Assistant Professor
Office: VBR 431
E-Mail: czajak@vetmed.wsu.edu
Phone: (509) 335-7645
Czaja Lab
Homepage
Check out Dr. Czaja's research on
chili peppers
here.
Veterinary Gross Anatomy VM 512
"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or
reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all
that is left is a compromise." ...Robert Fritz
Imagine a future where neurosurgeons could implant new neurons into
damaged areas of the brain or replace neurons lost to aging, or even
enhance areas of the normal brain. I let this future begin today by
investigating the biology of postnatal neurogenesis in vitro and in
animal models utilizing technologies in cell biology, molecular biology
and histology.
Some spontaneous generation of new neurons occurs in the adult mammalian
nervous system. However, the addition of new neurons and replacement of
damaged neurons is very limited. Therefore, identification of neuronal
populations that can be stimulated to proliferate and differentiate into
viable neurons is one of the major challenges for developing therapeutic
strategies to repair neurological damage. Recently, we discovered that
neurons of the viscerosensory nodose ganglia in adult rats proliferate,
following systemic treatment with capsaicin, the active component of
chili peppers. These data suggest that the nodose ganglia, and perhaps
other primary afferent ganglia, may provide a model system for examining
neurogenesis in the adult animal, and perhaps it could provide a source
of neurons or precursors for autologous treatment of neurological
injuries.
However,
the demonstration of adult neurogenesis in rat nodose ganglion raises
many more questions than answers. Where did these new neurons originate
and what happens to them? Do these new neurons cumulatively add to the
population of older cells, or do they replace older neurons with no net
increase in cell number? How many of these neurons extend axons, receive
synaptic input, and produce action potentials? It is essential to
address these critical questions before detailed exploration of the
mechanisms that underlie cellular proliferation in the adult nodose
ganglion, and examination of the therapeutic potential of proliferating
sensory neurons can begin.
Biographical Information
Krzysztof Czaja, Assistant Professor in IPN, received his D.V.M. in 1993
from the Veterinary Medicine College, Academy of Agriculture and
Technology, Olsztyn, Poland. He received his Ph.D. in Neuroanatomy from
the University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland in 1997. From
1997-2007 he did postdoctoral work at the University of Warmia and
Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland; the Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg,
Germany and United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Physiology
Research Unit, Athens, GA, USA. In 2007, he was appointed to the faculty
as an Assistant Professor at Washington State University, Pullman, WA,
USA. Dr. Czaja has been invited to give numerous presentations and
symposia. He joined IPN and the Neuroscience Graduate Faculty in July of
2007.
Selected Publications (most recent at top)
Campos CA, Wright JS, Czaja K, Ritter RC. (2012)
CCK-Induced Reduction of Food Intake and Hindbrain MAPK Signaling Are
Mediated by NMDA Receptor Activation.Endocrinology. 2012 Apr 16. [Epub
ahead of print]
Gallaher ZR, Ryu V, Herzog T, Ritter RC, Czaja K.
(2012) Changes in microglial activation within the hindbrain, nodose
ganglia, and the spinal cord following subdiaphragmatic vagotomy.
Neurosci Lett. 2012 Mar 28;513(1):31-6. Epub 2012 Feb 10.
Wright J, Campos C, Herzog T, Covasa M, Czaja K, Ritter
RC. (2011) Reduction of food intake by cholecystokinin requires
activation of hindbrain NMDA-type glutamate receptors. Am J Physiol
Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2011 Aug;301(2):R448-55. Epub 2011 May 11.
Gallaher ZR, Larios RM, Sprunger LK, Czaja K (2011)
Neural proliferation and restoration of neurochemical phenotypes and
compromised functions following capsaicin-induced neuronal damage in
adult rats. Frontiers in Neuroscience, Feb 2; 5:12.
Czaja K, Czaja WE, Giacobini-Robecchi M, Geuna S,
Fornaro M (2011) Injury-induced DNA replication and neural proliferation
in the adult mammalian nervous system. In: DNA Replication, ISBN:
978-953-307-1365-2.
