Profile
The main focus of our lab is to understand the early developmental cues that promote neural stem cell maintenance and fate specific differentiation which will shed light in developing possible therapeutic strategies against neurodegenerative diseases. Our research programs are very clearly classified into two broad programs: 1) To understand the basic cues that are responsible for the various functions such as maintenance of neural stem cells, fate specification, differentiation and how the differentiated cells form proper connections in various regions of developing brain. We study these fundamental mechanisms in the developing brain and retina by modulating various extrinsic and intrinsic components such as Notch and Wnt signaling, transcription factors and miRNAs in neural cell lines and transgenic/Knockout mouse models. 2) The second part focuses on mimicking the early developmental cues to enhance proliferation of endogenous stem cell population, fate specific differentiation and formation of proper synaptic connections.
Current Focus Areas
Understanding the role of Notch and Wnt signaling in neocortical and cerebellar development
Functional characterization of homeobox gene Tlx3 (Hox11L2) in cerebellar development and its link to Autistic spectral disorders (ASD)
Development of a cell therapy strategy to treat glaucoma using retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) generated from embryonic stem (ES) cells/ Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) derived mesenchymal stem cells
Selected Publications
1. PA Riya, B Basu, S Surya, S Parvathy, S Lalitha, PN Jyothi, V Meera, SJ Vishnu, P Sunitha, A Shahina, S Rashmi, SN Achuthsankar, SB Dhanesh, J Jiffy, NS Shijulal, TM Tessy, AV Das and James J; HES1 promoter activation dynamics reveal the plasticity, stemness and heterogeneity in neuroblastoma cancer stem cells: J Cell Sci, (2022) 135, jcs260157. doi:10.1242/jcs.260157.
2. S Lalitha, B Basu, S Surya, V Meera, PA Riya, S Parvathy, AV Das, KC Sivakumar, Shijulal Nelson-Sathi and James J; Pax6 modulates intra-retinal axon guidance and fasciculation of retinal ganglion cells during retinogenesis: Scientific Reports, 10, (2020)16075. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72828-4
3. SB Dhanesh, C Subashini, PA Riya, VA Rasheed & James J; Pleiotropic Hes-1 concomitant with its differential activation mediates neural stem cell maintenance and radial glial propensity in developing neocortex: Cerebral Cortex 27(2017) 3943–3961, DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw207
4. SB Dhanesh, C Subashini & James J: Hes1: The maestro in neurogenesis; Cell. Mol. Life. Sci., 73(2016):4019-42, DOI: 10.1007/s00018-016-2277-z.
5. VA Rasheed, SSreekanth, SB Dhanesh, MS Divya, TS Divya, PK Akhila, C Subashini, KC Sivakumar, AV Das & James J. Developmental wave of Brn3b expression leading to RGC fate specification is synergistically maintained by miR-23a and miR-374; Developmental Neurobiology, 74 (2014) 1155–1171.