Dr Simon Parson

Dr Simon Parson
Senior Lecturer
Medical School
Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG

Tel: 44 131 650 3552
Fax: 44 131 650 3713
Email: s.h.parson@ed.ac.uk

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Personal Profile


  • BSc in Zoology, University of Durham (1987)
  • PhD in Developmental Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh (1991)
  • Post-doctoral research in developmental neuroscience, Departments of Physiology and Anatomy, University of Edinburgh (1992-1995)
  • Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds (1995-2006)
  • Senior lecturer in Anatomy, University of Edinburgh (2006-)
  • MBChB, semester 1, year 1 module organiser
  • Anatomical Society, Trustee, elected Councillor and Meetings Officer

Rallying around for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal


Go to: http://tinyurl.com/rallying4MND to donate to my 'Rallying around for Motor Neurone Disease' Appeal

Research

Vascular defects in motor neurone disease

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is primarily considered to be a disease of motor neurones and muscle. We have shown a dramatic (>50%) reduction in the extent of the fine capillaries (blood vessels) which ramify throughout muscle and supply oxygen to these tissues. This deficiency will severely impact upon oxygen delivery to muscle. We have previously shown that the nerve supply to skeletal muscle is extremely sensitive to conditions of low oxygen, and that connections between motor neurons and muscle are rapidly dismantled when oxygen levels drop. We are therefore addressing the hypothesis that deficiencies in blood supply to muscle contribute directly to the rapid and progressive damage of motor neurones and muscle seen in SMA.

Synapse stability and retraction

Synaptic communication is essential for both voluntary and automatic actions, yet we know surprisingly little about what factors determine the long-term stability of synapses. My group is using a model synapse to investigate the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on synaptic stability. Currently we are using the mammalian neuromuscular junction to determine morphological and functional responses to acute tissue ischaemia. In tandem we are probing the cytosketal proteins and molecular motors which provide the intracellular framework for nerve terminal retraction.

Loss of synapses is a key event in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and motor neurone diseases. A greater understanding of the mechanisms of synapse loss will increase our ability to understand and therefore treat these diseases.

Funding

BDF Newlife for ASGBI in funding

Team Members

Eilidh Somers: PhD student

Collaborations

Professor Jim Deuchars: University of Leeds
Professor Peter Chantler: Royal Veterinary College, London
Professor Tom Gillingwater: University of Edinburgh
Professor Brunhilde Wirth: Cologne
Dr Martine Barkats: Paris
Professor Kevin Talbot: Oxford

Recent Publications


2011

Density, calibre and ramification of muscle capillaries are altered in a mouse model of severe spinal muscular atrophy. Somers E, Stencel Z, Wishart TM, Gillingwater TH, Parson SH. Neuromuscul Disord. 2011 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:22153987

Reversible molecular pathology of skeletal muscle in spinal muscular atrophy. Mutsaers CA, Wishart TM, Lamont DJ, Riessland M, Schreml J, Comley LH, Murray LM, Parson SH, Lochmüller H, Wirth B, Talbot K, Gillingwater TH. Hum Mol Genet. 2011 Nov 15;20(22):4334-44. PMID:21840928

ApoE isoform-specific regulation of regeneration in the peripheral nervous system. Comley LH, Fuller HR, Wishart TM, Mutsaers CA, Thomson D, Wright AK, Ribchester RR, Morris GE, Parson SH, Horsburgh K, Gillingwater TH. Hum Mol Genet. 2011 Jun 15;20(12):2406-21. PMID:21478199

Induction of cell stress in neurons from transgenic mice expressing yellow fluorescent protein: implications for neurodegeneration research. Comley LH, Wishart TM, Baxter B, Murray LM, Nimmo A, Thomson D, Parson SH, Gillingwater TH. PLoS One. 2011 Mar 8;6(3):e17639. PMID:21408118

The response of neuromuscular junctions to injury is developmentally regulated. Murray LM, Comley LH, Gillingwater TH, Parson SH. FASEB J. 2011 Apr;25(4):1306-13. Epub 2011 Jan 12. PMID:21228222

2010

Murray LM, Gillingwater TH, Parson SH. Using mouse cranial muscles to investigate neuromuscular pathology in vivo. Neuromuscul Disord. 2010 Nov;20(11):740-3. Epub 2010 Jul 15.PMID: 20637618 [PubMed - in process]

Murray, L.M., Lee, S., Baumer, D., Parson, S.H., Talbot, K. & Gillingwater, T.H. (2010) Pre-symptomatic development of lower motor neuron connectivity in a mouse model of severe spinal muscular atrophy. Human Molecular Genetics 19: 420-433. (this was previously listed as a 2009 EPub)

Wishart TM, Huang JP, Murray LM, Lamont DJ, Mutsaers CA, Ross J, Geldsetzer P, Ansorge O, Talbot K, Parson SH, Gillingwater TH.

