Condensate Biology at the Synapse Brain functioning critically relies on neuronal communication that mainly occurs by chemical signaling at the specialized contacts known as synapses. At synapses, messenger molecules are packed into synaptic vesicles (SVs), which are secreted upon the arrival of an action potential. For neuronal signaling to persist, synapses have to maintain an … Read More
Electronic and molecular approaches for neural recording: deciphering the brain in space and time Resolving neuronal activity in space and time is a long-sought capability in neuroscience, which is, however, still hard to achieve using existing technologies. In this talk, I will share with the audience our strategies toward this goal via innovations at the device … Read More
Single-molecule biophysical approaches to studying the mechanisms of motor proteins Ribosomes are molecular machines made of protein and RNA that translate mRNA into proteins. The biogenesis of new ribosomes is the most energetically costly process in the cell, accounting for ~60% of all ATP consumed. New ribosomes begin as rRNA, and are sequentially matured through … Read More
LC-MS Metabolomics Reveals the Role of SLC45A4 in GABA de novo Synthesis Affiliations: 1Departments of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University; 2Metabolomics Shared Resource, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA Solute carrier (SLC) proteins are membrane transporters that govern the cross-membrane exchanges of glucose, amino acids, inorganic … Read More
Modulation of amyloid assembly by chaperone-like proteins Soluble proteins have an inherent propensity to undergo altered protein folding, forming cross-B sheet-rich structures called amyloids. Amyloid fibrils have gained significant attention due to their involvement in neurodegenerative disorders. Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common movement disorders and the fastest-growing age-related neurological disorder. It … Read More
Discovery and characterization of a novel family of PIEZO channel auxiliary subunits PIEZO channels are critical cellular sensors of mechanical forces. Native PIEZO1 channels can display nonuniform subcellular localization and exhibit different gating kinetics—principally, slower inactivation in many cell types when compared with heterologous expression systems. These observations could be explained by differences in lipid composition, … Read More
