About My Research
Center/Research Area Affiliations
Biography
Dr. Jakobs is a molecular and cell biologist. At Schepens eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear, her main research focus is on the interaction between neurons and supporting glial cells in glaucoma. Using various models of glaucomatous and traumatic optic nerve damage, her laboratory studies the response of optic nerve glia to injury. The goal is to better understand the role of optic nerve astrocytes and microglia in the progression of glaucoma.
Education
MD, magna cum laude, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (1995)
Postgraduate Training
Neurosurgery Research, Massachusetts General Hospital (2000-2007)
Professional Memberships
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Society for Neuroscience
International Society for Eye Research (ISER)
American Academy of Anatomists
Honors
2012: Dolly Green Special Scholar Award, Research to Prevent Blindness
1997-1999: Full Scholarship Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
1996: First European von Basedow Research Prize
- Loss of epigenetic information as a cause of mammalian aging. Cell. 2024 Feb 29; 187(5):1312-1313.
- Astrocytes in the Optic Nerve Are Heterogeneous in Their Reactivity to Glaucomatous Injury. Cells. 2023 08 23; 12(17).
- Vitamin C protects retinal ganglion cells via SPP1 in glaucoma and after optic nerve damage. Life Sci Alliance. 2023 08; 6(8).
- Individual astrocyte morphology in the collagenous lamina cribrosa revealed by multicolor DiOlistic labeling. Exp Eye Res. 2023 05; 230:109458.
- Loss of epigenetic information as a cause of mammalian aging. Cell. 2023 01 19; 186(2):305-326.e27.
- Secreted phosphoprotein 1 slows neurodegeneration and rescues visual function in mouse models of aging and glaucoma. Cell Rep. 2022 12 27; 41(13):111880.
- Viability of mitochondria-labeled retinal ganglion cells in organotypic retinal explant cultures by two methods. Exp Eye Res. 2023 01; 226:109311.
- Microglia depletion exacerbates retinal ganglion cell loss in a mouse model of glaucoma. Exp Eye Res. 2022 12; 225:109273.
- Lamina cribrosa vessel and collagen beam networks are distinct. Exp Eye Res. 2022 02; 215:108916.
- Lamina Cribrosa Capillaries Straighten as Intraocular Pressure Increases. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2020 10 01; 61(12):2.
- Ultrastructural Morphology of the Optic Nerve Head in Aged and Glaucomatous Mice. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2018 08 01; 59(10):3984-3996.
- Single-Cell Dissociation and Characterization in the Murine Retina and Optic Nerve. Methods Mol Biol. 2018; 1695:311-334.
- Optic nerve astrocyte reactivity protects function in experimental glaucoma and other nerve injuries. J Exp Med. 2017 05 01; 214(5):1411-1430.
- Biological aspects of axonal damage in glaucoma: A brief review. Exp Eye Res. 2017 04; 157:5-12.
- Ex Vivo Imaging of the Murine Optic Nerve Head. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 02 01; 58(2):734.
- Astrocytes in the Optic Nerve Head of Glaucomatous Mice Display a Characteristic Reactive Phenotype. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 02 01; 58(2):924-932.
- Mice Homozygous for a Deletion in the Glaucoma Susceptibility Locus INK4 Show Increased Vulnerability of Retinal Ganglion Cells to Elevated Intraocular Pressure. Am J Pathol. 2016 Apr; 186(4):985-1005.
- Synapse Loss and Dendrite Remodeling in a Mouse Model of Glaucoma. PLoS One. 2015; 10(12):e0144341.
- Astrocytes in the optic nerve head express putative mechanosensitive channels. Mol Vis. 2015; 21:749-66.
- Isolation of intact astrocytes from the optic nerve head of adult mice. Exp Eye Res. 2015 Aug; 137:103-10.
- Differential gene expression in glaucoma. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2014 Jul 01; 4(7):a020636.
- The Time Course of Gene Expression during Reactive Gliosis in the Optic Nerve. PLoS One. 2013; 8(6):e67094.
- Reversible reactivity by optic nerve astrocytes. Glia. 2013 Aug; 61(8):1218-35.
- Morphology of astrocytes in a glaucomatous optic nerve. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013 Feb 01; 54(2):909-17.
- Structural remodeling of astrocytes in the injured CNS. Neuroscientist. 2012 Dec; 18(6):567-88.
- Regular mosaic of synaptic contacts among three retinal neurons. J Comp Neurol. 2011 Feb 01; 519(2):341-57.
- Structural remodeling of fibrous astrocytes after axonal injury. J Neurosci. 2010 Oct 20; 30(42):14008-19.
- The morphology and spatial arrangement of astrocytes in the optic nerve head of the mouse. J Comp Neurol. 2009 Sep 01; 516(1):1-19.
