Recent Publications

• An integrated anatomical, functional and evolutionary view of the Drosophila olfactory system May 19, 2025
  The Drosophila melanogaster olfactory system is one of the most intensively studied parts of the nervous system in any animal. Composed of ~50 independent olfactory neuron classes, with several associated hygrosensory and thermosensory pathways, it has been subject to diverse types of experimental analyses. However, synthesizing the available information is limited by the incomplete data […]
  Richard Benton, Jérôme Mermet, Andre Jang, Keita Endo, Steeve Cruchet, Karen Menuz
• Parvalbumin-expressing neurons in the ventral medulla are active during wakefulness and promote NREM sleep April 30, 2025
  A longstanding hypothesis contends that sleep is promoted by sleep-active inhibitory neurons that suppress arousal centers. Sleep may also be facilitated by mechanisms active during wakefulness; however, evidence for wake active sleep promoting neurons is scarce. Here, we use chemogenetics, fiber photometry and circuit mapping to identify subset(s) of inhibitory neurons promote NREM sleep. We […]
  Colin M Cleary, George M P R Souza, Stephen B G Abbott, Daniel K Mulkey
• Exploring the evolution of evidence synthesis: a bibliometric analysis of umbrella reviews in medicine April 11, 2025
  CONCLUSION: This bibliometric analysis confirms the expanding influence and utility of umbrella reviews in medical research and decision-making. By charting the evolution and current trends in this field, our study not only showcases the geographical and institutional distribution of research but also guides future scholarly efforts to advance evidence synthesis methodologies.
  Sandeep Samethadka Nayak, Ehsan Amini-Salehi, Michael T Ulrich, Yasmin Sahli, Micah Fleischman, Masum Patel, Mahdi Naeiji, Hasan Maghsoodifar, Seyed Amir Hossein Sadeghi Douki, Abdolhadi Alotaibi, Niloofar Faraji, Soheil Hassanipour, Mohammad Hashemi, Mohammad-Hossein Keivanlou
• GATA factor Serpent promotes phagocytosis in non-professional phagocytes during Drosophila oogenesis March 26, 2025
  Clearance of dying cells is essential for tissue homeostasis and requires both professional and non-professional phagocytes; however, it is unclear what promotes phagocytosis by non-professional phagocytes. Follicle cells of Drosophila egg chambers function as non-professional phagocytes to clear large germ cell debris in mid and late oogenesis, providing an excellent model for the study of […]
  Baosheng Zeng, Haley Grayson, Jianjun Sun
• An integrated anatomical, functional and evolutionary view of the <em>Drosophila</em> olfactory system January 27, 2025
  The Drosophila melanogaster olfactory system is one of the most intensively studied parts of the nervous system in any animal. Composed of ~60 independent olfactory neuron classes, with several associated hygrosensory and thermosensory pathways, it has been subject to diverse types of experimental analyses. However, synthesizing the available data is limited by the incompleteness and […]
  Richard Benton, Jérôme Mermet, Andre Jang, Keita Endo, Steeve Cruchet, Karen Menuz
• Multilayer regulation underlies the functional precision and evolvability of the olfactory system January 27, 2025
  Sensory neurons must be reproducibly specified to permit accurate neural representation of external signals but also able to change during evolution. We studied this paradox in the Drosophila olfactory system by establishing a single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all developing antennal sensory lineages, including latent neural populations that normally undergo programmed cell death (PCD). This atlas […]
  Jérôme Mermet, Steeve Cruchet, Asfa Sabrin Borbora, Daehan Lee, Phing Chian Chai, Andre Jang, Karen Menuz, Richard Benton
• Efficient gene delivery admitted by small metabolites specifically targeting astrocytes in the mouse brain January 12, 2025
  The development of efficient and targeted methods for delivering DNA in vivo has long been a major focus of research. In this study, we introduce a gene delivery approach admitted by small metabolites (gDAM) for the efficient and targeted delivery of naked DNA into astrocytes in the adult brains of mice. gDAM uses a straightforward […]
  Haibin Zhou, Jiajing Dai, Dong Li, Luyao Wang, Meng Ye, Xiaoling Hu, Joseph LoTurco, Ji Hu, Wenzhi Sun
• Plural molecular and cellular mechanisms of pore domain <em>KCNQ2</em> encephalopathy January 6, 2025
  KCNQ2 variants in children with neurodevelopmental impairment are difficult to assess due to their heterogeneity and unclear pathogenic mechanisms. We describe a child with neonatal-onset epilepsy, developmental impairment of intermediate severity, and KCNQ2 G256W heterozygosity. Analyzing prior KCNQ2 channel cryoelectron microscopy models revealed G256 as a node of an arch-shaped non-covalent bond network linking S5, […]
