ZFIN ID: ZDB-LAB-120124-2
Rieger Lab
PI/Director: Rieger, Sandra
Contact Person: Pellegrini, Adriana
Email: srieger@mdibl.org
URL:
Address: MDI Biological Laboratory Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine Davis 227 159 Old Bar Harbor Road Salisbury Cove, ME 04672
Country: United States
Phone: (207) 288-9880 ext. 472
Fax: (207) 288-2130
Line Designation: mdi


GENOMIC FEATURES ORIGINATING FROM THIS LAB
Show all 4 genomic features


STATEMENT OF RESEARCH INTERESTS
The Rieger Lab studies wound healing mechanisms using zebrafish as a model. Wound healing is an intricate process that requires coordinated interactions between various cell types. The small reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide is a key signaling molecule that has been found to stimulate various wound repair processes, including immune and epidermal cell migration and the regeneration of sensory nerve endings. Our lab is particularly interested in the signaling functions of hydrogen peroxide leading to the crosstalk between sensory nerve endings and epidermal cells, as these interactions are required for wound healing. In addition, we are exploring nerve-dependent signals that promote wound repair and appendage regeneration. We are further interested in the development of therapeutic strategies that promote sensory nerve regeneration and wound healing. We have developed a model for studying one side effect of chemotherapy, paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy. About 70 percent of patients treated with paclitaxel develop peripheral neuropathy, leading to symptoms such as numbness, tingling, pain and temperature sensitivity. Some patients also show decreased wound healing following surgery. The underlying causes are unknown. We have discovered that paclitaxel promotes axon degeneration by damaging the epidermis, which is innervated by axons. We identified two compounds targeting the epidermis-specific matrix-metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13), which when co-administered with paclitaxel prevents axon degeneration, and promotes axon regeneration and wound repair. We are currently investigating their effects in mammalian models.

and a short biography.

Dr. Rieger was born and raised in Germany. She obtained her Ph.D. in Developmental Genetics from the Helmholtz Center in Munich in affiliation with the Technical University Munich under the mentorship of Dr. Reinhard Koester. Her Ph.D. project was concerned with studying the role of cell-cell adhesion factors in granule precursor cell migration during zebrafish cerebellar development. She explored the role of N-cadherin in this process and was the first to live image N-cadherin dynamics in migrating granule precursor cells. She further discovered a role for polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) in guiding migrating cerebellar precursor cells from the ventricular zone (the rhombic lip) to deeper brain regions in early cerebellar development. Dr. Rieger completed her postdoctoral training with Dr. Alvaro Sagasti at the University of California, Los Angeles where she explored neuro-epithelial interactions during cutaneous wound repair and appendage regeneration. She utilized the zebrafish as a model system to study the dynamic processes underlying injury-induced sensory axon regeneration and wound repair. Her work demonstrated that the small reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide is a critical factor in axon regeneration. Following her postdoctoral training, Dr. Rieger became assistant professor at MDI Biological Laboratory, a non-profit research organization focusing on regenerative biology and medicine as well as aging research. Her lab continues to study the crosstalk between cutaneous sensory axons and epidermis, and the signaling functions of hydrogen peroxide mediating these interactions. Dr. Rieger is further interested in the development of therapies for neurodegenerative disorders affecting cutaneous sensory axons. Her lab identified two compounds with which to prevent sensory axon degeneration when co-administered with the chemotherapeutic agent, paclitaxel.


LAB MEMBERS
Bolduc, Jessie Research Staff Miller, James Research Staff Pellegrini, Adriana Research Staff
Yamazaki, Mamiko


