Faculty


Aparna Dixit

UGC-Assistant Professor

Molecular Neurobiology
Email: aparnabanerjeedixit@gmail.com

Dr. Aparna received her M.Sc degree in Biotechnology from Jiwaji University Gwalior, PhD from Department of Biotechnology, DRDE, Gwalior, and Post-doctoral training from National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi and University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA. She Joined National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) as Assistant Professor in July 2014 in an AIIMS/NBRC funded DBT project "Centre of Excellence for epilepsy (CoE)". She is still one of the collaborators in CoE (www.coeepilepsy.in). She has joined ACBR on 1st September 2017.

Her group is trying to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying epileptogenesis and/or drug-resistance in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). This study involves human tissue which is an important resource to unravel molecular mechanisms responsible for refractoriness in epilepsy as compared to the animal models and also bridges the gap between basic and clinical research. Despite increasing information about the abnormal synaptic transmission associated with epileptogenesis, the molecular mechanisms involved in the genesis of seizures in patients with epilepsy, especially with DRE, still remains unexplained. Her group is performing genomic, transcriptomic and epileptogenic network analysis of epileptic tissues resected from the brains of DRE patients undergoing surgery to identify the genes and gene networks associated with DRE. Recent study on RNAseq analysis of hippocampal tissues resected from MTLE-HS patients dentified various genes like FN1 which is central in the analysis, NEUROD6, RELN, TGF?R2, NLRP1, SCRT1, CSNK2B, SCN1B, CABP1, KIF5A and antisense RNAs like AQP4-AS1 and KIRREL3-AS2 that needs further evaluation for their potential as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers in intractable MTLE. Alterations in the expression of these genes and subsequent alterations of the pathways they are involved in may represent a cause or consequence of either epileptogenesis or drugresistance or both.

They have also reported that increased expression of NR2A subunit-containing NMDARs might be contributing to the increased glutamatergic activity in a differential manner in slice preparations obtained from the Anterior temporal lobe and Hippocampal regions of the brain tissues resected from patients with MTLE. Her group is also trying to investigate and evaluate the role of inflammatory mediators (cytokines, chemokines, growth factors) and epigenetic modifications (DNA methylation & miRNA) in DRE. These studies will not only provide important insight into the understanding of the pathophysiology or genomic basis of DRE but may also identify potential diagnostic/prognostic markers of DRE.

Honours & Awards:

  1. 1. Young Investigator's Award, Best poster & Travel Award in 31st International Epilepsy Congress (IEC), Istanbul, 2015.

  2. 2. Paper selected to receive an Alan Berman Research Publication Award at the Naval Research Laboratory, Maryland USA (2015).

Ongoing Projects:

  1. 1. "Deciphering the role of the multifaceted kinase CDK5 in intractable epilepsy." funded by Department of Biotechnology, India. October 2014-October 2017

  2. 2. "a collaborative project between NBRC & AIIMS" funded by Department of Biotechnology, India, since July 2014.

  3. 3. "Deciphering the role of Histone Deacetylases (HDACs) in Mesial Temporal lobe Epilepsy" funded by Intramural Research Grant , AIIMS since July 2016.

  4. 4. "To investigate and evaluate the functional impacts of genome wide copy number variations in Pharmacoresistant Epilepsy" funded by DBT Task Force on Neuroscience Disease Biology, Since July, 2017.

  5. 5. "Elucidating region specific alterations of glutamatergic excitatory neurotransmission in a rodent pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy" funded by DBT Task Force on Neuroscience Disease Biology, Approved November, 2016

Selected Recent Publications:
  1. 30. Bera A, Srivastava A, Dubey V, Dixit AB, Tripathi M, Sharma MC, Lalwani S, Chandra PS, Banerjee J. Altered hippocampal expression and function of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Neurol Res. 2022 Mar 13:1-6. doi: 10.1080/01616412.2022.2051131. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35285418.

  2. 29. Dheer, A., Dixit, A. B., Tripathi, M., Chandra, P. S., & Banerjee, J. (2022). Glia in Epilepsy: An Overview. The Biology of Glial Cells: Recent Advances, 323-351.

