Neuropharmacology Lab
Principal Investigator : Prof. Lih-Chu CHIOU
Team Size :
Study Field : Periaqueductal Gray (PAG), Ligands of Opioid Nociception Receptors, Endocannabinoid (eCB) Synthesis, The α6 Subunit-containing GABAA Receptors (α6GABAARs)
Forms of Int'l Cooperation : Joint Research Project, Personnel Exchange, Student Exchange, Seminar, Joint Patent Application, MOU/Collaborative Agreement
Lab Introduction
Prof. Lih-Chu Chiou is a neuropharmacologist who graduated from National Taiwan University and was trained as an electrophysiologist in brain slice recordings at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA. In the early years, she employed electrophysiological approaches in the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) slices to characterize the pharmacological properties of several ligands of nociception receptors, the fourth opioid receptor member. Her team has also revealed neuroplasticity changes in the PAG of animals with neuropathic pain. Later, they found orexins can induce analgesia via orexin 1 receptor-mediated endocannabinoid (eCB) synthesis in the PAG. Importantly, they found this orexin-initiated eCB signaling in the PAG can contribute to the phenomenon of stress-induced analgesia and, surprisingly, also to acupuncture-induced analgesia via median nerve stimulation. Interestingly, this signaling also exists in the ventral tegmental area and contributes to stress-induced extinguished cocaine seeking.
Since 2019, Dr. Chiou has launched a drug development project initiated by a clinical case of intractable motor tics, which was sensitive to a local herb. From this herb, they have identified a flavonoid, hispidulin, as an active constituent that acted as a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the α6 subunit-containing GABAA receptors (α6GABAARs) in the cerebellum. Thereafter, they found several pyrazoloquinolinone (PQ) compounds synthesized by James Cook’s lab in University of Milwaukee have been identified to be the first α6GABAAR-selective PAMs by Werner Sieghart’s team at the Medical University of Vienna, and these PQ compounds can reproduce the therapeutic effects of hispidulin in animal models mimicking tic disorders and schizophrenia. Later, they further revealed that α6GABAAR-selective PAMs are effective in animal models mimicking migraine, orofacial pain, and essential tremor. Currently, they are exploring more therapeutic potentials of α6GABAAR-selective PAMs in treating neuropsychiatric disorders with unmet medical needs.
International Cooperation Experience
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Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSI University | Prof. Ming Tatt Lee | MalaysiaJoint Research Project
2017 ~ present
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Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade | Prof. Miroslav Savić | SerbiaJoint Patent Application MOU / Collaborative Agreement
2016 ~ present
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Institute for Psychiatry, University of Bonn | Prof. Andreas Zimmer | GermanyJoint Research Project
2015 ~ present
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University of Ferrara | Prof. Girolamo Calo’ | ItalyJoint Research Project
2000 ~ present
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Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France | Prof. Laurent Venance | FranceJoint Research Project Personnel Exchange Equipment Share Seminar
2017 ~ present
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Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry, TU Wien | Prof. Marko D. Mihovilovic | AustriaJoint Research Project Personnel Exchange Joint Patent Application MOU / Collaborative Agreement
2013 ~ present
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Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Prof. James Cook | United States of AmericaJoint Research Project Joint Patent Application MOU / Collaborative Agreement
2013 ~ present
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Medical University of Vienna | Prof. Werner Sielgart, Dr. Ernst Margot | AustriaJoint Research Project Personnel Exchange Seminar Joint Patent Application MOU / Collaborative Agreement
2013 ~ present
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Nagoya University | Prof. Toshitaka Nabeshima | JapanJoint Research Project Personnel Exchange Seminar
2006 ~ present
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Indiana University | Prof. Ken Mackie | United States of AmericaJoint Research Project Personnel Exchange
2008 ~ present
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School of Dentistry, Nihon University | Prof. Koichi Iwata | JapanJoint Research Project Personnel Exchange Seminar
2016 ~ 2019
Contact
Principal Investigator
Position : Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine
Email : lcchiou@ntu.edu.tw
Education / Background :
