Ruifeng Cao

B.M. in Medicine, The Fourth Military Medical University
M.M.S. in Neurosurgery, The Fourth Military Medical University

Thesis Advisor:  Karl Obrietan

E-Mail:  cao.67@osu.edu

Research:

Circadian rhythmicity is one of the most fundamental physiological phenomena existing in every form of life. As an adaptation to the ever-changing external environment, the circadian clock can be reset by multiple entrainment cues such as the light/dark cycle, food availability, temperature, et al. The mammalian master circadian clock is localized at a pair of wing-like nuclei in the ventral anterior hypothalamus, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). Photic input from retina is transmitted through the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT) and evokes a series of signal transduction events in the SCN. The transduced information then impinges on the interlocking transcriptional/translational feedback/forward loops of clock genes and their protein products thereby resetting the clock. Despite intensive studies, however, the mechanism of light-induced signal transduction in the SCN is not well known. By employing a wide range of research techniques, our lab is working on the regulation of circadian timing through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway.

Publications:

Xu M, Cao R, Xiao R, Zhu MX, Gu C. (2007) The axon-dendrite targeting of Kv3 (Shaw) channels is determined by a targeting motif that associates with the T1 domain and ankyrin G. J Neurosci. 27(51):14158-70.

Cao R, Hasuo H, Ooba S, Akasu T, Zhang X.  (2006) Facilitation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in hippocampal CA1 area of rats with traumatic brain injury.  Neurosci Lett. 19;401(1-2):136-41.