Dr Philip Buttery University positionNeurologist Dr Philip Buttery is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students. DepartmentsDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences InstitutesCambridge Centre for Brain Repair Research ThemesInterestsWe work on the role of rho family GTPases and their regulators in the plasticity of CNS synapses, as related to brain disease and recovery from brain injury. We are currently focussing on a regulator of the GTPase Rac1 which is upregulated with neuronal activity and plays a role in pruning of dendritic spines, the sites of excitatory synaptic input. We use in vitro cell culture models to understand what role this molecule plays in the homeostatic regulation of synapse number in developing and adult brain.  A hippocampal neurone filled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and labelled for pre-synaptic (blue) and post-synaptic (red) structures View image full-size (2048x2048 pixels) Research Focus
EquipmentCell culture Confocal microscopy Fluorescence microscopy Immunohistochemistry Microscopy Recombinant protein expression Collaborators
Associated News ItemsKey publicationsButtery P, Beg AA, Chih B, Broder A, Mason CA, Scheiffele P (2006), “The diacylglycerol-binding protein alpha1-chimaerin regulates dendritic morphology” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103(6):1924-9 Details Publications2014Buttery PC, Barker RA (2014), “Treating Parkinson's disease in the 21st century: Can stem cell transplantation compete?” J Comp Neurol 522(12):2802-16 Details Palfi S, Gurruchaga JM, Ralph GS, Lepetit H, Lavisse S, Buttery PC, Watts C, Miskin J, Kelleher M, Deeley S, Iwamuro H, Lefaucheur JP, Thiriez C, Fenelon G, Lucas C, Brugières P, Gabriel I, Abhay K, Drouot X, Tani N, Kas A, Ghaleh B, Le Corvoisier P, Dolphin P, Breen DP, Mason S, Guzman NV, Mazarakis ND, Radcliffe PA, Harrop R, Kingsman SM, Rascol O, Naylor S, Barker RA, Hantraye P, Remy P, Cesaro P, Mitrophanous KA (2014), “Long-term safety and tolerability of ProSavin, a lentiviral vector-based gene therapy for Parkinson's disease: a dose escalation, open-label, phase 1/2 trial.” Lancet 383(9923):1138-46 Details 2012Annamalai AK, Powlson AS, Kandasamy N, Lodge K, Graggaber J, Halsall DJ, Antoun NM, Cheow HK, Buttery PC, George E, Griffiths M, Price SJ, Pickard JD, Sivasothy P, Gurnell M (2012), “Hypopituitarism, pulmonary infiltration and a spontaneously resolving occipital mass.” QJM Details Antoniades CA, Buttery P, FitzGerald JJ, Barker RA, Carpenter RH, Watts C (2012), “Deep brain stimulation: eye movements reveal anomalous effects of electrode placement and stimulation.” PLoS One 7(3):e32830 Details 2011Marland JR, Pan D, Buttery PC (2011), “Rac GTPase-activating protein (Rac GAP) ?1-Chimaerin undergoes proteasomal degradation and is stabilized by diacylglycerol signaling in neurons.” J Biol Chem 286(1):199-207 Details 2003Buttery P, Mason C (2003), “Maintaining stability in the face of change.” Nat Neurosci 6(11):1117-9 Details 2001Buttery PC, ffrench-Constant C (2001), “Process extension and myelin sheet formation in maturing oligodendrocytes.” Prog Brain Res 132:115-30 Details Relvas JB, Setzu A, Baron W, Buttery PC, LaFlamme SE, Franklin RJ, ffrench-Constant C (2001), “Expression of dominant-negative and chimeric subunits reveals an essential role for beta1 integrin during myelination.” Curr Biol 11(13):1039-43 Details 1999Buttery PC, ffrench-Constant C (1999), “Laminin-2/integrin interactions enhance myelin membrane formation by oligodendrocytes.” Mol Cell Neurosci 14(3):199-212 Details Buttery PC, Mallawaarachchi CM, Milner R, Doherty P, ffrench-Constant C (1999), “Mapping regions of the beta1 integrin cytoplasmic domain involved in migration and survival in primary oligodendrocyte precursors using cell-permeable homeopeptides.” Biochem Biophys Res Commun 259(1):121-7 Details Frost EE, Buttery PC, Milner R, ffrench-Constant C (1999), “Integrins mediate a neuronal survival signal for oligodendrocytes.” Curr Biol 9(21):1251-4 Details |
