Mammalian spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs by a primary mechanical trauma that is exacerbated by a secondary cellular insult in the form of neuroinflammation, cell death, and reactive gliosis. The lack of functional recovery may be attributed to the inability of mammals to replace lost neurons. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), the secondary insult is attenuated and allows for the development of a spinal microenvironment that fosters regeneration. Radial glia lining the zebrafish central canal undergo injury-induced proliferation and neuronal differentiation, yet the molecular mechanisms that underlie these processes remain elusive. Previous reports have identified roles for purinergic P2Y2 and P2X7 receptors in mammalian neural progenitor cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation, respectively. Given that the purinergic system is evolutionarily conserved among vertebrates, we hypothesize that radial glia proliferation and neurogenesis following zebrafish SCI may be mediated by P2X7 and P2Y2 signaling. Preliminary immunohistochemical data suggests that radial glia express P2X7 and P2Y2 receptors. Preliminary Western blotting data shows significant upregulation of P2Y2 receptor expression at 1 day following zebrafish SCI, as well as significant downregulation of P2X7 receptor expression at 7 days. This contrasts the more gradual increase in P2Y2 receptor expression as well as the general increase in P2X7 receptor expression following mammalian SCI. Specific blockers for P2X7 and P2Y2 will be used to ascertain the roles of these receptors in the zebrafish SCI response. This work is well suited to advance our current understanding of successful central nervous system regeneration and elucidate the signaling pathways involved.

Adaptive purinergic P2X7 and P2Y2 signaling following spinal cord injury in Danio rerio

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PS-3-B -  Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia: Cellular Mechanisms

poster

Colleagues and Friends:

I am very happy to welcome you to the 14th annual Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, and to the first virtual edition of our meeting. I want to highlight the important work the CAN meeting chair, **Roger Thompson** and co-chair, **Alyson Fournier**, did to put together the great program we are offering this year. Moving to a virtual format required a complete re-design of the program, and both Roger and Alyson did a splendid job in providing us with an appealing and well adapted program for our first virtual event. I wish to thank them for this very important effort.

Highlights of this year’s scientific meeting include invited speakers **Michael Hausser, Franck Polleux, Gwyneth Card, Magdalena Götz**and Brain Prize winner **Huda Zoghbi**. Plenary and parallel symposia, proposed by our members complete our diverse [scientific program.](https://can-acn.org/meeting-2021/program-2021/)

The 2021 Advocacy session, chaired and organized by CAN advocacy committee chair **Karun Singh**, will feature a special lecture and question period with Member of Parliament and past Science Minister **Kirsty Duncan**. This will be followed by a short overview of CAN’s advocacy activities over the last year. We invite you to participate in this session for insight from Dr. Duncan on the workings of Parliament Hill, and to learn more about what CAN has been doing to promote neuroscience research in Canada.

We are also excited to host **Lisa Willis** in the Equity Diversity and Inclusion session, organized by EDI committee chair **Jibran Khokhar**.

A special highlight of our meeting will be the lectures by award-winning young neuroscientists. We are please to host the CAN 2020 Young Investigator Award winner **Mihaela Iordanova**, and CAN 2021 Young Investigator Award winners **Aaron Phillips** and **Tabrez Siddiqui**. Highlights will also include presentation by the top three winners of the CAN-CIHR-INMHA Brain Star Award winners, **Claire Gizowski, Nuria Daviu Abant** and **Lukas Tamayo-Orrego**.

Independently organized satellite symposia complement and complete this exciting program, check them out here: https://can-acn.org/meeting-2021/2021-satellite-symposia/

Some of the most engaging sessions are always the poster sessions featuring the work of our trainees, so make sure to log in to Gather Town during the poster sessions to chat with the presenters.
We hope you enjoy this program, and look forward to welcoming you, virtually.

Shernaz Bamji

President of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience

![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/b9aea25343a87d5aac3b9367dc780974.jpg)



Jasleen Jagayat

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Adaptive purinergic P2X7 and P2Y2 signaling following spinal cord injury in Danio rerio

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