  3. 28. Dubey, V., Dey, S., Dixit, A. B., Tripathi, M., Chandra, P. S., & Banerjee, J. (2022). Differential glutamate receptor expression and function in the hippocampus, anterior temporal lobe and neocortex in a pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Experimental Neurology, 347, 113916.

  4. 27. Banerjee, J., Srivastava, A., Sharma, D., Dey, S., Tripathi, M., Sharma, M. C., ... & Dixit, A. B. (2021). Differential regulation of excitatory synaptic transmission in the hippocampus and anterior temporal lobe by cyclin dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS). Neuroscience Letters, 761, 136096

  5. 26. Dey S., Dixit A.B., Tripathi M., Chandra P.S., Banerjee J. (2021) Cellular Electrophysiological Methods to Decipher the Altered Synaptic Transmission Associated with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy. In: Vohora D. (eds) Experimental and Translational Methods to Screen Drugs Effective Against Seizures and Epilepsy. Neuromethods, vol 167. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1254-5_4

  6. 25. Dey, S., Banerjee Dixit, A., Tripathi, M., Doddamani, R. S., Sharma, M. C., Lalwani, S., ... & Banerjee, J. (2021). Altered hippocampal kynurenine pathway metabolism contributes to hyperexcitability in human mesial temporal lobe epilepsy-hippocampal sclerosis. British Journal of Pharmacology, 178(19), 3959-3976

  7. 24. Dey, S., Dixit, A. B., Tripathi, M., Chandra, P. S., & Banerjee, J. (2021). Cellular Electrophysiological Methods to Decipher the Altered Synaptic Transmission Associated with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy. In Experimental and Translational Methods to Screen Drugs Effective Against Seizures and Epilepsy (pp. 55-76). Humana, New York, NY

  8. 23. Kumar, K., Yadav, N., Banerjee, J., Tripathi, M., Sharma, M. C., Lalwani, S., ... & Dixit, A. B. (2021). Mass spectrometry-based lipidomic analysis reveals altered lipid profile in brain tissues resected from patients with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Epilepsy Research, 177, 106773

  9. 22. Kumar, S., Attrish, D., Srivastava, A., Banerjee, J., Tripathi, M., Chandra, P. S., & Dixit, A. B. (2021). Non-histone substrates of histone deacetylases as potential therapeutic targets in epilepsy. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 25(1), 75-85

  10. 21. Kumar, S., Shanker, O. R., Kumari, N., Tripathi, M., Chandra, P. S., Dixit, A. B., & Banerjee, J. (2021). Neuromodulatory effects of SARS-CoV2 infection: Possible therapeutic targets. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 25(6), 509-519

  11. 20. Sharma, D., Dixit, A. B., Dey, S., Tripathi, M., Doddamani, R., Sharma, M. C., ... & Banerjee, J. (2021). Increased levels of ?4-containing GABAA receptors in focal cortical dysplasia: A possible cause of benzodiazepine resistance. Neurochemistry International, 148, 105084

  12. 19. Srivastava, A., Kumar, K., Banerjee, J., Tripathi, M., Dubey, V., Sharma, D., ... & Dixit, A. B. (2021). Transcriptomic profiling of high-and low-spiking regions reveals novel epileptogenic mechanisms in focal cortical dysplasia type II patients. Molecular brain, 14(1), 1-20

  13. 18. Arpna Srivasatava, Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Debasmita Paul, Manjari Tripathi, Chitra Sarkar, Jyotirmoy Banerjee & P Sarat Chandra. (2017). Comparative analysis of cytokine/chemokine regulatory networks in patients with hippocampal sclerosis (HS) and focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Scientific Reports 2017 Nov 21;7(1):15904. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-16041-w.

  14. 17. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Devina Sharma, Arpna Srivasatava, Jyotirmoy Banerjee, Manjari Tripathi, Deepak Prakash & P Sarat Chandra. (2017). Upregulation of BCRP and MVP in Drugresistant epilepsy. Seizure-European Journal of Epilepsy, 47:9-12.

  15. 16. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Jyotirmoy Banerjee, P Sarat Chandra & Manjari Tripathi. (2017). Advances in Epilepsy Research in India. Neurology India 65(Supplement):S83-S92.

