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Catherine C. Thompson, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Kennedy Krieger Institute
Dr. Catherine C. Thompson is a research scientist at Kennedy Krieger Institute. She is also an Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology & Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Thompson studied biology at Cornell before going on to UC-San Diego for a Ph.D., which she received in 1989. After serving as a fellow at the Salk Institute and as both a fellow and staff associate at the Embryology Department of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Dr. Thompson came to Johns Hopkins and KKI in 1996.
Dr. Thompson is a recipient of the Klingenstein Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences, The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award, the John Merck Scholars Program in the Biology of Children with Developmental Disabilities, and the 1993-1996 American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Research Award.
Research Summary:
Dr. Thompson’s laboratory studies the process by which thyroid hormone regulates brain development. The importance of thyroid function for proper brain development was first recognized over 100 years ago. Thyroid hormone deficiency during neonatal development leads to a syndrome known as cretinism, which in the brain is characterized by deficits that include mental retardation and deafness. Thyroid hormone works by binding to specific proteins known as thyroid hormone receptors. When thyroid hormone binds to its receptor, the receptor functions as a transcription factor which controls the activity of certain genes. Work in Dr. Thompson's laboratory has focused on identifying and characterizing genes that are regulated by thyroid hormone in developing rat brain.
Dr. Thompson and her colleagues have identified several new thyroid hormone-responsive genes. Two of these genes (Srg1 and hairless) have been characterized. Synaptotagmin-related gene 1 (Srg1) encodes a novel protein that is structurally similar to synaptotagmins. Synaptotagmins comprise a family of Ca2+/phospholipid binding proteins involved in regulating neurotransmitter release. Evidence that Srg1 expression is specific to neurons and regulated by thyroid hormone (or "TH") suggests that Srg1 may be an important component of the program of gene expression induced by TH in developing brain.
Expression of the hairless (hr) gene is highly induced by thyroid hormone during brain development. Biochemical studies have revealed that the protein encoded by the hr gene (Hr) functions as a corepressor, a factor that facilitates the ability of thyroid hormone receptors to turn off the expression of specific genes. Based on its receptor interaction specificity and both tissue restricted and thyroid hormone-inducible expression, Hr is representative of a new class of nuclear receptor corepressors that likely perform a more specialized role than previously characterized corepressors. As both a thyroid hormone-responsive gene and corepressor for thyroid hormone receptors, Hr is likely a key mediator of thyroid hormone action in the brain. Future goals are to define the role of Hr, as well as other thyroid hormone-responsive genes, in regulating neural development. Expression of the hairless (hr) gene is highly induced by thyroid hormone during brain development. Biochemical studies have revealed that the protein encoded by the hr gene (Hr) functions as a corepressor, a factor that facilitates the ability of thyroid hormone receptors to turn off the expression of specific genes. Because Hr interacts specifically with thyroid hormone receptors, and is found only in the brain and skin, Hr is representative of a new class of nuclear receptor corepressors that play a more specialized role than other corepressors. As both a thyroid hormone-responsive gene and corepressor for thyroid hormone receptors, Hr is likely a key mediator of thyroid hormone action in the brain. Disruption of Hr function is already known to cause hair loss; future goals are to define the role of Hr, as well as other thyroid hormone-responsive genes, in regulating neural development. | 