Ben Barres

Administrative Appointments

• Chair, Stanford University School of Medicine - Neurobiology (2008 - present)

Postdoctoral Advisees

Dritan Agalliu , Won Suck Chung , Andrew Huberman , Alexander Stephan , Junryo Watanabe , Jennifer Zamanian , Ye Zhang

Current Research Interests

THE MYSTERY AND MAGIC OF GLIA

We are interested in the development and function of glial cells in the mammalian central nervous system. To understand the interactions between neurons and glial cells we have developed methods to highly purify and culture retinal ganglion cells (neurons) as well as the glial cell types they interact with, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, from the rodent optic nerve. We are using a large variety of methods to address these issues including cell purification by immunopanning, tissue culture, patch clamping, immunohistochemistry and molecular biology. Currently, we are focusing on several questions:

(1) What are the cell-cell interactions that control myelination and node of Ranvier formation?

(2) Do glial cells play a role in synapse formation and function?

(3) What are the signals that promote the survival and growth of retinal ganglion cells and can we use this knowledge to promote their survival and regeneration after injury?

(4) How do protoplasmic astrocytes, the main glial cell type in gray matter, develop and what is their function?.

We have found evidence of several novel glial signals that induce the onset of myelination, the clustering of axonal sodium channels, the survival and growth of retinal ganglion cells, and the formation of synapses. We are characterizing these processes and are attempting to identify these glial-derived molecules.

Publications

• Selective remodeling: refining neural connectivity at the neuromuscular junction. Chung WS, Barres BA. PLoS Biol. 2009; 7 (8): e1000185
• Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is required for CNS, but not non-CNS, angiogenesis. Daneman R, Agalliu D, Zhou L, Kuhnert F, Kuo CJ, Barres BA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009; 106 (2): 641-6
• Genetic identification of an On-Off direction-selective retinal ganglion cell subtype reveals a layer-specific subcortical map of posterior motion. Huberman AD, Wei W, Elstrott J, Stafford BK, Feller MB, Barres BA. Neuron. 2009; 62 (3): 327-34
• Myelin gene regulatory factor is a critical transcriptional regulator required for CNS myelination. Emery B, Agalliu D, Cahoy JD, Watkins TA, Dugas JC, Mulinyawe SB, Ibrahim A, Ligon KL, Rowitch DH, Barres BA. Cell. 2009; 138 (1): 172-85
• Gabapentin receptor alpha2delta-1 is a neuronal thrombospondin receptor responsible for excitatory CNS synaptogenesis. Eroglu C, Allen NJ, Susman MW, O'Rourke NA, Park CY, Ozkan E, Chakraborty C, Mulinyawe SB, Annis DS, Huberman AD, Green EM, Lawler J, Dolmetsch R, Garcia KC, Smith SJ, Luo ZD, Rosenthal A, Mosher DF, Barres BA. Cell. 2009; 139 (2): 380-92