Menu

Department
  • Veterinary Medicine
  • Research Focus

    Keywords

  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Clinical Conditions

  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Equipment & Techniques

  • Electrophysiological recording techniques
  • Back

    Dr Ragnhildur Thora Karadottir

    University Position
    Research Fellow

    Interests

    My lab's interests are neurotransmitter signalling to oligodendrocytes and their progenitor cells, in both health and disease. Oligodendrocytes produce myelin (in the CNS), which speeds the propagation of the action potential. When the myelin sheath is lost or not formed, in diseases like cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, it causes mental and physical disability. We study how oligodendrocytes respond to neurotransmitters released from axons, both in the normal brain and in pathological conditions. Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) comprise 5% of the cells in the adult brain, where they are the main proliferative cells present. They can generate both neurons and glial cells, making them an important stem cell population in the adult brain. We study how neuronal activity can regulate OPC differentiation, in both the normal brain and pathological conditions.

    Key Publications

    Astrocyte response to motor neuron injury promotes structural synaptic plasticity via STAT3-regulated TSP-1 expression.

    DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5294
    Journal: Nat Commun
    E-pub date: 11 Jul 2014
    Authors: GE Tyzack, S Sitnikov, D Barson, KL Adams-Carr, NK Lau, JC Kwok, C Zhao, RJM Franklin, RT Karadottir, JW Fawcett, A Lakatos

    Publications

    Nutritional regulation of oligodendrocyte differentiation regulates perineuronal net remodeling in the median eminence.

    DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109362
    Journal: Cell Rep
    E-pub date: 13 Jul 2021
    Authors: S Kohnke, S Buller, D Nuzzaci, K Ridley, B Lam, H Pivonkova, MA Bentsen, KM Alonge, C Zhao, J Tadross, S Holmqvist, T Shimizu, H Hathaway, H Li, W Macklin, MW Schwartz, WD Richardson, GSH Yeo, RJM Franklin, RT Karadottir, DH Rowitch, C Blouet