Speaker: Lindsey Druschel
Research Advisor: Prof. Capadona
Title: Cell-Specific Spatially Resolved Proteomic Analysis of the Intracortical Microelectrode-Tissue Interface
Abstract: Intracortical microelectrodes (IMEs) are devices implanted in the motor cortex of the brain that can be used to record the electrical activity of local neurons. This activity can be used to predict the desired movement of patients, and can be sent to brain-computer interfaces (BCI) such as prosthetics or wheelchairs. However, such BCI systems fail over chronic time points, largely due to the neuroinflammatory response of the surrounding tissue to the implanted IME. Many studies have been performed testing different electrode materials and drug therapies to mitigate this inflammatory response, but there is currently no treatment to fully prevent IME failure. It is not entirely known which genes and proteins contribute to this response, and only a few studies have looked in-depth into the gene expression at the implant site. In order to develop a deeper understanding of the processes that lead to device failure, a spatiotemporal, cell-specific analysis of the genes and proteins involved in the inflammatory response is necessary. Identifying key pathways that are affected by electrode implantation could lead to the development of new therapies to improve the long-term performance of IMEs. This study evaluates the expression of over 80 proteins surrounding the implant site. Protein expression measurements were divided into different segments based on 90 mm concentric rings, and were further divided based on cell type. Cell-specific capture of expressed proteins allowed for the quantification of protein expression within our selected cell types (neurons and astrocytes). Our study represents the first proteomic or transcriptomic study of IME implant sites to implement cell specificity and is overall the most comprehensive analysis of the proteins involved in the IME neuroinflammatory response that has been performed.