
Research Topics
Dr. Gainer’s research expertise is in the mechanisms that are involved in the establishment and maintenance of specific peptidergic neuronal phenotypes in the central nervous system. He studied the cell biological and molecular processes that underlie cell-specific expression of oxytocin and vasopressin genes, and the biosynthesis, sorting, packaging and neurosecretion of the resulting neuropeptides in the hypothalamus. In order to examine these issues he focused on two neural systems in the CNS: 1) the magnocellular neurons of the mammalian hypothalamo- neurohypophysial system, which secrete the nonapeptides, oxytocin and vasopressin into the general circulation, and 2) and neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus which secrete vasopressin in a circadian fashion into specific hypothalamic sites.
Biography
Selected Publications
- Rusnak M, Tóth ZE, House SB, Gainer H. Depolarization and neurotransmitter regulation of vasopressin gene expression in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus in vitro. J Neurosci. 2007;27(1):141-51.
- Mutsuga N, Shahar T, Verbalis JG, Xiang CC, Brownstein MJ, Gainer H. Regulation of gene expression in magnocellular neurons in rat supraoptic nucleus during sustained hypoosmolality. Endocrinology. 2005;146(3):1254-67.
- Shahar T, House SB, Gainer H. Neural activity protects hypothalamic magnocellular neurons against axotomy-induced programmed cell death. J Neurosci. 2004;24(29):6553-62.
- Mutsuga N, Shahar T, Verbalis JG, Brownstein MJ, Xiang CC, Bonner RF, Gainer H. Selective gene expression in magnocellular neurons in rat supraoptic nucleus. J Neurosci. 2004;24(32):7174-85.
Related Scientific Focus Areas
This page was last updated on Thursday, August 31, 2017