Biology subjects

Freyberg, Z.

Publications and source records attributed to Freyberg, Z..

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

AI-guided analysis of human pancreatic islet sociology reveals distinct cell compositional changes in type 1 diabetes

Human pancreatic islets exhibit greater anatomic and cellular heterogeneity than previously appreciated, raising fundamental questions about how their composition varies with age, sex, region, and islet size and how type 1 diabetes (T1D) alters these relationships. Yet these questions remained largely unresolved due to the bottleneck of manual tissue inspection. Here, we developed an integrated artificial intelligence (AI)-guided imaging, processing, and statistical pipeline enabling unbiased, high-throughput analysis of more than 2 million candidate islets from 106 non-diabetic (ND) and T1D donors. We identified age-, region-, sex-, and islet size-dependent differences in islet distribution and composition between ND and T1D donors. Profound {beta}-cell loss in T1D was accompanied by reciprocal -cell expansion, whereas {delta}-cells and pancreatic polypeptide cells were largely resilient. Cell area and pseudotime analyses uncovered regional and age-dependent trajectories of islet remodeling across T1D progression, along with distinct patterns of cytoarchitectural reorganization of the endocrine pancreas.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2026

Local control of dopamine release in nucleus accumbens gates opioid withdrawal aversion

The opioid crisis has emphasized the need for more effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD)1-3, which is characterized by habitual opioid use to avoid withdrawal symptoms4,5. Both physical and affective symptoms contribute to opioid withdrawal yet whether different neural mechanisms mediate these different symptom domains and contribute distinctly to opioid relapse is unknown. While neurons expressing mu opioid receptors (MORs) gate opioids reinforcing effects6-8 by increasing dopamine (DA) release in nucleus accumbens (NAc), sharp decreases in NAc DA release are associated with withdrawal9-11, the cellular and circuit mechanisms of which are unknown. Here we describe an unusual population of evolutionarily-conserved MOR+ neurons in the NAc expressing the transcription factor Tshz1. Increased activity in these neurons is required for withdrawal aversion learning. Deletion of MORs in Tshz1 neurons prevented withdrawal-induced decreases in DA release and affective aversion, but not physical symptoms associated with withdrawal. Pharmacological activation of mGluR8, which is preferentially expressed in Tshz1 neurons, reduced withdrawal aversion. Thus, by dissociating the circuit mechanisms contributing to the physical and affective components of opioid withdrawal focusing on the critical role of Tshz1 neurons, we have identified a novel druggable target with therapeutic potential for treating key OUD withdrawal symptoms.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Deep Disentangled Representation Learning Reveals Neuron Subtype-Specific Nuclear Morphologies Across Aging in Mice and Humans

We present a computational pipeline that links nuclear morphology to mRNA expression-based cell phenotypes under diverse biological conditions, including aging, disease progression, and drug response, using RNAscope imaging. The pipeline consists of three components: nuclear segmentation from RNAscope images, nuclear morphology identification, and downstream statistical analysis. Central to our approach is a novel unsupervised method, based on deep disentangled representation learning, which effectively captures diverse nuclear morphologies in large-scale datasets, as validated on synthetic benchmarks. We applied the full pipeline to RNAscope data targeting dopaminergic and glutamatergic neuron populations in the midbrains of mice and humans. Our analyses uncovered distinct nuclear morphology differences between dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic, as well as glutamatergic and non-glutamatergic neurons, in both species. Moreover, we identified a significant interaction between neurotransmitter identity and healthy aging in mice, reflected in systematic changes in nuclear morphology. These findings position nuclear morphology as a scalable and informative imaging-based readout of cell identity and physiological state.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2025

Uncovering synaptic and cellular nanoarchitecture of brain tissue via seamless in situ trimming and milling for cryo-electron tomography

Cell-cell communication underlies all emergent properties of the brain, including cognition, learning and memory. The physical basis for these communications is the synapse, a multi-component structure requiring coordinated interactions between diverse cell types. However, many aspects of three-dimensional (3D) synaptic organization remain poorly understood. Here, we developed an approach, seamless in situ trimming and milling (SISTM), to reliably fabricate sufficiently thin lamellae for mapping of the 3D nanoarchitecture of synapses in mouse, monkey and human brain tissue under near-native conditions via cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). We validated SISTM in a mouse model of Huntingtons disease, demonstrating distinct 3D alterations to synaptic vesicles and mitochondria. By successfully applying SISTM to macaque brain, we described the 3D architecture of a tripartite synapse within the cortex. Subtomogram averaging (STA) enabled spatial mapping of astrocyte-neuron contacts within the tripartite synapse, revealing neurexin-neuroligin complexes as potential constituents that tether the two cell types. Finally, we showed that the defining features of synaptic nanoarchitecture were conserved across species and evident in human brain tissue obtained postmortem. Combining SISTM with cryo-ET and STA is a starting point for a new understanding of brain organization, disease-induced structural alterations and the development of rational, structure-guided therapeutics.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Brain-wide mapping reveals temporal and sexually dimorphic opioid actions

