Mark M Rasenick, PhD
UIC Distinguished Professor
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Contact
Building & Room:
COMRB 2095
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Interests Heading link
Cellular neurobiology, neurotransmitter receptors; adenylyl cyclase, GTP-binding proteins, and the cytoskeleton; cyclic nucleotides and cellular signal transduction, biological psychiatry and the cellular and molecular basis of depression and other mood disorders.
About
The thrust of my research over the past 3 decades has been the relationship between G protein signaling and the cytoskeleton and how this interaction might affect neurotransmitter response and responsiveness as well as synaptic plasticity and mood disorders. My thesis work concerned neurosecretion in insects and this led to an interest in 5HT signaling. As a postdoc, I discovered a relationship between G proteins and tubulin, a subject we have continued to investigate. This interest in tubulin led to our work on the cytoskeleton, which led us to investigate cytoskeletal-associated membrane regions (lipid rafts) and their effects on signaling. We have examined the importance of membrane heterogeneity in neurotransmitter signaling and have learned that lipid rafts can either facilitate or dampen signaling, depending upon the species of receptor and G protein involved. This work also led to an interest in the effects of the plasma membrane lipid microenvironment and how it might affect signaling through G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Our interest in G protein signaling and the membrane microenvironment, coupled with a longstanding interest in the biology of depression and antidepressants and has allowed us to create a model, now validated in both post-mortem and peripheral tissue, that aspects of G protein signaling can be harnessed both for diagnosis and treatment of depression. Pax Neuroscience was formed to commercialize this and to bring neuroscience and equity into the diagnosis and treatment of depression.