NIBMG Fellows

Research

Glial dysfunction is a major pathological feature of many neurodegenerative disorders. Altered astrocyte and oligodendrocyte functions have been associated with neurodegeneration. In the central nervous system, these glial cell types couple through gap junctions (GJs) over distant regions forming a “glial syncytium”. GJs are comprised of proteins called connexins (Cx) and allow direct cytosolic exchange of a wide range of small molecules such as ions, metabolites, second messengers, and neurotransmitters. GJs couple adjacent astrocytes (A/A junctions) and oligodendrocytes and astrocytes (O/A junctions) through homotypic and heterotypic coupling of astrocyte-specific (Cx30 and Cx43) and oligodendrocyte-specific (Cx32 and Cx47) connexins. Astrocytes regulate oligodendrocyte-lineage functions including myelination, in part through the heterotypic O/A GJ coupling. However, the crosstalk between these different glial cell types is not well understood in the context of demyelinating and neurodegenerative conditions. Research programs in the laboratory has two complementary areas of interest: (1) To understand how astrocyte-specific connexins are deregulated in the brains of complex neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, and (2) To understand how the integrity of O/A GJ coupling is affected during the development of a chronic demyelinating neurodegenerative condition like multiple sclerosis. Towards this understanding we will be using mouse and primary cell culture models, basic cell and molecular biology techniques and “omics”-platforms to understand the cell-specific transcriptional changes to identify the cellular mediators that deregulate the GJ channels in neurodegenerative disease.

CV

Education

Year	Degree	University
2013	Ph.D	University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
2004	M.Sc	Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
2002	B.Sc	University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

Professional Appointments

• DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early Career Fellow, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, West Bengal, India (01/2019 – 01/2022)
• Visiting Research Scientist (SERB Young Scientist), Indian Institute of Science Education and Reserarch Kolkata, West Bengal, India (11/2015 – 11/2018)
• Research Project Scientist, CSIR-TRISUTA, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, India (09/2013 – 03/2015)
• Graduate student (pursuing PhD), Centre for Neuroscience, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (05/2007 –06/2013)
• Research project assistant, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, West Bengal, India (04/2005 – 04/2007)
• Lecturer (Part-time), Department of Zoology, Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College (affiliated to University of Calcutta), West Bengal, India (08/2004 – 03/2005).

Professional Memberships

• Life Member of the Indian Academy of Neuroscience
• Life Member of Indian Society of Human Genetics

Awards/Honors:

A. Grants/Fellowship Award
2019-2023	DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early Career Fellowship, India
2015-2018	DST-SERB Young Scientist Fellowship and research grant, India
2010-2012	Full-time Studentship Award from Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS), Canada.
2009-2010	President’s International Doctoral Award, University of Alberta, Canada.
2008-2009	75th Anniversary Graduate Student Award, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Canada.
2008	Studentship Award from Centre for Neuroscience, University of Alberta, Canada.
2002	National Scholarship for B.Sc. Honours Examination 2002, University of Calcutta, Government of West Bengal, India.
1999	National Scholarship for Std. XII Certificate Examination 1999, Government of West Bengal, India.
1997	National Scholarship for Std. X Certificate Examination 1997, Government of West Bengal, India.

B. Publication Award
2013	Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) November 2012 Med Star Graduate Student Award, University of Alberta, Canada.

C. Presentation Award
2016	Best Poster Award, Indo-US Symposium on Central Nervous System Viral Infection and its Therapy, India
2016	Best Poster Award, Indo-US Symposium on Central Nervous System Viral Infection and its Therapy, India
2012	Honourable Mention at the 2012 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) National Health Research Poster Presentation, University of Manitoba, Canada.
2012	First Prize in Oral Presentation, Department of Medicine Research Day 2012, University of Alberta, Canada.
2011	Graduate Student Best Poster Award, Department of Medicine Research Day 2011, University of Alberta, Canada.
2010	Graduate Student Best Poster Award, 2nd Annual Translational Neuroscience Symposium, University of Alberta, Canada.

D. Travel Award
2010	Mary Louise Imrie Graduate Student Award, University of Alberta, Canada.

E. Other honours
2002	K.S.Rao Memorial Medal for securing highest marks in B.Sc. Honours Examination in Zoology 2002, Vivekananda College, University of Calcutta, India.

