- PhD Molecular Pharmacology and Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University (2001)
- PSG College of Arts & Sciences, India B.S. Biochemistry (1990)
In the Lab
The Kanthasamy lab focus is on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which PKCδ regulates the apoptotic cell signaling cascade following exposure to dopaminergic neurotoxicants. They discovered that mitochondria-mediated oxidative stress signaling events in conjunction with the caspase-3-mediated cell death signaling cascade contribute to the demise of dopaminergic neuronal cells via the activation of PKCδ. Moreover, we demonstrated the functional cross-talk between histone hyperacetylation and PKCδ upregulation in dopaminergic neuronal cell death in experimental models of PD, thus emphasizing the central role of PKCδ in dopaminergic neuronal injury. During the last several years, the Kanthasamy has also studied the role of microglial activation in dopaminergic neuronal injury. Their findings have important clinical implications for the treatment of neuroinflammation related disorders including PD.
Research Interest
- Neuroinflammation with an emphasis on the novel neuroinflammatory mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease (PD)
- Immunotherapies, small molecule inhibitors and antioxidant therapeutics
- Novel cell signaling
- Cellular mechanisms underlying PD-like pathology
Links
- Publications by Dr. Kanthasamy may be found at PubMed.
- Dr. Kanthasamy is supported by the Michael J Fox Foundation.