Stanford Psychiatry’s Daniela Rojo awarded grant to examine transcriptional regulation of oligodendroglial differentiation

We are pleased to announce that Daniela Rojo, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has received a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to examine transcriptional regulation of oligodendroglial differentiation.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disorder that affects 2.8 million people worldwide. MS is characterized by loss of myelin, the structure surrounding nerves necessary for efficient communication between neurons and critical to neurodevelopment, maintenance, and plasticity. The severe symptoms that arise as MS progresses are exacerbated by the loss of oligodendrocytes—the myelin-producing cells—and impaired differentiation of their precursor, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs).

While much is known about the vital role of circadian rhythms in neurons, comparatively little is known about their role in oligodendroglial cells. There is still a significant gap in our knowledge of the genetic mechanisms through which BMAL1 and other transcription factors control OPC differentiation during myelination. Previous data strongly suggest the necessity of BMAL1 in OPC differentiation and myelination. This project will focus on characterizing the role of BMAL1 — the only single clock factor necessary for circadian rhythmicity — in OPC transcriptional regulation during neurodevelopment, evaluating the recovery of the differentiation potential of OPCs that lack BMAL1, and studying the transcriptional control of regulators of human OPC differentiation through a CRISPR screen in human OPCs to discover enhancers.

“This research will determine genetic mechanisms through which the main circadian factor BMAL1 and other key transcription factors control OPC differentiation during myelination,” says Dr. Rojo, “providing critical insights into both normal and aberrant myelination associated with the demyelinating neurological disorder MS.”

Dr. Rojo is a genetic neuroscientist studying gene expression regulation in myelin-forming glia. As a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Erin Gibson, she aims to decipher the role of the molecular circadian clock in myelin-forming glia and evaluate how its genetic disruption affects neurodegenerative disorders of dysregulated myelination like MS. With this K99 Award, she will obtain the training to prepare for an independent research career in genetic regulation of myelin-forming precursors.

Recent publications related to Dr. Rojo’s work include “BMAL1 loss in oligodendroglia contributes to abnormal myelination and sleep.” published in the journal Neuron, and “Circadian Control of Glial Cell Homeodynamics.” published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms.

More Information

Read more details about the project on NIH RePORTER.