  16. 15. Jyotirmoy Banerjee, Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Srivastava A, Ramanujam B, Kakkar A, , Sarkar C, Tripathi M & Chandra PS (2017). Altered glutamatergic tone reveals two distinct resting state networks at the cellular level in hippocampal sclerosis. Scientific Reports, 7:319

  17. 14. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Jyotirmoy Banerjee, ManjariTripathi, Chitra Sarkar, Sarat Chandra. (2017). Synaptic roles of Cyclin dependent Kinase 5 and its implications in epilepsy. Indian J Med Res 145, 179-188.

  18. 13. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Jyotirmoy Banerjee, Arpna Srivastava, ManjariTripathi, Chitra Sarkar, Aanchal Kakkar, Mukesh Jain and P Sarat Chandra. (2016). RNA-Seq analysis of hippocampal tissues reveals novel candidate genes for drug refractory epilepsy in patients with MTLE-HS. Genomics, Volume 107, Issue 5, May 2016, 178-188.

  19. 12. ManjariTripathi, Aparna Dixit A, PS Chandra. (2016). Galectin-3, an important yet unexplored molecule in drug resistant epilepsy. Neurol India 64:237-8.

  20. 11. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, ManjariTripathi, P Sarat Chandra, Jyotirmoy Banerjee. (2015). Molecular Biomarkers in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy: Facts & Possibilities. International Journal of Surgery. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2015.08.029

  21. 10. Arpna Srivastava, Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Jyotirmoy Banerjee, ManjariTripathi, P. Sarat Chandra. (2015). Role of inflammation and its miRNA based regulation in epilepsy: Implications for therapy. Clinica Chimica Acta 452 (2016) 1-9.

  22. 9. Jyotirmoy Banerjee, Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Manjari Tripathi, P Sarat Chandra. (2015). Enhanced endogenous activation of NMDA receptors in pyramidal neurons of cortical samples obtained from patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: a mechanism of hyper excitation. Epilepsy research. 117:11-16.

  23. 8. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Jyotirmoy Banerjee, ManjariTripathi, Sarat Chandra. (2015). Presurgical epileptogenic network analysis: A way to enhance epilepsy surgery outcome. Neurol India 2015;63:743-50.

  24. 7. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Abuzar Ansari, Jyotirmoy Banerjee, MnajariTripathi and P. Sarat Chandra. (2015) Mutations in GABRG2 receptor gene are not a major factor in the pathogenesis of mesial temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Indian population. Ann. Indian Acad. Neurol19, 236-241.

  25. 6. Jinny L. Liu, Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Kelly L. Robertson, Eric Qiao, and Lindsay W. Black. (2014). Viral nanoparticle-encapsidated enzyme and restructured DNA for cell delivery and gene expression. PNAS. doi:10.1073/pnas.1321940111.

  26. 5. Aparna Banerjee Dixit,Krishanu Ray & Lindsay W. Black. (2013) The C-terminal domain of the bacteriophage T4 terminase docks on the prohead portal clip region during DNA packaging. Virology, November 2013, 446 (1-2), 293-302.

  27. 4. Aparna Banerjee Dixit, Krishanu Ray & Lindsay W. Black. (2012). Compression of the DNA substrate by a viral packaging motor is supported by removal of intercalating dye during translocation. PNAS, December 11,109(50), 20419-24.

  28. 3. Aparna Dixit, Krishanu Ray, Joseph R. Lackowicz& Lindsay W. Black. (2011). Dynamics of the T4 bacteriophage DNA a packasome motor: endo VII resolvase release of arrested Y-DNA substrates. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286/21, 1887818879.

  29. 2. Aparna Dixit, Prashant K. Singh, Guru Prasad Sharma, Pawan Malhotra&Pushkar Sharma. (2010). PfSRPK1, a novel splicing-related kinase from Plasmodium falciparum. Journal of Biological Chemistry, December 3, 285 (49), 38315-38323.

  30. 1. Syed ImteyazAlam, Aparna Dixit, Arvind Tomar, &Lokendra Singh. (2010). Comparative genomic analysis of a neurotoxigenic Clostridium species using partial Genome sequence: Phylogenetic analysis of few conserved proteins involved in cellular processes and Metabolism. Anaerobe, (16), 147-154.