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Astro Synapse 2.tif

ASTROCYTE-NEURON INTERACTIONS

Astrocytes are essential for synaptic formation and closely monitor synaptic activity to ensure proper function.  The goal of this project is to understand the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate these processes. 

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ASTROCYTE

DEVELOPMENT

The underlying principles governing the development and maturation of astrocytes are not well understood.  Our work aims to address basic questions surrounding astrocyte development, including how they are patterned and arranged in the cortex.  

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ASTROCYTE HETEROGENEITY

Despite the long-standing appreciation for the relative structural and functional diversity of neurons, the concept of astrocyte diversity has only recently gained recognition.  Studies in this project are aimed at understanding differential gene expression programs between different populations of astrocytes and how these programs contribute to specialized functional properties.

PUBLICATIONS

Markey KM, Saunders JC, Smuts Jvon Reyn CR, Garcia ADR. Astrocyte development - More questions than answers (2023) Front. Cell Dev. Biol. Sec. Epigenomics and Epigenetics, 11:1063843. PMID: 37051466

 

Somaiya RDStebbins KGingrich ECXie HCampbell JNGarcia ADR, Fox MA.  Sonic hedgehog-dependent recruitment of GABAergic interneurons into the developing visual thalamus (2022) eLife 11:e79833. PMID: 36342840

Gingrich EC, Case K, Garcia ADR.  A subpopulation of astrocyte progenitors defined by Sonic hedgehog signaling (2022) Neural Dev. Jan 14;17(1):2. doi: 10.1186/s13064-021-00158-w. PMID: 35027088

 

Garcia, ADR.  New tricks for an old (hedge)hog: Sonic hedgehog regulation of astrocyte function (2021) Cells. May 30;10(6):1353. doi: 10.3390/cells10061353. PMID: 34070740

Hill SA, Fu M, Garcia ADR.  Sonic hedgehog signaling in astrocytes (2021) Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences

78(4):1393-1403.  doi: 10.1007/s00018-020-03668-8. PMID: 33079226

Hill SA, Blaeser AS, Coley AA, Xie Y, Shepard KA, Harwell CC, Gao W-J, Garcia, ADR.  Sonic hedgehog signaling in astrocytes mediates cell type-specific synaptic organization (2019) eLife 2019;8:e45545. PMID: 31194676

Allahyari RV, Clark KL, Shepard, KA, Garcia, ADR.  Sonic hedgehog signaling is negatively regulated in reactive astrocytes after forebrain stab injury (2019) Sci. Rep., 9:565.  PMID: 30679745

Garcia ADR, Han, Y, Triplett JW, Farmer T, Harwell CC, Ihrie RA.  The elegance of sonic hedgehog: Emerging novel functions for a classic morphogen (2018) J. Neurosci,. 38(44): 9338-45. PMID: 30381425

Yap CCDigilio LMcMahon LPGarcia ADRWinckler B.  Degradation of dendritic cargos requires Rab7-dependent transport to somatic lysosomes.  (2018) J Cell Biol. 217(9):3141-3159.  PMID: 29907658

Allahyari, RV, Garcia, ADR.  Triggering reactive gliosis in vivo by a forebrain stab injury. (2015) J Vis Exp :e52825.  

PMID: 26167674

Petrova R, Garcia ADR,, Joyner AL.  Titration of GLI3 repressor activity by sonic hedgehog signaling is critical for maintaining multiple adult neural stem cell and astrocyte functions. (2013) J. Neurosci., 30(41):13597-608.  PMID: 24174682

Garcia ADR, Petrova R, Eng L, Joyner AL.  Sonic hedgehog regulates discrete populations of astrocytes in the adult mouse forebrain (2010) J. Neurosci., 30(41):13597-608.  PMID: 20943901

Nieman BJ, Shyu JY, Rodriguez JJ, Garcia AD, Joyner AL, Turnbull DH.  In vivo MRI of neural cell migration dynamics in the mouse brain (2010) Neuroimage 50(2):456-64.  PMID: 20053381

Gregorian C, Nakashima J, Le Belle J, Ohab J, Kim R, Liu A, Smith KB, Groszer M, Garcia ADR, Sofroniew MV,  Carmichael ST, Kornblum H I, Liu X, Wu H.  Pten deletion in adult neural stem/progenitor cells enhances constitutive neurogenesis (2009) J. Neurosci 29(6):1874-86. PMID: 19211894

Saxe MD., Malleret G, Vronskaya S, Mendez I, Garcia ADR, Sofroniew MV, Kandel ER, Hen R.  Paradoxical influence of hippocampal neurogenesis on working memory (2007) PNAS 104(11):4642-4646.  PMID: 17360577

Saxe MD, Battaglia F, Wang J-W, Malleret G, David DJ, Monckton JE, Garcia ADR, Sofroniew MV, Kandel ER, Santarelli L, Hen R, Drew MR.  Ablation of hippocampal neurogenesis impairs contextual fear conditioning and synaptic plasticity in the dentate gyrus (2006) PNAS 103(46):17501-506.  PMID: 17088541

Dougherty J, Garcia ADR, Nakano I, Livingstone M, Norris B, Polakiewicz R, Sofroniew MV, Kornblum H, and Geschwind D.  PBK/TOPK, a proliferating neural progenitor-specific mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (2005) J. Neurosci. 25(46):10773-85.  PMID: 16291951

Garcia ADR, Doan NB, Imura T, Bush TG, Sofroniew MV.  GFAP expressing progenitors are the principle source of constitutive neurogenesis in adult mouse forebrain (2004) Nat. Neurosci. 7(11):1233-41.  PMID: 15494728

Morshead CM, Garcia ADR, Sofroniew MV, Van Der Kooy D.  The ablation of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells from the adult central nervous system results in the loss of forebrain neural stem cells but not retinal stem cells (2003) Eur. J. Neurosci. 18:76-84.  PMID: 12859339

Rodriguez JJ, Garcia DR, Nakabeppu Y, Pickel VM.  Enhancement of laminar FosB expression in frontal cortex of rats receiving long chronic clozapine administration (2001) Experimental Neurology 168(2):392-401.  PMID: 11259127

Rodriguez JJ, Garcia DR, Nakabeppu Y, Pickel VM.  FosB in rat striatum: Normal regional distribution and enhanced expression after 6-month haloperidol administration (2001) Synapse 39:122-132.

Rodriguez JJ, Garcia DR, Nakabeppu Y, Pickel VM.  Subcellular distribution of 5-hydroxytryptamine 2a and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors within single neurons in rat motor and limbic striatum (1999) Journal of Comparative Neurology 413(2):219-31.  PMID: 10524335

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