- The spatial distribution of glutamatergic inputs to dendrites of retinal ganglion cells. J Comp Neurol. 2008 Sep 10; 510(2):221-36.
- Axons of retinal ganglion cells are insulted in the optic nerve early in DBA/2J glaucoma. J Cell Biol. 2007 Dec 31; 179(7):1523-37.
- Expression of mRNA for glutamate receptor subunits distinguishes the major classes of retinal neurons, but is less specific for individual cell types. Mol Vis. 2007 Jun 18; 13:933-48.
- Organotypic culture of adult rabbit retina. J Vis Exp. 2007; (3):190.
- Organotypic culture of physiologically functional adult mammalian retinas. PLoS One. 2007 Feb 21; 2(2):e221.
- Horizontal slice preparation of the retina. J Vis Exp. 2006 Nov 20; (1):108.
- Retinal ganglion cell degeneration is topological but not cell type specific in DBA/2J mice. J Cell Biol. 2005 Oct 24; 171(2):313-25.
- Different functional types of bipolar cells use different gap-junctional proteins. J Neurosci. 2005 Jul 13; 25(28):6696-701.
- Inward rectifying currents stabilize the membrane potential in dendrites of mouse amacrine cells: patch-clamp recordings and single-cell RT-PCR. Mol Vis. 2004 May 13; 10:328-40.
- CD15 immunoreactive amacrine cells in the mouse retina. J Comp Neurol. 2003 Oct 20; 465(3):361-71.
- Breakpoint analysis of a familial balanced translocation t(2;8)(q31;p21) associated with mesomelic dysplasia. J Med Genet. 2002 Jul; 39(7):E34.
- Proinflammatory cytokines inhibit the expression and function of human type I 5'-deiodinase in HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells. Eur J Endocrinol. 2002 Apr; 146(4):559-66.
- Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis of thyrocyte-relevant genes in fine-needle aspiration biopsies of the human thyroid. Thyroid. 1998 Nov; 8(11):981-7.
- Functional retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors in human thyroid-carcinoma cell lines and tissues. Int J Cancer. 1998 May 04; 76(3):368-76.
- Cloning and characterization of the human selenoprotein P promoter. Response of selenoprotein P expression to cytokines in liver cells. J Biol Chem. 1997 Nov 14; 272(46):29364-71.
- The promoter of the human type I 5'-deiodinase gene--mapping of the transcription start site and identification of a DR+4 thyroid-hormone-responsive element. Eur J Biochem. 1997 Jul 01; 247(1):288-97.
- Structure of the human type I iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase gene and localization to chromosome 1p32-p33. Genomics. 1997 Jun 01; 42(2):361-3.
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Since 2004, Dr. Jakobs, has focused her research on glaucoma—a group of eye diseases in which vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve. In 2009, Dr. Jakobs moved her research to Massachusetts Eye and Ear.
She has eceived grants from the Glaucoma Foundation, the Bright Focus Foundation, The International Retina Research Foundation, the Ellison Foundation, Research to Prevent Blindness, and the Massachusetts Lions to support her work. Since October 2009, she has been a Principal Investigator on a grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI). The goal of her NEI project is to better understand the role of optic nerve astrocytes in the progression of glaucoma.
Cell Biology of Astrocytes in the Optic Nerve Head
This project is using short-term and long-term models of optic nerve damage with the overall goal of understanding “reactive gliosis” in the optic nerve more thoroughly.
Communication between Ganglion Cells and Glial Cells
The aim of this project is finding what kind of signaling mechanisms exist between injured ganglion cells and the glial cells that are surrounding them.
Glaucoma Susceptibility Genes and their Activity in the Retina and Optic Nerve
Several genomic regions have been associated with glaucoma in genome-wide association studies, but it is not always clear why. We are using transgenic mice to better understand the activity of these genes in glaucoma.
Regulation of Astrocyte Reactivity during Normal Aging and in Glaucoma
Dr. Jakobs is looking at transcription factors and signaling molecules that help regulate astrocyte reactivity in the optic nerve in aging, glaucoma and traumatic optic nerve damage. She is using microarray screening, RNA-sequencing, transgenic animals, light- and electron microscopy, and visual function testing to test the function of genes that are up-regulated in reactive astrocytes.
Current Members of Dr. Tatjana Jakobs’ Laboratory
Instructor in Ophthalmology
- Daniel Sun, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
- Ying Zhu, MD, PhD
- Song Li, PhD
Joint PhD Program
- Ying Zhu, MD
- Mingui Wang, MD
Student
- Nemahun Vincent, B.S.
Alumni
More than 5 trainees have worked in Dr. Jakobs’ laboratory.