On a more global level, we are utilizing studies of epigenetic complexes related to polycomb repression. We identified polycomb complexes as a major determinant of the pro-regenerative responses of Schwann cell responses to nerve injury, and these studies are integrated with genome-wide analysis of transcription factor distribution (using ChIP-Seq) to develop an interactive map of the genomic programming that is required for myelination by Schwann cells, as well as the transcriptional reprogramming that occurs in Schwann cells after nerve injury. Finally, we have also investigated several aspects of myelination by oligodendrocytes, and we are interested in how genetic noncoding variants affect the gene regulatory networks in both oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells.
