Curtis Nutter
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Biochemistry,
Research Emphasis
Co/post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by alternative RNA processing is a highly regulated and complex process that exponentially increases the repertoire and dynamic control of gene products. Disrupted RNA processing is implicated in many human diseases, in particular neurological disorders. Alternative RNA processing is regulated by developmental and tissue specific RNA binding proteins (RBPs) which influence core RNA processing machinery. My group studies these regulatory interactions involved in co/post-transcriptional control of neurological development and cell membrane transport/secretion. We characterize these mechanisms using cutting edge RNA sequencing technology, single-molecule RNA detection, mass-spectroscopy, and CRISPR techniques to address our hypotheses in primary cell lines, patient samples, and animal model systems. This work will advance development of novel clinically relevant biomarkers and therapeutic paradigms for rare genetic and neurological disorders.
Research Interests
- Advance understanding of rare, genetic neurological disorders
- Regulation of cerebrospinal fluid content in health and disease
- Develop novel, pre-clinical biomarker and therapeutic paradigms
Education
PhD 2017 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
BS 2011 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Selected Publications
Nutter CA, Bubenik JL, Oliveira R, Ivankovic F, Sznajder ŁJ, Kidd BM, et al. Cell-type-specific dysregulation of RNA alternative splicing in short tandem repeat mouse knockin models of myotonic dystrophy. Genes Dev. 2019 Dec 1;33(23–24):1635–40.
Nutter CA, Kidd BM, Carter HA, Hamel JI, Mackie PM, Kumbkarni N, et al. Choroid plexus mis-splicing and altered cerebrospinal fluid composition in myotonic dystrophy type 1. Brain. 2023 Oct 3;146(10):4217–32.
Nutter CA, Jaworski EA, Verma SK, Deshmukh V, Wang Q, Botvinnik OB, et al. Dysregulation of RBFOX2 Is an Early Event in Cardiac Pathogenesis of Diabetes. Cell Rep. 2016 Jun 7;15(10):2200–13.
Sznajder ŁJ, Scotti MM, Shin J, Taylor K, Ivankovic F, Nutter CA, et al. Loss of MBNL1 induces RNA misprocessing in the thymus and peripheral blood. Nat Commun. 2020 Apr 24;11(1):2022.
Batra R, Nelles DA, Roth DM, Krach F, Nutter CA, Tadokoro T, et al. The sustained expression of Cas9 targeting toxic RNAs reverses disease phenotypes in mouse models of myotonic dystrophy type 1. Nat Biomed Eng. 2021 Feb;5(2):157–68.