ZEBRAFISH PUBLICATIONS OF LAB MEMBERS
Staff, N.P., Hrstka, S.C., Dasari, S., Capobianco, E., Rieger, S. (2023) Skin Extracellular Matrix Breakdown Following Paclitaxel Therapy in Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. Cancers. 15(16):
Cadiz Diaz, A., Schmidt, N.A., Yamazaki, M., Hsieh, C.J., Lisse, T.S., Rieger, S. (2022) Coordinated NADPH oxidase/hydrogen peroxide functions regulate cutaneous sensory axon de- and regeneration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 119:e2115009119
Cirrincione, A.M., Pellegrini, A.D., Dominy, J.R., Benjamin, M.E., Utkina-Sosunova, I., Lotti, F., Jergova, S., Sagen, J., Rieger, S. (2020) Paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy is caused by epidermal ROS and mitochondrial damage through conserved MMP-13 activation. Scientific Reports. 10:3970
Cirrincione, A.M., Rieger, S. (2019) Analyzing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in vivo using non-mammalian animal models. Experimental neurology. 323:113090
Waldron, A.L., Schroder, P.A., Bourgon, K.L., Bolduc, J.K., Miller, J.L., Pellegrini, A.D., Dubois, A.L., Blaszkiewicz, M., Townsend, K.L., Rieger, S. (2017) Oxidative stress-dependent MMP-13 activity underlies glucose neurotoxicity. Journal of diabetes and its complications. 32(3):249-257
Lisse, T.S., Rieger, S. (2017) IKKα regulates human keratinocyte migration through surveillance of the redox environment. Journal of Cell Science. 130:975-988
Lisse, T.S., Middleton, L.J., Pellegrini, A.D., Martin, P.B., Spaulding, E.L., Lopes, O., Brochu, E.A., Carter, E.V., Waldron, A., Rieger, S. (2016) Paclitaxel-induced epithelial damage and ectopic MMP-13 expression promotes neurotoxicity in zebrafish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113(15):E2189-98
Lisse, T.S., King, B.L., Rieger, S. (2016) Comparative transcriptomic profiling of hydrogen peroxide signaling networks in zebrafish and human keratinocytes: Implications toward conservation, migration and wound healing. Scientific Reports. 6:20328
Lisse, T.S., Brochu, E.A., Rieger, S. (2015) Capturing Tissue Repair in Zebrafish Larvae with Time-lapse Brightfield Stereomicroscopy. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE. (95)
Chun, R.F., Blatter, E., Elliott, S., Fitz-Gibbon, S., Rieger, S., Sagasti, A., Adams, J.S., Hewison, M. (2014) Cloning of a functional 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1α-hydroxylase in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Cell biochemistry and function. 32(8):675-82
O'Brien, G.S., Rieger, S., Wang, F., Smolen, G.A., Gonzalez, R.E., Buchanan, J., and Sagasti, A. (2012) Coordinate development of skin cells and cutaneous sensory axons in zebrafish. The Journal of comparative neurology. 520(4):816-31
Rieger, S., and Sagasti, A. (2011) Hydrogen peroxide promotes injury-induced peripheral sensory axon regeneration in the zebrafish skin. PLoS Biology. 9(5):e1000621
Rieger, S., Senghaas, N., Walch, A., and Köster, R.W. (2009) Cadherin-2 controls directional chain migration of cerebellar granule neurons. PLoS Biology. 7(11):e1000240
Sagasti, A., O'Brien, G.S., Rieger, S., Martin, S.M., Cavanaugh, A.M., and Portera-Cailliau, C. (2009) Two-photon axotomy and time-lapse confocal imaging in live zebrafish embryos. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE. (24)
Rieger, S., Volkmann, K., and Köster, R.W. (2008) Polysialyltransferase expression is linked to neuronal migration in the developing and adult zebrafish. Developmental Dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists. 237(1):276-285
Volkmann, K., Rieger, S., Babaryka, A., and Köster, R.W. (2008) The zebrafish cerebellar rhombic lip is spatially patterned in producing granule cell populations of different functional compartments. Developmental Biology. 313(1):167-180
Rieger, S. (2007) The regulation of neuronal progenitor cell migration by cell-cell adhesion factors during zebrafish cerebellar development. Ph.D. Thesis. :154p
Rieger, S., Kulkarni, R.P., Darcy, D., Fraser, S.E., and Köster, R.W. (2005) Quantum dots are powerful multipurpose vital labeling agents in zebrafish embryos. Developmental Dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists. 234(3):670-681