While the molecular and cellular effects of opioids have been extensively studied, the precise mechanisms by which these drugs target specific brain regions over time remain unclear. Similarly, despite well-documented sex differences in opioid responses, the anatomical basis for this sexual dimorphism is not well characterized. To address these questions, we developed an automated, scalable, and unbiased approach for whole-brain anatomical mapping of the neuronal activity marker c-Fos in response to acute morphine exposure. Using ribbon scanning confocal microscopy, we imaged whole cleared brains from male and female wild-type mice at 1 hour and 4 hours post-morphine administration. Our whole-brain analysis of c-Fos expression revealed distinct patterns of morphine-induced regional brain activation across time and sex. Notably, we observed a greater number of structures with significant activity differences at 4 hours compared to 1 hour. In male mice, significant changes were primarily localized to regions within the dopamine system, whereas in female mice, they were concentrated in cortical regions. By combining high-throughput imaging with whole-brain expression analysis, particularly in the context of opioid actions, our approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of how drugs of abuse affect the brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Regulation of Fentanyl Reward in Male and Female Mice by the Circadian Transcription Factor NPAS2

Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are highly potent and prevalent in the illicit drug market, leading to tolerance, dependence, and opioid use disorder (OUD). Chronic opioid use disrupts sleep and circadian rhythms, which persist even during treatment and abstinence, increasing the risk of relapse. The bodys molecular clock, regulated by transcriptional and translational feedback loops, controls various physiological processes, including the expression of endogenous opioids and their receptors. The circadian transcription factor NPAS2, highly expressed in the nucleus accumbens, may have a crucial function in opioid-related behaviors. Our study found sex-specific roles for NPAS2-mediated reward behaviors in male and female mice, including in fentanyl seeking and craving. We also identified specific cell types and transcriptional targets in the nucleus accumbens of both mice and humans by which NPAS2 may mediate the impact of fentanyl on brain physiology and in opioid reward-related behaviors. Ultimately, our findings begin to uncover the mechanisms underlying circadian rhythm dysfunction and opioid addiction.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

TomoPicker: Annotation-Efficient Particle Picking in cryo-electron Tomograms

MotivationLocalizing macromolecules in crowded cellular cryo-electron tomograms (cryo-ET) is crucial for determining their in situ structures. Traditional template matching-based approaches for this task suffer from template-specific biases and have low throughput. Given these problems, learning-based solutions are necessary. However, the paucity of annotated data for training poses substantial challenges for such learning-based methods. Moreover, preparing extensively annotated cellular cryo-ET tomograms for training macromolecule localization methods is extremely time-consuming and burdensome due to the large volume and low signal-to-noise ratio of the tomograms. ResultsIn this work, we developed TomoPicker, an annotation-efficient macromolecule localization method for cryo-ET tomograms. To achieve such annotation-efficiency, TomoPicker regards macromolecule localization as a voxel classification problem and solves it with two different positive-unlabeled learning approaches. We evaluated TomoPicker on two experimental cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) datasets of crowded eukaryotic cells and one experimental dataset of relatively less crowded prokaryotic cell. We observed that, with only 10 annotated macromolecule locations, TomoPicker with positive unlabeled learning achieved a performance comparable to that of state-of-the-art supervised methods trained with several hundred annotations. In other words, TomoPicker achieved plausible segmentation with up to 98% less data compared to supervised learning-based methods. Furthermore, it demonstrated substantial improvements over existing learning-based macromolecule localization methods under sparse annotation scenarios. CodeThe code to train and use TomoPicker is available on https://github.com/DuranRafid/TomoPicker.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2024