Brown TE, Lee BR, Ryu V, Herzog T, Czaja K, Dong Y.
(2010) Reducing hippocampal cell proliferation in the adult rat doe
snot prevent the acquisition of cocaine-induced conditioned place
preference. Neurosci Lett 481(1): 41-6.
Gallaher ZR, Larios RM, Ryu V, Sprunger LK, Czaja K
(2010) Recovery of viscerosensory innervation from the dorsal root
ganglia of the adult rat following capsaicin-induced injury. J Comp
Neurol 518: 3529-3540
Ryu V, Gallaher Z, Czaja K (2010) Plasticity of
nodose ganglion neurons after capsaicin- and vagotomy-induced nerve
damage in adult rats. Neuroscience 167: 1227-1238
Geuna S, Raimondo S, Ronchi G, Di SF, Tos P,
Czaja K,
Fornaro M (2009) Chapter 3 histology of the peripheral nerve and changes
occurring during nerve regeneration. Int Rev Neurobiol 87: 27-46
Czaja K, Burns GA, Ritter RC (2008) Capsaicin-induced neuronal
death and proliferation of the primary sensory neurons located in the
nodose ganglia of adult rats. Neuroscience 154: 621-630
Czaja K, Barb CR, Kraeling RR (2007) Hypothalamic neurons
innervating fat tissue in the pig express leptin receptor
immunoreactivity. Neurosci Lett 425:6-11
Czaja K (2006) Transsynaptic connections between the
hypothalamus and adipose tissue: relationship to reproduction. Soc
Reprod Fertil Suppl 62:45-53
Czaja K, Ritter RC, Burns GA (2006) N-methyl-D-aspartate
receptor subunit phenotypes of vagal afferent neurons in nodose ganglia
of the rat. J Comp Neurol 496:877-885
Czaja K, Ritter RC, Burns GA (2006) Vagal afferent neurons
projecting to the stomach and small intestine exhibit multiple
N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunit phenotypes. Brain Res 1119:86-93
Barb CR, Hausman GJ,
Czaja K (2005) Leptin: A metabolic
signal affecting central regulation of reproduction in the pig. Domest
Anim Endocrinol 29:186-192
Czaja K, Kaleczyc J, Sienkiewicz W, Lakomy M (2005) The
influence of experimental ileitis on the neuropeptide coding of enteric
neurons in the pig. Pol J Vet Sci 8:155-163
Sienkiewicz W, Kaleczyc J,
Czaja K, Lakomy M (2004)
Adrenergic, nitrergic and peptidergic innervation of the urethral muscle
in the boar. Folia Histochem Cytobiol 42:89-94
Czaja K, Kraeling RR, Barb CR (2003) Are hypothalamic neurons
transsynaptically connected to porcine adipose tissue? Biochem Biophys
Res Commun 311:482-485
Czaja K, Lakomy M, Kaleczyc J, Barb CR, Rampacek GB, Kraeling
RR (2002) Leptin receptors, NPY, and tyrosine hydroxylase in autonomic
neurons supplying fat depots in a pig. Biochem Biophys Res Commun
293:1138-1144
Czaja K, Lakomy M, Sienkiewicz W, Kaleczyc J, Pidsudko Z, Barb
CR, Rampacek GB, Kraeling RR (2002) Distribution of neurons containing
leptin receptors in the hypothalamus of the pig. Biochem Biophys Res
Commun 298:333-337
Czaja K, Kraeling R, Klimczuk M, Franke-Radowiecka A,
Sienkiewicz W, Lakomy M (2002) Distribution of ganglionic sympathetic
neurons supplying the subcutaneous, perirenal and mesentery fat tissue
depots in the pig. Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars ) 62:227-234
Czaja K (2000) Distribution of primary afferent neurons
innervating the porcine oviduct and their immunohistochemical
characterization. Cells Tissues Organs 166:275-282
