Peptide Neurobiology Laboratory

Laboratory Head

A/Prof Andrew L Gundlach BSc (Hons) (Mon) Dip Ed (Mon) PhD (Melb)

Contact Details

Email:

andrew.gundlach@florey.edu.au

Phone:

+61 (0)3 8344 7324

Fax:

+61 (0)3 9348 1707

Number of

Staff: 4

Students: 3

PhD

Honours

Research Interests

Neuropeptides are widely distributed throughout the body and they commonly co-exist with and complement actions of classic neurotransmitters. The functions of neuropeptides via their G-protein-coupled receptors range from neural or glial transmitter to hormone and growth factor. Much evidence indicates that neuropeptides are of particular importance when the nervous system is challenged by stress, injury or substance abuse. These features and the large number of neuropeptides and peptide receptors provide opportunities for the discovery of new drug targets for treatment of nervous-system disorders.

The peptides relaxin, relaxin-3 and insulin-like peptide-3 (INSL3) have various essential biological roles. Relaxin acts in peripheral tissues to regulate collagen turnover and stimulate growth, angiogenesis and vasodilatation. INSL3 is essential for germ cell maturation and may regulate fertility in men and women. Importantly, receptors for both these hormones are present in key circuits in the brain, but their biological importance is still to be discovered. Similarly, relaxin-3 is an abundant neuropeptide recently discovered in our laboratory, and it also has a range of potential roles in animal and human behaviours, including feeding, stress responses and learning and memory.

Current Projects


These studies involve collaborations with scientists at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC (USA), the Universities of Valencia, Navarra and Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), Jagiellonian University (Poland), The University of Sydney and The University of Melbourne.

PhD and Honours projects are available to study the anatomy, regulation and function of the relaxin family peptide-receptor systems. Students will undergo training in systems neuroscience, including techniques of molecular and cell biology, peptide/receptor neurochemistry, and animal behavioural testing. Students will also be able to interact with our international collaborators in the USA and Europe, with the opportunity to conduct some of their studies overseas.

Laboratory Techniques

Funding

Publications and Articles

PubMed (uses “Gundlach AL” as unique author search)

Selected Recent Publications

Research Articles

Burazin TCD, Bathgate RAD, Macris M, Layfield S, Gundlach AL, Tregear GW. (2002) Restricted, but abundant, expression of the novel rat gene-3 (R3) relaxin in the dorsal tegmental region of brain. Journal of Neurochemistry 82: 1553-1557.

Shen P-J Larm JA, Gundlach AL. (2003) Expression and plasticity of galanin systems in cortical neurons, oligodendrocyte progenitors and proliferative zones in normal brain and after spreading depression. European Journal of Neuroscience 18: 1362-1376.

Jungnickel SR-F, Gundlach AL. (2005) [125I]-Galanin binding in brain of wildtype, and galanin- and GalR1- knockout mice: Strain and species differences in GalR1 density and distribution. Neuroscience 131: 407-421.

Ma S, Roozendaal B, Burazin TCD, Tregear GW, McGaugh JL, Gundlach AL. (2005) Relaxin in the basolateral amygdala impairs consolidation of fear memory. European Journal of Neuroscience 22: 2117-2122.

Fu P., Shen P-J, Zhao C-X, Scott DJ, Samuel CS, Wade JD, Tregear GW, Bathgate RAD, Gundlach AL. (2006) Leucine rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 8 in mature glomeruli of developing and adult rat kidney and inhibition by INSL3 of glomerular cell proliferation. Journal of Endocrinology 189: 397-408.

Ma S, Shen P-J, Burazin TCD, Tregear GW, Gundlach AL. (2006) Comparative localization of LGR7 (RXFP1) mRNA and [33P]-relaxin binding sites in rat brain: Restricted somatic co-expression a clue to relaxin action? Neuroscience 141: 329-344.

Ma S, Bonaventure P, Ferraro T, Shen P-J, Burazin TCD, Bathgate RAD, Liu C, Tregear GW, Sutton SW, Gundlach AL. (2007) Relaxin-3 in GABA projection neurons of nucleus incertus suggests widespread influence on forebrain circuits via G-protein-coupled receptor-135 in the rat. Neuroscience 144: 165-190.

Gundlach AL, Ma S, Sang Q, Shen P-J, Piccenna L, Sedaghat K, Smith CM, Bathgate RAD, Lawrence AJ, Tregear GW, Wade JD, Finkelstein DI, Bonaventure P, Liu C, Lovenberg TW, Sutton SW (2009) Relaxin family peptides and receptors in mammalian brain – anatomical insights and diverse functional possibilities. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences 1160: 226-235.

Banerjee A, Shen P-J, Ma S, Bathgate RAD, Gundlach AL (2009) Swim stress excitation of nucleus incertus and rapid induction of relaxin-3 expression via CRF1 activation. Neuropharmacology (in press).

Ma S, Sang Q, Lanciego JL, Gundlach AL (2009) Localization of relaxin-3 in brain of Macaca fascicularis – Identification of a nucleus incertus in primate. Journal of Comparative Neurology (in press).

Ma S, Olucha-Bordonau FE, Hossain MA, Lin F, Kuei C, Liu C, Wade JD, Sutton SW, Nunez A, Gundlach AL (2009) Modulation of hippocampal theta oscillations and spatial memory by relaxin-3 neurons of the nucleus incertus in the rat. Learning and Memory (in press).

Wraith DC, Pope R, Butzkueven H, Holderd H, Vanderplank P, Lowrey P, Daye MJ, Gundlach AL, Kilpatrick TJ, Scolding N, Wynick D (2009). A role for galanin in human and experimental inflammatory demyelination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (in press).

Recent Reviews

Bathgate, RAD, Burazin, TCD, Samuel, CS, Gundlach, AL, Tregear, GW. (2003) Novel relaxin peptides and receptors. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 14: 207-213.

Ma S, Gundlach AL. (2007) Relaxin-family peptide and receptor systems in brain. Insights from recent anatomical and functional studies. In: Relaxin and Related Peptides, Agoulnik AI (Ed), Landes Bioscience, Houston, TX, pp 1-19.

Lang, R, Gundlach, AL, Kofler B (2007) The galanin peptide family: Receptor pharmacology, pleiotropic biological actions, and implications in health and disease. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 115: 177-207.

Research