Publications by authors named "Laura Lopez-Blanch"
RBFOX1 is a highly pleiotropic gene that contributes to several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Both rare and common variants in RBFOX1 have been associated with several psychiatric conditions, but the mechanisms underlying the pleiotropic effects of RBFOX1 are not yet understood. Here we found that, in zebrafish, rbfox1 is expressed in spinal cord, mid- and hindbrain during developmental stages.
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- The gene being studied is linked to various psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, but how it causes these issues remains unclear.
- In zebrafish, the gene shows specific expression patterns during development and in adult brains, indicating its role in sensory processing and behavior.
- Deficiency in this gene leads to behavioral changes in zebrafish, such as hyperactivity and altered social interactions, suggesting similarities with traits seen in mice and humans with psychiatric disorders, highlighting the need for further research on its functions.
Retinal photoreceptors have a distinct transcriptomic profile compared to other neuronal subtypes, likely reflecting their unique cellular morphology and function in the detection of light stimuli by way of the ciliary outer segment. We discovered a layer of this molecular specialization by revealing that the vertebrate retina expresses the largest number of tissue-enriched microexons of all tissue types. A subset of these microexons is included exclusively in photoreceptor transcripts, particularly in genes involved in cilia biogenesis and vesicle-mediated transport.
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- Vertebrate brains share a common structural plan (Bauplan) defined by specific divisions, but their evolutionary origins remain unclear.
- Researchers examined gene expression in amphioxus embryos, which have a neural structure similar to vertebrates, to gain insights into brain development.
- The study found that certain regions in vertebrates, like the thalamus and midbrain, may stem from a single complex area in amphioxus, indicating a shared developmental history.