Invited/Special lectures

Gap junction intercellular communication in demyelinating neurodegenerative pathology. XXXIX Annual Meeting of Indian Academy of Neurosciences, 2021, IISER Kolkata, India.

Selected presentations:

• Effect of Amyloid-β on Gap-junction protein Connexin 43 in mouse primary astrocytes. Maulik M, Vasan L, Bose A and Das Sarma J. XXXVII Annual Meeting of Indian Academy of Neurosciences. AIIIMS New Delhi, India. November 19-20, 2019.
• Effect of inflammation induced by viral infection on β-amyloid metabolism: Implications for Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Maulik M, Vasan L and Das Sarma J. Indo-US Symposium on Central Nervous System Viral Infection and its Therapy. Jalpaiguri, WB, India. 14 - 17 November 2016.
• Influence of cholesterol accumulation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Maulik M, Ghoshal B, Kim J, Wang Y, Yang J, Westaway D and Kar S. 42nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. New Orleans, LA, USA. October 13-17, 2012.
• Tau pathology in cholesterol accumulating human APP transgenic mice. Maulik M, Ghoshal B, Westaway D and Kar S. 41st Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Washington, DC, USA. November 12-16, 2011.
• Cholesterol differentially regulates APP processing and β-amyloid levels: evidence from a novel transgenic mouse overexpressing APP in the absence of Npc1 protein. Maulik M, Yang J, Peake K, Vance JE, Westaway D and Kar S. 2nd Translational Neuroscience Symposium, University of Alberta, AB, Canada. December 9-10, 2010.
• Characterization of a novel transgenic mouse model overexpressing mutant human APP in the absence of the cholesterol trafficking Npc1 protein. Maulik M, Yang J, Kim J, Peake K, Vance JE, Westaway D and Kar S. 39th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Chicago, IL, USA. October 17-21, 2009.

Current Projects

Role of Connexin-47 in axon-myelin interaction during virus-induced demyelination of the central nervous system (Early Career Fellow, Funded by DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance, 01/2019 - 31/2023)

Past Major Projects:

Role of Amyloid-β in modulating gap junction and hemichannel function: Implication for Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis (Principal Investigator, Funded by SERB, Govt. of India, 11/2015 – 11/2018)

Publications

• Regulatory role of endoplasmic reticulum resident chaperone protein ERp29 in anti-murine β-coronavirus host cell response. Bose A, Kasle G, Jana R, MAULIK M, Thomas D, Mulchandani V, Mukherjee P, Koval M, Das Sarma J. J Biol Chem 2023 Feb;299(2):102836. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102836.
  
