Biology subjects

Filippova, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Filippova, A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Neuropeptides specify and reprogram division of labor in the leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes

Social insects offer powerful models to investigate the mechanistic foundation of elaborate individual behaviors comprising a cooperative community. Workers of the leafcutter ant genus Atta provide an extreme example of behavioral segregation among many phenotypically distinct worker types. We utilize the complex worker system of Atta cephalotes to test the molecular underpinnings of behavioral programming and, in particular, the extent of plasticity to reprogramming. We identify specific neuropeptides as mediators of worker division of labor in A. cephalotes, finding two neuropeptides associated with characteristic behaviors of leafcutting and of brood care. Manipulation via genetic knockdown or by injection of these neuropeptides led to stark loss or gain of each behavior and to transcriptomic shifts in the predicted direction, that is, towards gene pathways expressed in the natural caste. We also compare specific A. cephalotes worker transcriptomes with those of orthologous workers of the eusocial mammal, the naked mole rat H. gaber, revealing global similarities between caste-biased expression and link to specific roles of our studied neuropeptides in ants. This work underscores the essential function of neuropeptides in establishing complex social behavior and a remarkable plasticity among individual behavioral types.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Neurothreads: Cryogel carrier-based differentiation and delivery of mature neurons in the treatment of Parkinson's disease

We present in-vivo transplantation of mature dopaminergic neurons by means of macroporous, injectable carriers, to enhance cell therapy in Parkinsons disease. The carriers are synthesized by crosslinking carboxymethylcellulose at subzero temperatures, resulting in cylindrical, highly resilient porous cryogels, which we term Neurothreads. We develop efficient covalent immobilization of the neural adhesion proteins laminin 111, collagen IV and fibronectin, as well as of the extracellular matrix extract Matrigel to the Neurothreads. We observe the highest neural spreading on laminin 111 and Matrigel. We show compatibility with established dopaminergic differentiation of both HS420 human embryonic stem cells and the LUHMES midbrain model cell line. The porous Neurothread carriers withstand compression during minimally invasive stereotactic injection, and ensure viability of mature neurons including extended neurites. Implanted into the striatum in mice, the Neurothreads enable survival of transplanted mature neurons obtained by directed differentiation of the HS420 human embryonic stem cells, as a dense tissue in situ, including dopaminergic cells. With the successful in-vivo transfer of intact, mature and fully open 3D neural networks, we provide a powerful tool to extend established differentiation protocols to higher maturity and to enhance preconfigured neural network transplantation.

bioengineering↗