  Timothy J Abreo, Emma C Thompson, Anuraag Madabushi, Kristen L Park, Heun Soh, Nissi Varghese, Carlos G Vanoye, Kristen Springer, Jim Johnson, Scotty Sims, Zhigang Ji, Ana G Chavez, Miranda J Jankovic, Bereket Habte, Aamir R Zuberi, Cathleen M Lutz, Zhao Wang, Vaishnav Krishnan, Lisa Dudler, Stephanie Einsele-Scholz, Jeffrey L Noebels, Alfred L George, Atul Maheshwari, Anastasios Tzingounis, Edward C Cooper
• Advancements in Immunity and Dementia Research: Highlights from the 2023 AAIC Advancements: Immunity Conference December 18, 2024
  The immune system is a key player in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders. While brain resident immune cell-mediated neuroinflammation and peripheral immune cell (eg, T cell) infiltration into the brain have been shown to significantly contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, the nature and extent of immune responses in the brain in the […]
  Courtney M Kloske, Simin Mahinrad, Christopher J Barnum, Andre F Batista, Elizabeth M Bradshaw, Brittany Butts, Maria C Carrillo, Paramita Chakrabarty, Xiaoying Chen, Suzanne Craft, Sandro Da Mesquita, Luke C Dabin, Davangere Devanand, Violeta Duran-Laforet, Wassim Elyaman, Elizabeth E Evans, Patricia Fitzgerald-Bocarsly, Kate E Foley, Ashley S Harms, Michael T Heneka, Soyon Hong, Yu-Wen A Huang, Stephanie Jackvony, Laijun Lai, Yann Le Guen, Cynthia A Lemere, Shane A Liddelow, Alfonso Martin-Peña, Anna G Orr, Francisco J Quintana, Grace D Ramey, Jessica E Rexach, Stacey J S Rizzo, Claire Sexton, Alice S Tang, Jose G Torrellas, Andy P Tsai, Lynn van Olst, Keenan A Walker, Whitney Wharton, Malú Gámez Tansey, Donna M Wilcock
• Honoring the legacy of Joseph E. LeDoux: introduction to the Special Issue December 14, 2024
  No abstract
  Daniela Schiller, Joshua Johansen, Linnaea Ostroff
• CalDAG-GEFI acts as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for LRRK2 to regulate LRRK2 function and neurodegeneration November 22, 2024
  Mutations in LRRK2 are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's disease (PD). LRRK2 protein contains two enzymatic domains: a GTPase (Roc-COR) and a kinase domain. Disease-causing mutations are found in both domains. Now, studies have focused largely on LRRK2 kinase activity, while attention to its GTPase function is limited. LRRK2 is a guanine nucleotide-binding […]
  Qinfang Liu, Bingxu Huang, Noah Guy Lewis Guiberson, Shifan Chen, Dong Zhu, Gang Ma, Xin-Ming Ma, Jill R Crittenden, Jianzhong Yu, Ann M Graybiel, Ted M Dawson, Valina L Dawson, Yulan Xiong
• Actomyosin contraction in the follicular epithelium provides the major mechanical force for follicle rupture during <em>Drosophila</em> ovulation September 18, 2024
  Ovulation is critical for sexual reproduction and consists of the process of liberating fertilizable oocytes from their somatic follicle capsules, also known as follicle rupture. The mechanical force for oocyte expulsion is largely unknown in many species. Our previous work demonstrated that Drosophila ovulation, as in mammals, requires the proteolytic degradation of the posterior follicle […]
  Stella E Cho, Wei Li, Andrew M Beard, Jonathan A Jackson, Risa Kiernan, Kazunori Hoshino, Adam C Martin, Jianjun Sun
• C1ql1 expression in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells promotes oligodendrocyte differentiation September 11, 2024
  Myelinating oligodendrocytes arise from the stepwise differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). Approximately 5% of all adult brain cells are OPCs. Why would a mature brain need such a large number of OPCs? New myelination is possibly required for higher-order functions such as cognition and learning. Additionally, this pool of OPCs represents a source of […]
  Zeynep M Altunay, Joyshree Biswas, Hiu W Cheung, Robert S Pijewski, Lucille E Papile, Yetunde O Akinlaja, Andrew Tang, Lyndsay C Kresic, Alexander D Schouw, Maksym V Ugrak, Keaven Caro, Perla A Peña Palomino, Susanne Ressl, Akiko Nishiyama, Stephen J Crocker, David C Martinelli
• Glial modulation of synapse development and plasticity: oligodendrocyte precursor cells as a new player in the synaptic quintet September 11, 2024
  Synaptic communication is an important process in the central nervous system that allows for the rapid and spatially specified transfer of signals. Neurons receive various synaptic inputs and generate action potentials required for information transfer, and these inputs can be excitatory or inhibitory, which collectively determines the output. Non-neuronal cells (glial cells) have been identified […]
  Yetunde O Akinlaja, Akiko Nishiyama
• Ultraplex microscopy: versatile highly-multiplexed molecular labeling and imaging across scale and resolution September 4, 2024
  The molecular organization of cells and tissue is challenging to study due to the inefficiency of multiplexed molecular labeling methods and the limited options for combining microscopy modalities in a single specimen, especially when high spatial resolution is needed. Here we describe ultraplex microscopy, which combines serial multiplexing, ultrathin sectioning, and reversible embedding to circumvent […]
  Janeth Pérez-Garza, Jairo Orea, Zachary Deane, Gianna Raimondi, Rebecca Tripp, Imani Charles, Linnaea Ostroff