Neuroscience Center at MGH

Michael Moskowitz, M.D.
Neuroscience Center at Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital – East
Building 149
13th Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Telephone: 617-726-8442
E-mail: moskowitz@helix.mgh.harvard.edu

Biography
Dr. Moskowitz received his M.D. from Tufts University, Boston. Following postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, he came to the MGH in 1975 where he is currently professor of Neurology.

Research Program
The Moskowitz laboratory has a long-standing interest in mechanisms regulating cerebral blood vessel function with a particular focus on interactions between neurons, glial and vascular cells. Such studies are relevant to the pathophysiology of stroke, migraine, and traumatic brain injury. In the past, his laboratory discovered the sensory innervation to the Circle of Willis and the triggering of the trigeminovascular innervation by intense neuronal and glial activity.

His laboratory also was the first to identify the neuronal 5HT receptor subtypes for abortive anti-migraine drugs. More recent research projects relate to matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) and their upregulation on vascular permeability following cortical spreading depression. In addition to MMPs, his laboratory has a long-standing interest in tissue mediators of brain injury including nitric oxide and has studied its Janus effect on vascular function and cell death.

For this project, his laboratory developed unique expertise in physiological monitoring in genetically engineered mice including techniques to evaluate cerebrovascular physiology in fully instrumented animals. His laboratory used these methods to examine the relevance of specific cell types and pathways important in cerebral ischemia such as the contribution of the endothelium and brain parenchyma to stroke protection by NO and the statins. Experiments over the past decade have examined caspases as mediators of cell demise and the role of death receptors in ischemic brain injury.

His laboratory is now examining the molecular consequences of cortical spreading depression as a potential mechanism to understand drug activity and as mechanism linking the pathophysiologic relationship between migraine and stroke.

Publications
Click here to access a full PubMed search on Dr. Moskowitz

Moskowitz MA, Lo EH. Neurogenesis and apoptotic cell death. Stroke 2003;34:324-326.
Chiarugi A, Moskowitz MA. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 activity promotes NF-kB-driven transcription and microglial activation: implication for neurodegenerative disorders. J Neurochem. 2003;85:306-317.
Atochin DN, Clark J, Demchenko IT, Moskowitz MA, and Huang PL. Rapid cerebral ischemic preconditioning in mice deficient in endothelial and neuronal nitric oxide synthases. Stroke 2003;34:1299-1303.
Teramoto T, Qiu J, Plumier JC, Moskowitz MA. EGF amplifies the replacement of parvalbumin-expressing striatal interneurons after ischemia. J Clin Invest. 2003;111:1125-1132.
Lo EH, Dalkara T, Moskowitz MA. Mechanisms, challenges and opportunities in stroke. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2003;4:399-414.
Finklestein SP, Fisher M, Furland AJ, et.al. Recommendations for standards regarding preclinical neuroprotective and restorative drug development. Special Report. Stroke 1999;30:2752-2758.
Yoshimura S, Teramoto T, Whalen MJ, Irizarry MC, Takagi Y, Qiu J, Harada J, Waeber C, Breakefield XO, Moskowitz MA. FGF-2 regulates neurogenesis and degeneration in the dentate gyrus after traumatic brain injury in mice. J Clin Invest. 2003;112:1202-1210.
Wada K, Sugimori H, Bhide PG, Moskowitz MA, Finklestein SP. Effect of basic fibroblast growth factor treatment on brain progenitor cells after permanent focal ischemia in rats. Stroke 2003;34:2722-2728.
Frenkel D, Huang Z, Maron R, Koldzic DN, Hancock WW, Moskowitz MA, Weiner HL. Nasal vaccination with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein reduces stroke size by inducing IL-10-producing CD4+T cells. J Immunol. 2003;171: 6549-6555.
Lo EH, Broderick JP, Moskowitz MA. Advances in stroke 2003: tPA and proteolysis in the neurovascular unit. Stroke 2004;35:354-356.
Harada J, Foley M, Moskowitz MA, Waeber C. Sphingosine-1-phosphate induces proliferation and morphological changes of neural progenitor cells. J Neurochem. 2004;88:1026-1039.
Plesnila N, Zhu C, Culmsee C, GrÖger M, Moskowitz MA, Blomgren K. Nuclear translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor after focal cerebral ischemia. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2004;24:458-466.
Qiu J, Takagi Y, Harada J, Rodriques N, Moskowitz MA, Scadden DT, Cheng T. Regenerative response in ischemic brain restricted by p21cip1/waf1. J Exp Med. 2004;199:937-945