Biology subjects

Amoretti, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Amoretti, S..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Spatiotemporal multi-omics atlas of the aging neuromuscular junction

The demographic shift toward a global aging population, coupled with rising prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, poses major public health challenges. Aging is the primary risk factor for most neurodegenerative conditions, making the elucidation of its molecular mechanisms critical for developing effective interventions. Dysfunction of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the specialized synapse essential for motor function, is an early hallmark of aging and several neurodegenerative disorders, yet its molecular determinants remain incompletely understood. To shed light on potential common underlying mechanisms, we performed a spatiotemporal multi-omics analysis of the murine NMJ during aging, uncovering several genes showing decoupling between transcript and protein trajectories that may drive the related progressive motor decline. NMJs of soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles, differing in fiber composition and vulnerability to aging and disease, displayed distinct spatiotemporal dynamics: fast-twitch EDL, more susceptible to degeneration, exhibited stronger mRNA-protein decoupling than aged slow-twitch SOL or younger SOL and EDL muscles. Elevated expression of miRNAs and RNA-binding proteins in aged EDL highlights the key role of post-transcriptional regulation in NMJ aging. This study provides new insights into the physiopathology of neuromuscular aging and offers a resource for investigating mechanisms shared between aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, it opens avenues for AI-driven discovery of drug targets and early biomarkers, potentially accelerating the development of therapeutic strategies.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Perceptual spatial suppression and sensitivity for motion are weakened in schizophrenia

Perceptual spatial suppression is a phenomenon in which the perceived strength of a stimulus in some region of the space is reduced when the stimulus is surrounded by other stimuli. For contrast perception, several studies suggest that spatial suppression is reduced in patients with schizophrenia. For motion perception, only one study has been conducted in a cohort of 16 patients, suggesting that spatial suppression is reduced. It is unknown, however, whether this reduction is related to the lower IQ that schizophrenic patients usually show; as there is evidence that spatial suppression for motion increases with IQ in healthy individuals. Here, we sought to determine the spatial suppression for motion in a larger cohort of 33 patients with schizophrenia controlling for IQ. We found a weakened spatial suppression in patients with schizophrenia, consistent with the previous study (g = 0.47, CI = [0.055, 0.88], combining the previous and our study). For comparison, we performed a meta-analysis on spatial suppression for contrast and found a similar effect size. We found that patients had a lower IQ than controls, but this difference did not explain their weaker spatial suppression. Further, we found that spatial suppression of patients, but not controls increased with their IQ and decreased with age in both groups. Finally, as we estimated lapses of attention, we could estimate motion sensitivity and found that it was decreased in patients. We speculate about possible alterations in neurotransmission that might explain the reduced spatial suppression and sensitivity that we found.

neuroscience↗