeptin Neuron Development and Reproductive, Physiology. Description: In mammals, the developmental and sex-specific changes in hypothalamic kisspeptin expression and release are pivotal for the maturation of the reproductive axis in both sexes, and the ability of females to show an ovulatory gonadotropin surge. However, the molecular mechanisms by which gonadal hormone-dependent and -independent pathways regulate kisspeptin development and function in both sexes are unknown. The signaling molecule phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is a dual protein and lipid phosphatase that plays an important role in neuronal development, regulating cell survival, neuronal size, and proliferation. To examine the importance of PTEN in the development and function of the hypothalamic kisspeptinergic system, we created a transgenic mouse with a kisspeptin cell-specific ablation of PTEN (Kiss-PTEN KO). Using this novel transgenic model, I propose that PTEN signaling mediates the organizational and activational effects of estrogen on the developing kisspeptin system and the sex differences in kisspeptin expression. Publications: Negrón, A. L., Beymer, M., Yu, G., Warren, K., & Acosta-Martínez, M. (2015). Prolonged hyperglycemia & hyperinsulinemia increases BDNF mRNA expression in the posterior ventromedial hypothalamus and the dorsomedial hypothalamus of fed female rats. Neuroscience. (In Press) Beymer, M., Negrón, A. L., Yu, G., Wu, S., Mayer, C., Lin, R. Z., Boehm, U., & Acosta-Martínez, M. (2014). Kisspeptin cell-specific PI3K signaling regulates hypothalamic kisspeptin expression and participates in the regulation of female fertility. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 307(11), E969-E982. Aziz, R., Beymer, M., Negrón, A. L., Newshan, A., Yu, G., Rosati, B., McKinnon, D., Fukuda, M., Lin, R.Z., Mayer, C., Boehm, U., & Acosta‐Martínez, M. (2014). Galanin‐Like Peptide (GALP) Neurone‐Specific Phosphoinositide 3‐Kinase Signalling Regulates GALP mRNA Levels in the Hypothalamus of Males and Luteinising Hormone Levels in Both Sexes. Journal of neuroendocrinology, 26(7), 426-438. |
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