Lee Anna Cunningham, Ph.D. Professor  Department of Neurosciences

Education and Honors:
B.S. Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL; Ph.D. Anatomical Sciences, University of Illinois; Postdoctoral Training, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY

Research Interests:
Neuron death, protection and repair in animal models of Parkinson's disease and stroke: neurotrophins, astrocytes, stem cells, apoptosis, neurogenesis, gene therapy

Selected Publications:

Cunningham LA, Short MP, Vielkind U, Breakefield XO, Bohn MC. (1991) Survival and differentiation within the adult mouse striatum of grafted rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12) genetically modified to express recombinant beta- NGF. Experimental Neurology 112:174-182.

Cunningham LA, Hansen JT, Short MP, Bohn MC. (1991) The use of genetically altered astrocytes to provide nerve growth factor (NGF) to adrenal chromaffin cells grafted into the striatum. Brain Research 561:192-202.

Cunningham LA, Short MP, Breakefield XO, Bohn MC. (1994) Nerve growth factor released by transgenic astrocytes enhances the function of adrenal chromaffin cell grafts in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Brain Research 658:219-231.

Lin Q, Cunningham LA, Epstein LG, Pechan PA, Short MP, Fleet C, Bohn MC (1997) Human fetal astrocytes as an ex vivo gene therapy vehicle for delivering biologically active nerve growth factor. Human Gene Therapy 8:331-339.

Krobert K, Lopez-Colberg I, Cunningham LA. (1997) Astrocytes promote or impair the survival and function of embryonic ventral mesencephalon co-grafts: effects of astrocyte age and expression of recombinant brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Experimental Neurology 145:511-523.

Quintana JG, Lopez-Colberg I, Cunningham LA. (1998) Use of GFAP-LacZ transgenic mice to determine astrocyte fate in grafts of embryonic ventral midbrain. Developmental Brain Research 105:147-151.

Smith, J.P., Cunningham, L.A., and Partridge L.D. (2000) Coupling of AMPA receptors with the Na/Ca exchanger in
cultured rat astrocytes.  Brain Res. 887:98-109

Saland, L.C., Cunningham, L.A., Su, M., Morales, M., Gaddy, J. (2000) Glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor in the rat pitutiary gland.  Brain Research Bulletin 52: 109-113.

Rosenberg, G.A., Cunningham L.A., Wallace, J., Alexander, S., Estrada, E.Y., Grossetete, M., Razhagi, A., Miller, K., Gearing, A., (2001) Immunohistochemistry of matrix metalloproteinases in reperfusion injury to rat brain: activation of MMP-9 linked to stromelysin-1 and microglia in cell culture. Brain Research  893: 104-112.

Cunningham, L.A., Su, C.Y., (2002) Astrocyte delivery of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) provides neuroprotection in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.  Experimental Neurology 174: 230-242.

J.A. Wallace, S. Alexander, E.Y. Estrada, C. Hines, L. Cunningham, G.A. Rosenberg (2002) Tissue inhibitor to metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3) is associated with neuronal death in reperfusion injury. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 22: 1303-1310.

Wetzel, M., Rosenberg, G.A., Cunningham, L.A., (2003) Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3) and matrix metalloproteinsase-3 (MMP-3) regulate neuronal sensitivity to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. European Journal of Neuroscience 18: 1050-1060.

Wetzel, M., Tibbits, J., Rosenberg, G.A., Cunningham, L.A., (2004) Vulnerability of mouse cortical neurons to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis is strain-dependent and is correlated with mRNAs encoding Fas, Fas-Ligand, and metalloproteinases. Apoptosis 9:649-656.

Kokovay E, Cunningham LA (2005) Bone marrow-derived microglia contribute to the neuroinflammatory response and express iNOS in the MPTP mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. Neurobiology of Disease 19(3):471-8.

Cunningham, L.A., Wetzel, M., Rosenberg, G.A., (2005) Multiple roles for MMPs and Timps in cerebral ischemia. Glia 50:329-339.

Choi I, Allan AM, Cunningham LA, 2005, Moderate fetal alcohol exposure impairs the neurogenic response to an enriched environment in adult mice. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 29: 2053.

Kokovay E, Lu L, Cunningham LA, 2006, Angiogenic recruitment of pericytes from bone marrow after stroke. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 26: 545

Wetzel M, Li L, Harms KM, Roitbak T, Ventura PB, Rosenberg GA, Khokha R, Cunningham LA, 2008, Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 facilitates Fas-mediated neuronal cell death following mild ischemia. Cell Death and Differentiation 15: 143-151

Roitbak T, Li L, Cunningham LA, (2008) Neural stem cells promote endothelial cell morphogenesis and protect endothelial cells against hypoxia-ischemia via HIF-1a regulated VEGF signaling. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. Submitted manuscript.

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