• Baseline cell proliferation rates and response to UV differ in lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from healthy individuals of extreme constitution types. Chakraborty S, Singhmar S, Singh D, MAULIK M, Patil R, Agrawal SK, Mishra A, Ghazi M, Vats A, Natarajan VT, Juvekar S, Prasher B, Mukerji M. Cell Cycle. 2021 Apr 18;1-11. doi: 10.1080/15384101.2021.1909884.
• Amyloid-β regulates gap junction protein Connexin 43 trafficking in cultured primary astrocytes. MAULIK M*, Vasan L, Bose A, Dutta Chowdhury S, Sengupta N, Das Sarma J. J Biol Chem. 2020 Oct 30;295(44):15097-15111. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.013705. *Corresponding author
• A role for astrocyte-derived amyloid β peptides in the degeneration of neurons in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Kodam A˄, Ourdev D˄, MAULIK M, Hariharakrishnan J, Banerjee M, Wang Y, Kar S. Brain Pathol. 2019 Jan;29(1):28-44. doi: 10.1111/bpa.12617. ˄Equal contribution.
• Endosomal-Lysosomal Cholesterol Sequestration by U18666A Differentially Regulates Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) Metabolism in Normal and APP-Overexpressing Cells. Chung J, Phukan G, Vergote D, Mohamed A, MAULIK M, Stahn M, Andrew RJ, Thinakaran G, Posse de Chaves E, Kar S. Mol Cell Biol. 2018 May 15;38(11): e00529-17. doi: 10.1128/MCB.00529-17.
• Loss of Cx43-Mediated Functional Gap Junction Communication in Meningeal Fibroblasts Following Mouse Hepatitis Virus Infection. Bose A, Basu R, MAULIK M, Das Sarma J. Mol Neurobiol. 2018 Aug;55(8):6558-6571. doi: 10.1007/s12035-017-0861-3.
• The Effects of Extracellular Serum Concentration on APP Processing in Npc1-Deficient APP-Overexpressing N2a Cells. MAUIK M˄, Vergote D˄, Phukan G, Chung J, Thinakaran G, Kar S. Mol Neurobiol. 2018 Jul;55(7):5757-5766. doi: 10.1007/s12035-017-0799-5. ˄Equal contribution.
• APP overexpression in the absence of NPC1 exacerbates metabolism of amyloidogenic proteins of Alzheimer's disease. MAULIK M, Peake K, Chung J, Wang Y, Vance JE, Kar S. Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Dec 15;24(24):7132-50. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddv413. (Cover Illustration)
• Increased levels and activity of cathepsins B and D in kainate-induced toxicity. Banerjee M, Sasse VA, Wang Y, MAULIK M, Kar S. Neuroscience. 2015 Jan 22; 284:360-373. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.10.003.
• Alterations in gene expression in mutant amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice lacking Niemann-Pick type C1 protein. MAULIK M, Thinakaran G and Kar S. PLoS One. 2013;8(1): e54605. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054605.
• Role of cholesterol in APP metabolism and its significance in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. MAULIK M, Westaway D, Jhamandas JH and Kar S. Mol Neurobiol. 2013 Feb;47(1):37-63. doi: 10.1007/s12035-012-8337-y.
• Mutant human APP exacerbates pathology in a mouse model of NPC and its reversal by a β-cyclodextrin. MAULIK M, Ghoshal B, Kim J, Wang Y, Yang J, Westaway D and Kar S. Hum Mol Genet. 2012 Nov 15;21(22):4857-75. doi: 10.1093/hmg/dds322.
• Altered levels and distribution of amyloid precursor protein and its processing enzymes in Niemann-Pick type C1-deficient mouse brains. Kodam A˄, Maulik M˄, Peake K, Amritraj A, Vetrivel KS, Thinakaran G, Vance JE and Kar S. Glia. 2010 Aug 15;58(11):1267-81. doi: 10.1002/glia.21001. ˄Equal contribution (Cover illustration)
• SNPs in genes with copy number variation: a question of specificity. Sengupta M, Ray A, Chaki M, MAULIK M and Ray K. J Genet. 2008 Apr;87(1):95-7. doi: 10.1007/s12041-008-0014-6.
• Genetic landscape of the people of India: a canvas for disease gene exploration. Indian Genome Variation Consortium$ (2008) Journal of Genetics, 87: 3-20. $Indian Genome Variation Consortium author [Maulik M’s role in the study published as an Author of the Indian Genome Variation Consortium: Sample management, SNP discovery, validation and analysis; Data QC]
• Evaluation of genetic markers linked to haemophilia A locus: an Indian experience. Saha A, Mukherjee S, MAULIK M, Chandak GR, Indian Genome Variation Consortium and Ray K. Haematologica. 2007 Dec;92(12):1725-6. doi: 10.3324/haematol.11545.
• Parkin polymorphisms: risk for Parkinson’s disease in Indian population. Biswas A, MAULIK M, Das SK, Indian Genome Variation Consortium, Ray K and Ray J. Clin Genet. 2007 Nov;72(5):484-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-0004.2007.00878.x.
• Molecular diagnosis of Wilson disease using prevalent mutations and informative single-nucleotide polymorphism markers. Gupta Aa, Maulik Ma, Nasipuri P, Chattopadhyay I, Das SK, Gangopadhyay PK, Indian Genome Variation Consortium and Ray K (2007). Clin Chem. 2007 Sep;53(9):1601-8. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2007.086066. aEqual contribution (Highlighted in the Editorial)

Lab members

PhD Student

Ms. Puspita Saha (jointly with Dr. Moulinath Acharya)

Integrated MS-PhD Student

Ms. Sai Gayathri Raju

Project Assistant

Mr. Soubhik Das