Biology subjects

Arnst, N.

Publications and source records attributed to Arnst, N..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

The extracellular ATP/P2X7R signaling axis drives early neuroinflammation and neuronal hyperexcitability in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model

Neuroinflammation and synaptic dysfunction are emerging as early and potentially causative events in Alzheimers disease (AD), yet their molecular triggers remain elusive. Here, we identify extracellular ATP (eATP), a major damage-associated molecular pattern, and its purinergic receptor P2X7 (P2X7R) as pivotal drivers of early pathology in AD mice. In vivo bioluminescence imaging revealed a significant cortical accumulation of eATP in AD mice as early as 2 months of age--before amyloid plaque deposition and cognitive impairment. This increase is associated with inflammasome activation, pro-inflammatory cytokine production, microglia reactivity, aberrant synaptic pruning and perineuronal net degradation. Strikingly, genetic deletion of P2X7R rescues these alterations. Two-photon calcium imaging further demonstrates that P2X7R knockout counteracts AD-related neuronal hyperactivity. These findings set the eATP-P2X7R signaling axis as an early driver of AD pathology, linking neuroinflammation to synaptic remodeling and circuit dysfunction, and suggest P2X7R inhibition as a compelling strategy to counteract AD progression.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Simultaneous detection of membrane contact dynamics and associated Ca2+ signals by reversible chemogenetic reporters

Membrane contact sites (MCSs) are hubs allowing various cell organelles to coordinate their activities. The dynamic nature of these sites and their small size hinder analysis by current imaging techniques. To overcome these limitations, we here designed a series of reversible chemogenetic reporters incorporating improved, low-affinity variants of splitFAST, and studied the dynamics of different MCSs at high spatiotemporal resolution, both in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrated that these versatile reporters suit different experimental setups well, allowing one to address challenging biological questions. Using these novel probes, we identified a hitherto unknown pathway, in which calcium (Ca2+) signalling dynamically regulates endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria juxtaposition, characterizing the underlying mechanism. Finally, by integrating Ca2+-sensing capabilities into the splitFAST technology, we introduced PRINCESS (PRobe for INterorganelle Ca2+-Exchange Sites based on SplitFAST), an unprecedented class of reporters to simultaneously detect MCSs and measure the associated Ca2+ dynamics using a single biosensor.

cell biology↗