My name is Chen Wenbing and I am a second-year doctoral student at the Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences. I work in the Pharmaceutical Therapy & Neuropharmacology Laboratory under the guidance of Professor Niita Atsumi. My research focuses on the treatment of methamphetamine (METH), a widely used and highly addictive illegal psychostimulant drug that can cause significant health problems. Our previous data show that teneurin-4 levels increase in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), the center of the reward system, when induced by methamphetamine. Teneurin-4 is a type 2 transmembrane protein and a member of the teneurin family, which are phylogenetically conserved single-pass transmembrane glycoproteins expressed during pattern formation and morphogenesis.
In my research, I am investigating the effects of knocking down teneurin-4 via CRISPR-Cas9 viruses in the NAc region of mice brains under the influence of METH. We will observe changes in dopamine neurotransmitter levels using microdialysis and behavior using conditioned place preference (CPP) and locomotor activity induced by methamphetamine. Afterward, we will explore the mechanism by which teneurin-4 works and its downstream pathway. We hope to make progress in developing treatments for drug addiction and withdrawal.（旧フェローシップ事業採択学生）