Killam Seminar Series: How form and function of neural circuits is shaped by oligodendrocyte precursor cells
Supported by the generosity of the Killam Trusts, The Neuro's Killam Seminar Series invites outstanding guest speakers whose research is of interest to the scientific community at The Neuro and McGill University.
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Host: Edward Ruthazer
How form and function of neural circuits is shaped by oligodendrocyte precursor cells
Tim Czopka
Professor of Glial Cell Biology, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Abstract: Glial cells comprise up to 50% of all cells in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) and play crucial roles in regulating neural circuit connectivity through modulation of synapse formation and remodelling. Recently, we have attributed this function to a glial cell type called the oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC). OPCs have established roles in giving rise to myelinating oligodendrocytes. However, not all OPCs form myelin but they instead reside in an undifferentiated state where they evenly distribute across the CNS, thereby tiling the tissue by forming elaborate process networks. In this seminar, I will present our investigations in the zebrafish visual system revealing that one of the myelination-independent functions of OPCs is fine tune axon and synapse remodelling crucial for developing visual acuity. I will discuss some of our unpublished projects to elucidate mechanisms by which OPCs tune visual circuitry, and conclude by discussing how dysfunctional OPCs may contribute to disorders of the developing CNS.
Dr. Tim Czopka studied Biology and obtained his PhD in Neuroscience in 2009 from the Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany). Following his postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh (UK), he became a Principal Investigator in 2015 at the Technical University of Munich (Germany). In 2020, he moved back to the University of Edinburgh, where he has been a Professor of Glial Cell Biology since 2023.
His research group investigates the diversity and functions of oligodendrocytes to regulate the formation, function, and dysfunction of neuronal circuits. They use young zebrafish for their research, as this model organism allows the study of genetics, cellular dynamics, and physiology at unprecedented resolution in an intact living animal.
