Achievements, Specialized Expertise and Current Resources
First research laboratory in the world to isolate and characterize primary endoneurial endothelial cells that for the human blood-nerve barrier derived from human sciatic nerves (published in January 2010) and the first comprehensive human blood-nerve barrier transcriptome by deducing conserved transcripts by whole exome sequencing of primary human endoneurial endothelial cells and laser capture microdissected endoneurial microvessels obtained from cryopreserved histologically normal adult sural nerve biopsies
Expertise in Neuromuscular Pathology (human and mouse).
Expertise in small animal nerve electrophysiology (mouse and rat).
Large bank frozen and fixed sciatic nerves obtained from decedent humans and mice with acute and chronic demyelinating peripheral nerve inflammation (with appropriate controls).
Large bank of cryopreserved splenocytes obtained from mice with acute demyelinating peripheral nerve inflammation (with appropriate controls).
Large bank of cryopreserved primary and immortalized human endoneurial endothelial cells (form the blood-nerve barrier) and immortalized human brain microvascular endothelial cells.
Large bank of cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes derived from untreated patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (12 patients), Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (12 patients), untreated HIV+ patients and healthy controls (>100 patients and controls, through UAB CFAR and CNICS).
Acquired fixed and frozen human peripheral nerves from patients with HIV neuropathy from National NeuroAIDS Tissue consortium.
