Condensed Matter & Surface Sciences

COLLOQUIUM

Yulia Pushkar

Purdue University

“Synchrotron X-ray fluorescent imaging and

spectroscopy studies of the role of copper in the stem cell

niche architecture of adult neuronal stem cells”

Recent improvements in sensitivity and spatial resolution of synchrotron X-ray fluorescent imaging and spectroscopy allow us to study the distribution of metals in brain tissues and single cells. In this presentation, the specific enrichment in Cu, which we discovered in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle wall, will be discussed. This area in the brain contains adult neural stem cells (NSCs). These cells were discovered in the nineties when it was demonstrated that neural stem cells (NSCs) are present not only during the embryonic development but also in the adult brain of all mammalian species, including humans. Stem cell niche architecture in vivo enables adult NSCs to continuously generate functional neurons in specific brain regions throughout life. Data will be presented on the Cu speciation from Cu X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) and imaging of the Cu distribution with sub-cellular (200 nm) resolution in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle wall. Copper is known to play an important role in the brain’s development and function. However, the role of Cu in the viability and control of the NSCs is presently unknown. Our imaging effort is a first attempt to look at the role of Cu in the architecture of the adult neural stem cell niche in the brain.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

4:10 p.m. -- Walter Lecture Hall 245