Dr. Christina Francisca Vogelaar

Dr. Christina Francisca Vogelaar
Junior Group Leader
University Medical Center Mainz, Neurology, Section Neuroimmunology
Langenbeckstraße 1, Blg. 708, 55131 Mainz
E-mail

Research Interests

We are interested in the mechanisms and stimulation of axonal regeneration or repair in traumatic injury and neuroinflammation. We are studying the effects of IL-4 on chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the mouse model of multiple sclerosis. We identified a fast and direct signalling pathway of the IL-4 receptor in neurons, and in vivo protection against axonal swelling, leading to improved functional recovery. Currently, we are working on the translation of this work to the clinic. We also investigate very early axonal responses to injury by studying the translation machinery in axons. In the context of local translation, we study the axonal localization of ribosomes in response to injury. We have generated conditional transgenic mice with fluorescently labelled ribosomes in order to study the origin of axonal ribosomes. Furthermore, we are interested in the signalling mechanisms of regeneration-stimulating treatments. These studies will provide new targets to stimulate regeneration. We cover a broad range of techniques and have several local and international collaborations.

Key techniques: central and peripheral axon injury models, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, lumbar intrathecal injection, nasal application, primary neuron/explant cultures, immunohisto- and cytochemistry, qPCR

Research system/organism: Mus musculus

Five Most Relevant Publications
  1. K. Müller, A. Schnatz, M. Schillner, S. Woertge, C. Müller, I. von Graevenitz, A. Waisman, J. van Minnen, C.F. Vogelaar. A predominantly glial origin of axonal ribosomes after nerve injury. Glia, (2018) 00:1–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.23327.
  2. C.F. Vogelaar, S. Mandal, S. Lerch, U. Bühler, K. Birkner, A. Schnatz, C.S. Raine, S. Bittner, J. Vogt, J. Kipnis, F. Zipp, Fast direct neuronal signaling via the IL-4 receptor beneficially impacts chronic neuroinflammation. Science Translational Medicine, (2018) DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.eaao2304.
  3. J.T. Walsh, S. Hendrix, F. Boato, I. Smirnov, J. Zheng, J.R. Lukens, S. Gadani, D. Hechler, G. Gölz, K. Rosenberger, T. Kammertöns, J. Vogt, C. Vogelaar, V. Siffrin, A. Radjavi, A. Fernandez-Castaneda, A. Gaultier, R. Gold, T.-D. Kanneganti, R. Nitsch, F. Zipp, and J. Kipnis, MHCII-independent CD4+ T cells protect injured CNS neurons via IL-4. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 125 (2015) 699-714.
  4. C.F. Vogelaar, B. König, S. Krafft, V. Estrada, N. Brazda, B. Ziegler, A. Faissner, H.W. Müller,
    Pharmacological suppression of CNS scarring by deferoxamine reduces lesion volume and increases regeneration in an in vitro model for astroglial-fibrotic scarring and in rat spinal cord injury in vivo. PlosOne 10 (2015) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134371 (1-33).
  5. C.F. Vogelaar, N.M. Gervasi, L.F. Gumy, D.J. Story, R. Raha-Chowdhury, K.-M. Leung, C.E. Holt, J.W. Fawcett, Axonal mRNAs: Characterisation and role in growth and regeneration of dorsal root ganglion axons and growth cones. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 42 (2009) 102-115.