Indiana University
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The Gill Center for Biomolecular Science

Ken Mackie | Faculty

Ken MackieProfessor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Program in Neuroscience

Office: Psychology 363
TEL: 855-2042
Email: kmackie@indiana.edu

Lab Website

Education

  • Brown University, ScB, Engineering, 1980
  • Yale University, MD, 1984

Research Interests

  • Regulation of CB1 cannabinoid receptor signaling
  • Regulation of endocannabinoid production
  • Role of endocannabinoids in synaptic plasticity
  • Novel cannabinoid receptors

His research program focuses on cannabinoid receptors, the cell surface receptors responsible for most of the psychoactive and therapeutic actions of cannabis. His group uses a variety of techniques, including electrophysiological, molecular, immunological, and imaging, to better understand how cannabinoid receptors signal and how their signaling interacts with other cellular processes. Much of the current work in his lab centers on endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), compounds produced by the body that interact with cannabinoid receptors. These molecules have been implicated in processes as diverse as memory, analgesia, anxiety, schizophrenia, and obesity. One of the recent results from his group suggests that cannabis produces some of its effects by blocking the normal actions of endocannabinoids. This contrasts with the mode of action of opiates, which appear to produce their psychoactivity by mimicking the effects of endogenous opiates (endorphins).

Representative Publications

  • Kellogg, R., K. Mackie & A. Straiker. in press. Cannabinoid CB1 receptor-dependent long term depression in autaptic excitatory neurons. J. Neurophys.

  • Straiker, A., K. Mackie. in press. Cannabinoid signaling in inhibitory hippocampal autaptic neurons. Neuroscience.

  • Daigle, T.L, M.L. Kwok, & K. Mackie. 2008. Regulation of CB1 receptor internalization by a promiscuous phosphorylation-dependent mechanism. J. Neurochem. 106:70-82.

  • Lauckner, J.E., J.B. Jensen, H.-Y. Chen, H.-C. Lu, B. Hille, & K. Mackie. 2008. GPR55 is a cannabinoid receptor that increases intracellular calcium and inhibits M current. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 105:2699-2704.

  • Berghuis, P., A.M. Rajnicek, Y.M. Morozov, R.A. Ross, J. Mulder, K. Monory, G. Marsicano, B. Lutz, M. Matteoli, A. Canty, Y. Yanagawa, P. Rakic, K. Mackie & T. Harkany. 2007.  Hardwiring the brain: Endocannabinoids control axon guidance. Science. 316:1212-1216.

  • Mackie, K. 2007. From active ingredients to the discovery of the targets: The cannabinoid receptors. Chem. & Biodiversity. 4:1693-1706.