Biology subjects

Kastriti, M. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Kastriti, M. E..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

A uniform tissue-clearing framework and mesoSPIM-ultra enable cm-scale single-neuron tracing

Tissue-clearing and light-sheet microscopy have transformed volumetric imaging of intact organs, yet limited mechanistic understanding of dehydration-based clearing continues to constrain rational protocol design and broader applicability. Here, we define the cardinal chemical and physical principles underlying dehydration-based tissue-clearing and establish a new pipeline for large-volume imaging. To maximize imaging performance, we developed the "mesoSPIM-ultra", an upgraded mesoSPIM platform with a temperature-controlled sample chamber, a large field-of-view (FoV) camera and specialized optics to achieve long-working-distance, high-resolution imaging of cleared samples. We applied this approach to investigate the projectome of Chx10+ neurons, a cell population with complex axonal morphologies along the entire mouse spinal-cord and brain, and implicated in ipsilateral orienting behaviors. By combining behavioral analysis with post-hoc single-neuron reconstructions, we revealed previously inaccessible branching architectures and long-range projections extending from the brainstem to the spinal cord. Together, our work establishes a mechanistic foundation for tissue-clearing and scalable imaging.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

The main duct of von Ebner's glands is a source of Sox10+ taste bud progenitors and susceptible to pathogen infections

We have recently demonstrated that Sox10-expressing (Sox10+) cells give rise to mainly type-III neuronal taste bud cells that are responsible for sour and salt taste. The two tissue compartments containing Sox10+ cells in the surrounding of taste buds include the connective tissue core of taste papillae and von Ebners glands (vEGs) that are connected to the trench of circumvallate and foliate papillae. In this study, we used inducible Cre mouse models to map the cell lineages of connective tissue (including stromal and Schwann cells) and vEGs and performed single cell RNA-sequencing of the epithelium of Sox10-Cre/tdT mouse circumvallate/vEG complex. In vivo lineage mapping showed that the distribution of traced cells in circumvallate taste buds was closely linked with that in the vEGs, but not in the connective tissue. Sox10, but not the known stem cells marker Lgr5, expression was enriched in the cell clusters of main ducts of vEGs that contained abundant proliferating cells, while Sox10-Cre/tdT expression was enriched in type-III taste bud cells and excretory ductal cells. Moreover, multiple genes encoding pathogen receptors are enriched in the vEG main ducts. Our data indicate that the main duct of vEGs is a source of Sox10+ taste bud progenitors and susceptible to pathogen infections.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2023

SOX2+ sustentacular cells are stem cells of the postnatal adrenal medulla

Renewal of the catecholamine-secreting chromaffin cell population of the adrenal medulla is necessary for physiological homeostasis throughout life. Definitive evidence for the presence or absence of an adrenomedullary stem cell has been enigmatic. In this work, we demonstrate that a subset of sustentacular cells endowed with a support role, are in fact adrenomedullary stem cells. Through genetic tracing and comprehensive transcriptomic data of the mouse adrenal medulla, we show that cells expressing Sox2/SOX2 specialise as a unique postnatal population from embryonic Schwann Cell Precursors and are also present in the normal adult human adrenal medulla. Postnatal SOX2+ cells give rise to chromaffin cells of both the adrenaline and noradrenaline lineages in vivo and in vitro. We reveal that SOX2+ stem cells have a second, paracrine role in maintaining adrenal chromaffin cell homeostasis, where they promote proliferation through paracrine secretion of WNT6. This work identifies SOX2+ cells as a true stem cell for catecholamine-secreting chromaffin cells.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Motor nerves direct the development of the sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system controls a wide spectrum of bodily functions including operation of vessels, cardiac rhythm, and the "flight or fight response". Sympathetic neurons, which are neural crest-derived, develop in coordination with presynaptic motor nerves extending from the central nervous system (CNS). By using nerve-selective genetic ablations, we revealed that sympathetic ganglia development depends on CNS-derived motor innervation. In the absence of preganglionic motor nerves, trunk sympathetic chain ganglia were fragmented and smaller in size, while cervical ganglia were severely misshapen. Sympathetic neurons were misplaced along sensory fibers and projected towards abnormal paths, in some cases invading the sensory dorsal root ganglia. The misplaced progenitors of sympathoblasts corresponded to the nerve-associated, neural crest-derived Schwann cell precursors (SCPs). Notably, we found that SCPs activate the autonomic marker PHOX2B while migrating along motor nerves towards the region of the dorsal aorta in wildtype embryos, suggesting that SCP differentiate into sympathetic neurons while still nerve-associated in motor-ablated embryos. Ligand-receptor prediction from single cell transcriptomic data coupled with functional studies identified Semaphorin 3A/3F as candidate motor nerve-derived signals influencing neural crest migration along axons. Thus, motor nerves control the placement of sympathoblasts and their subsequent axonal navigation during critical periods of sympathetic chain development.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Molecular and spatial design of early skin development

A wealth of specialized cell populations within the skin facilitates its hair producing, protective, sensory and thermoregulatory functions, but how the vast cell-type diversity and tissue architecture develops is largely unexplored. Here, with single-cell transcriptomics, spatial cell-type assignment and cell-lineage tracing we deconstruct early embryonic mouse skin during the key transitions from seemingly uniform developmental precursor states to a multilayered, multilineage epithelium and complex dermal identity. We reveal the spatiotemporal emergence of hair-follicle-inducing, muscle-supportive, and fascia-forming fibroblasts. We also uncover the formation of the panniculus carnosus muscle, sprouting blood vessels without pericyte coverage, and the earliest residence of mast and dendritic immune cells in skin. Finally, we reveal an unexpected epithelial heterogeneity within the early single-layered epidermis and a signaling-rich periderm layer. Overall, this cellular blueprint of early skin development establishes histological landmarks - essential for placing cells in their spatial tissue context - and highlights unprecedented dynamical interactions among skin cells.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Developmental heterogeneity of embryonic neuroendocrine chromaffin cells and their maturation dynamics

During embryonic development, nerve-associated Schwann cell precursors (SCPs) give rise to chromaffin cells of the adrenal gland via the "bridge" transient stage, according to recent functional experiments and single cell transcriptomics data from humans and mice. However, currently existing data do not resolve the finest heterogeneity of developing chromaffin populations. Here we took advantage of deep SmartSeq2 transcriptomics sequencing to expand our collection of individual cells from developing murine sympatho-adrenal anlage and uncover the microheterogeneity of embryonic chromaffin cells and corresponding developmental paths. After improving our atlas of sympatho-adrenal development and performing experimental validations, we discovered that SCPs in the local nerve show high degree of microheterogeneity corresponding to early biases towards either Schwann or chromaffin terminal fates. Furthermore, we found that a post-"bridge" population of developing chromaffin cells gives rise to persisting immature chromaffin cells and the two terminal populations (adrenergic and noradrenergic) via diverging differentiation paths. Taken together, we provide a thorough identification of novel markers of adrenergic and noradrenergic populations in developing adrenal glands and report novel differentiation micro-paths leading to them.

developmental biology↗