Publications by authors named "N Tzavaras"
Five hundred thirty-seven million people globally suffer from diabetes. Insulin-producing β cells are reduced in number in most people with diabetes, but most individuals still have some residual β cells. However, none of the many diabetes drugs in common use increases human β cell numbers.
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- - The study investigates how prefrontal cortex (PFC) projections develop and affect action-outcome associations in the dorsal striatum of postnatal mice, revealing that PFC axons achieve an adult-like pattern and synaptic strength early in development.
- - By using Hotspot analysis, researchers found that PFC axons form clusters within the first week after birth, stabilizing over time, while excitatory synapse density continues to increase until adulthood.
- - Mutant mice lacking the protein Cadherin-8 showed improper PFC axon targeting and reduced synaptic activity, leading to difficulties in action-outcome learning, emphasizing the importance of Cdh8 for the correct formation of these neural pathways.
Article Synopsis
- Rational decision-making relies on connections between the prefrontal cortex and the dorsomedial striatum, and disruptions in this projection are linked to various mental health disorders.
- A study using Hotspot Analysis found that the anatomical positioning of these projections develops early and remains largely stable into adulthood, with steady synapse formation throughout late postnatal development.
- Mice lacking the adhesion protein Cdh8 showed altered axon terminal positioning and difficulties in learning action-outcome associations, suggesting that early developmental mechanisms play a critical role in the function of corticostriatal connections.
Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) segregates functionally distinct subsets within highly purified hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Here, we detail a protocol for FACS isolation of MMP sub-fractions of phenotypically defined mouse and human HSCs. These steps are followed by high-/super-resolution immunofluorescence microscopy of HSCs' lysosomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnxiety disorders are complex diseases, and often co-occur with depression. It is as yet unclear if a common neural circuit controls anxiety-related behaviors in both anxiety-alone and comorbid conditions. Here, utilizing the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) paradigm that induces singular or combined anxiety- and depressive-like phenotypes in mice, we show that a ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine circuit projecting to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) selectively controls anxiety- but not depression-like behaviors.
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