I am an early career Assistant Professor in Brazil and my laboratory focuses on understanding Schwann cell responses in peripheral nerve biology/pathobiology. We use a combination of biochemical, histological, animal behavior and molecular and cellular biology techniques to study (i) Schwann cell energy metabolism, (ii) Schwann cell-axon interactions, and (iii) myelin abnormalities, with the goal of understanding leprosy disease and promoting nerve repair. We are pursuing the intriguing question about how leprosy pathogen subverts Schwann cell metabolism for its persistence intracellularly and how this host-pathogen interaction is mechanistically linked to the induction of axonal degeneration. This concept is supported by our findings that metabolic dysregulation in Mycobacterium leprea-infected Schwann cells is sufficient to trigger demyelination phenotype, axon degeneration and mitochondrial swelling.
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Contact
E-mail: bruno.mietto@ufjf.br
