Eftekhar Eftekharpour, BSc, MSc, PhD

Research summary

Dr. Eftekhar Eftekharpour’s laboratory is focused on examination of molecular events in neuronal health and disease. The lab aims to understand how neurons maintain their complex structure and function.

Neurons rely on high levels of oxidative phosphorylative respiration for energy production and therefore are exposed to high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This increases the possibility of oxidative damage of cellular proteins.

Neurons have developed efficient protein degradation systems to recycle the old and damaged proteins by their proteasome and in their lysosomes. Deficiency of these systems in aging and in neurodegeneration diseases result in accumulation of damaged and undigested proteins, causing neuronal death. This fundamental deficit underlies the pathophysiology of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), resulting in accumulation of damaged proteins such as Amyloid plaques and formation of neurofibrillary tangles.

Thioredoxin system is a major antioxidant system which is decreased in AD brain. The lab has shown that thioredoxin deficiency can unleash a series of events including disruption of lysosomes and neuronal nuclei damage. We know that these changes are associated with long-term changes in chromatin re-organization and DNA methylation, however, the downstream effects of these changes remain to be examined. 

Another aspect of Dr. Eftekharpour’s research in our group investigates the involvement of cellular redox status in neural stem cells proliferation, differentiation, and death. 

Information driven from this basic research has led us to formulate novel therapeutic approaches for targeting neuronal cell death after spinal cord injury and AD. Whether other diseases of the nervous system including the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis can be linked to these changes is the subject of intense research in the lab. We are interested in using patient derived neurons to model neurodegenerative diseases and to model them for drug discovery approaches.