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Wendy Macklin, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair

Wendy Macklin Anschutz Cell Developmental Biology
 wendy.macklin@cuanschutz.edu
 303-724-3426
 Ph.D., Stanford University, 1979
 M.S., Yale University, 1974

Graduate Program Affiliations:

Signaling mechanisms that regulate oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelination

This study focuses on the Akt/mTOR pathway in oligodendrocytes, which directly regulates the amount of CNS myelin. The downstream signaling pathways that control myelination are under investigation, with a focus on the impact of mTOR signaling on the cytoskeleton and endocytosis.

The impact of ischemia on actively myelinating oligodendrocytes

Myelination is a highly energy dependent process but ischemia/reperfusion injury in juvenile mice has an unexpectedly small impact on myelinating oligodendrocytes. Gene expression pathways that are involved in protected oligodendrocytes from ischemic damage are actively being investigated.

Demyelination induced by antibodies cloned from multiple sclerosis patients

How patient derived antibodies drive demyelination and alter remyelination is under active investigation. Gene expression in microglia is impacted in antibody-mediated demyelination, thereby altering remyelination.

Identification of small molecules that enhance oligodendrocyte differentiation

This drug discovery project has identified compounds that enhance oligodendrocyte differentiation in cultured cells, and that enhance remyelination in demyelinated tissue slices in culture and in animals following in vivo demyelination. These projects have been supported for many years by grants from the NIH, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Heart Association.