Claudia Bagni, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of Rome
Grant funded July 2000 for $37,000; renewed in 2001 for $28,000

by Michael Tranfaglia, MD, 8/2000

Recent research has shown that the fragile X protein, FMRP, has several possible functions within neurons. It appears to shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm of cells, and it is present in dendrites and at synapses. Moreover, FMR1 mRNA is translated at synapses in response to synaptic activity. Dr. Bagni seeks to further define these processes: how the FMR1 mRNA gets to the dendrites, how the protein FMRP is made there and how it can then influence synthesis of other proteins at the synapses. Finally, she plans to characterize the messenger RNAs that interact with FMRP at synapses.