Antje Anji

Antje AnjiResearch Assistant Professor

MD, Bangalore University, India 1988
PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 2001

Coles Hall 230
Phone: 785-532-4397
email: aanji@vet.k-state.edu

Research Interests

Alcohol dependence is a disease that has a staggering effect on our nation's economy. A key site of action of alcohol in the brain is the glutmatergic NMDA receptor. One of my research interests focuses on studying the effect of chronic alcohol exposure on gene expression of the NMDA receptor. To this end, we employ a mouse model of alcohol dependence.

Another major goal is to better understand the role played by NMDA receptors in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease has been associated with a loss of NMDA receptors in certain brain regions. We are interested in examining alterations in post-transcriptional regulation of NMDA receptors that may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Strong clues to the nature of NMDA receptor involvement will allow for the development of more beneficial therapeutic agents for this devastating illness.

In addition to my interest in neuroscience, my laboratory is studying the role alcohol plays in the development of esophageal cancer. We particularly focus on epigenetic mechanisms that may underlie the development of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

Selected Publications

Anji, A. and Kumari, M. (2011). A cis-acting region in the N-methyl-D-aspartate R1 3'-untranslated region interacts with the novel RNA-binding proteins beta subunit of alpha glucosidase II and annexin A2 – effect of chronic ethanol exposure in vivo. Eur. J. Neurosci. 34:1200-1211

Anji, A. and Kumari, M. (2009) Differentiated P19 cells express NMDA R1 mRNA binding trans-acting proteins and four NMDA R1 splice variants comparable to cultured fetal cortical neurons. J. Neurosci. Res. 87:1591-1601PMID: 19156858

Anji, A. and Kumari, M. (2008) Supplementing the liquid alcohol diet with chow enhances alcohol intake in C57 BL/6 mice. Drug Alcohol Depend. 97(1-2):86-93 PMID: 18479843

Anji, A. and Kumari, M. (2006) A novel RNA binding protein that interacts with NMDA R1 mRNA: regulation by ethanol. Eur. J. Neurosci. 23:2339-2350 PMID: 16706842

Kumari, M., and Anji, A. (2005) An old story with a new twist: Do NMDAR1 mRNA binding proteins regulate expression of the NMDAR1 receptor in the presence of alcohol? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1053:311-318