SMN deficiency disrupts brain development in a mouse model of severe spinal muscular atrophy. Hum Mol Genet. 2010 Nov 1;19(21):4216-28. Epub 2010 Aug 12.PMID: 20705736 [PubMed - in process]

2009

Pre-symptomatic development of lower motor neuron connectivity in a mouse model of severe spinal muscular atrophy.  Murray LM, Lee S, Bäumer D, Parson SH, Talbot K, Gillingwater TH.  Hum Mol Genet. 2009 Nov 2. [Epub ahead of print]

2008

Baxter B, Gillingwater TH, Parson SH (2008) Rapid loss of motor nerve terminals following hypoxia-reperfusion injury occurs via mechanisms distinct from classic Wallerian degeneration. Journal of Anatomy 212(6):827-835

2007

Bettini NL, Moores TS, Baxter B, Deuchars J, Parson SH (2007) Dynamic remodelling of synapses can occur in the absence of the parent cell body. BMC Neurosci Sep 26; 8:79

2006

Brooke RE, Atkinson L, Edwards I, Parson SH, Deuchars J (2006) Immunohistochemical localisation of the voltage gated potassium ion channel subunit Kv3.3 in the rat medulla oblongata and thoracic spinal cord. Brain Res 1070:101-115

Wishart TM, Parson SH, Gillingwater TH (2006) Synaptic vulnerability in neurodegnerative disease. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 65:733-739

2005

Baxter RL, Deuchars J, Parson SH (2005) A2A Adenosine Receptors are Located on Presynaptic Motor Nerve Terminals in the Mouse. Synapse 57:229-234

Dobrzynski H, Li J, Tellez J, Greener ID, Nikolski VP, Wright SE, Parson SH, Jones SA, Lancaster MK, Yamamoto M, Honjo H, Takagishi Y, Kodama I, Efimof IR, Billeter R, Boyett MR (2005) Three-dimensional model of the sinoatrial node including distribution of different cell types and a specialised exit pathway. Circulation 22:846-854

Moores TS, Hasdemir B, Vega-Riveroll LJ, Deuchars J, Parson SH (2005) Properties of presynaptic P2X7-like receptors at the neuromuscular junction. Brain Research 1034:40-50

Parson SH, Ribchester RR (2005) Prenatal development of the musculoskeletal system in the human. In: The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Child Development (Hopkins B, ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Vega-Riveroll LJ, Wylie SR, Loughna PT, Parson SH, Chantler PD (2005) Non-muscle myosins IIa and IIb are present in adult motor nerve terminals. Neuroreport 16:1143-1146

Significant earlier publications

Computer three-dimensional reconstruction of the sinoatrial node Dobrzynski H, Li J, Tellez J, Greener ID, Nikolski VP, Wright SE, Parson SH, Jones SA, Lancaster MK, Yamamoto M, Honjo H, Takagishi Y, Kodama I, Efimov IR, Billeter R, Boyett MR. Circulation. 2005 Feb 22;111(7):846-54. Epub 2005 Feb 7. PMID:15699261

Neuronal P2X7 receptors are targeted to presynaptic terminals in the central and peripheral nervous systems Deuchars SA, Atkinson L, Brooke RE, Musa H, Milligan CJ, Batten TF, Buckley NJ, Parson SH, Deuchars J. J Neurosci. 2001 Sep 15;21(18):7143-52. PMID:11549725

Elimination of motor nerve terminals in neonatal mice expressing a gene for slow wallerian degeneration (C57Bl/Wlds) Parson SH, Mackintosh CL, Ribchester RR. Eur J Neurosci. 1997 Aug;9(8):1586-92. PMID:9283813