Albee Messing / Faculty / Waisman Center

Albee Messing
VMD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Faculty Core Director, Animal Models Core
Professor, Comparative Biosciences

Contact Information
Waisman Center
UW-Madison
1500 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
608-263-9191
608-263-4364 (fax)
E-mail: messing@waisman.wisc.edu
Alexander Disease Web Site
Requests for Materials

Research in my laboratory is directed at understanding developmental and pathologic aspects of neuronal and glial cell biology in the nervous system of the mouse, and genetic analysis of a human disorder of astrocytes, Alexander disease. Our main strategies involve genetic manipulation of glial gene expression using transgenic techniques, and gene targeting in embryonic stem cells to generate mutant strains of mice. Most of our effort is directed at the following projects:

The molecular and cell biology of intermediate filaments, particularly glial fibrillary acidic protein, in astrocyte development and reaction to injury in the cen tral nervous system, and in Alexander disease, and
Generation and characterization of mice that are mutated for several types of potassium channel subunits (in collaboration with Shing-Yan Chiu of the Department of Neurophysiology and Barry Ganetzky of the Department of Genetics).

2000 Wrabetz L, Feltri ML, Quattrini A, Imperiale D, Previtali S, DAntonio M, Martini R, Yin X, Trapp BD, Zhou L, Chiu SY, & MESSING A. P0 overexpression causes congenital hypomyelination of peripheral nerves. J. Cell Biol. 148:1021-1033.

2001 Brenner M, Johnson AB, Boespflug-Tanguy O, Rodriguez D, Goldman JE, & MESSING A. Mutations in GFAP, encoding glial fibrillary acidic protein, are associated with Alexander disease. Nature Genet. 27:117-120.

2001 Zhuo L, Theis M, Willecke K, Brenner M & MESSING A. hGFAP-cre transgenic mice for manipulation of glial and neuronal function in vivo. Genesis 31:85-94.

2002 McCormack K, Connor JX, Zhou L, Ho LL, Ganetzky B, Chiu S-Y & MESSING A. Genetic analysis of the mammalian K+ channel b-subunit Kvb2 (Kcnab2). J.Biol.Chem. 277:13219-13228.

2002 Moore SA, Saito F, Chen JG, Michele DE, Henry MD, MESSING A, Cohn RD, Ross-Barta SE, Westra S, Williamson RA, Hoshi T, & Campbell KP. Deletion of brain dystroglycan recapitulates aspects of congenital muscular dystrophy. Nature 418:422-425.

2003 Saito F, Moore SA, Barresi R, Henry MD, MESSING A, Ross-Barta SE, Cohn RD, Williamson RA, Sluka KA, Sherman DL, Brophy PJ, Schmelzer JD, Low PA, Wrabetz L, Feltri ML, & Campbell KP. Unique role of dystroglycan in peripheral nerve myelination, nodal structure, and sodium channel stabilization. Neuron 38:747-758.

2004 Connor JX, McCormack K, Pletsch A, Gaeta S, Ganetzky B, Chiu SY, & MESSING A.
Genetic modifiers of the Kvb2-null phenotype in mice. Genes, Brain, & Behavior (in press)

Click to search National Library of Medicine and PubMed for other publications by Dr. Messing