The Laboratory of Cell Physiology & Pathology

Email: gcb3@cam.ac.uk

Hot news! A dozen ways to die
Brain neurons can die in about a dozen different ways, contributing to physiology and pathology, including Alzheimer’s and stroke. Want to know more?

Scary news! The inflamed brain eats its neurons alive!
Inflamed brain macrophages (know as microglia) eat stressed but viable neurons alive, and this might contribute to neuronal loss during brain infections, trauma, stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. Click here to know more

We have called this form of cell death by being eaten alive: phagoptosis. Although this phagocytic cell death is poorly recognised and understood, it may be one of the most common and important in the body. More?

Strange news! Inflamed microglia become ravenous giants!
Inflammation causes microglia to divide but then immediately reverse division to generate a larger cell with two nuclei. If this is repeated several times a Multinucleated Giant Cell is produced, which can eat both live and dead cells. More

Good news! Blocking phagocytosis prevents brain damage
Genetic knockout of two phagocytic genes (Mfge8 or MerTK) prevents microglia eating stressed neurons in culture and in vivo after brain ischaemia, and blocks brain atrophy and functional damage to the brain. More

Guy Brown is Professor of Cellular Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, where he teaches and directs research at the Laboratory of Cell Physiology & Pathology, which researches: microglia, phagocytosis & inflammation in brain pathology.

Biography
Prof. Guy C. Brown received his Ph.D. in 1986 from the Biochemistry Department at Cambridge, then had a College Research Fellowship from St Catharine's College for 3 years. He then moved to the Department of Physiology, University College London, and after 18 months transferred to a Royal Society Research Fellowship at the Department of Biochemistry at UCL. In 1994 he returned to Cambridge with the Royal Society Research Fellowship, and is now a Professor of Cellular Biochemistry at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge. He has published about 150 scientific papers. His research has been funded by: the Medical Research Council, the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council, the European Union, the Wellcome Trust, the British Heart Foundation, and Alzheimer’s Research UK.,

Books of Guy Brown
Guy Brown has written several books.
"Mitochondrial function" is an edited book for students & scientists, published by Portland Press in 2010.
"The Living End" is a popular science book published by Macmillan in 2008. It deals with 'the future of death, aging and immortality'.
"The Energy of Life" is a popular science book published by Harper-Collins in 1999, and winner of the Wellcome Trust Prize.

Podcast & Video
Podcast of Guy Brown talking about latest research here.
Video of microglia eating live neurons here.