Ribosome-Associated Vesicles promote activity-dependent local translation

Local protein synthesis in axons and dendrites underpins synaptic plasticity. However, the composition of the protein synthesis machinery in distal neuronal processes and the mechanisms for its deployment to local translation sites remain unclear. Here, we employed a multi-scale imaging approach combining cryo-electron tomography, volume electron microscopy, and live-cell imaging to identify endoplasmic reticulum-derived Ribosome-Associated Vesicles (RAVs) as a dynamic platform for moving ribosomes to distal processes and promoting activity-dependent local translation. We demonstrate that neuronal stimulation triggers compartment-specific RAV responses: dendrites accumulate stationary RAVs at sites of enhanced translation, while axons accelerate RAV transport. Real-time imaging of translation at single mRNA resolution reveals that RAVs boost local translation output compared to RAV-independent mechanisms. These findings establish RAVs as specialized platforms that integrate activity-dependent signals with local protein synthesis, providing a mechanistic framework for understanding how neurons achieve precise spatiotemporal control of protein synthesis.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Aging disrupts the coordination between mRNA and protein expression in mouse and human midbrain

Age-related dopamine (DA) neuron loss is a primary feature of Parkinsons disease. However, it remains unclear whether similar biological processes occur during healthy aging, albeit to a lesser degree. We therefore determined whether midbrain DA neurons degenerate during aging in mice and humans. In mice, we identified no changes in midbrain neuron numbers throughout aging. Despite this, we found age-related decreases in midbrain mRNA expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (Th), the rate limiting enzyme of DA synthesis. Among midbrain glutamatergic cells, we similarly identified age-related declines in vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2) mRNA expression. In co-transmitting Th+/Vglut2+ neurons, Th and Vglut2 transcripts decreased with aging. Importantly, striatal Th and Vglut2 protein expression remained unchanged. In translating our findings to humans, we found no midbrain neurodegeneration during aging and identified age-related decreases in TH and VGLUT2 mRNA expression similar to mouse. Unlike mice, we discovered diminished density of striatal TH+ dopaminergic terminals in aged human subjects. However, TH and VGLUT2 protein expression were unchanged in the remaining striatal boutons. Finally, in contrast to Th and Vglut2 mRNA, expression of most ribosomal genes in Th+ neurons was either maintained or even upregulated during aging. This suggests a homeostatic mechanism where age-related declines in transcriptional efficiency are overcome by ongoing ribosomal translation. Overall, we demonstrate species-conserved transcriptional effects of aging in midbrain dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurons that are not accompanied by marked cell death or lower striatal protein expression. This opens the door to novel therapeutic approaches to maintain neurotransmission and bolster neuronal resilience.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Peripheral opioid tolerance involves skin keratinocytes and platelet-derived growth factor type B signaling

Opioid analgesic tolerance drives dose escalation which hampers the therapeutic utility of opioids by increasing centrally mediated deleterious side-effects, including respiratory depression or addiction. Peripheral opioid delivery provides a safer, effective alternative to systemic delivery by avoiding centrally mediated opioid side-effects. However, tolerance still occurs peripherally via mechanisms that remain unknown. Centrally, activation of the mu-opioid receptor (MOPr) by opioids induces release of platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGF-B); and inhibition of PDGF receptor beta (PDGFR{beta}) prevents opioid tolerance. In the periphery, MOPr and PDGF-B are expressed in keratinocytes, and PDGFR{beta} is expressed in peripheral sensory neurons (PSNs), which are involved in tolerance. Previous studies showed that optogenetic stimulation of keratinocytes modulates PSNs via release of keratinocyte-derived factors. Thus, we hypothesized that mechanisms of peripheral opioid tolerance involve keratinocytes and PDGFR{beta} signaling. Using behavioral pharmacology, optogenetics and imaging in mice, we found that selective inhibition of peripheral PDGFR{beta} prevents peripheral morphine tolerance caused by repeated intraplantar (i.pl.) morphine injections. In addition, we show that PDGF-B is both necessary and sufficient to cause peripheral morphine tolerance. Repeated peripheral morphine injections lead to an increase in PDGF-B mRNA in MOPr-expressing keratinocytes and induce changes in the biophysical properties of keratinocytes as measured by patch-clamp electrophysiology. In parallel, we discovered that repeated optogenetic activation of keratinocytes is sufficient to induce peripheral morphine tolerance in a PDGF-B/PDGFR{beta}-dependent manner. Together, we show a novel epithelial-neuronal communication mechanism that incorporates keratinocytes and PDGF-B/PDGFR{beta} to mediate peripheral opioid tolerance, opening the door to safer, more effective pain therapeutics. Significance StatementPeripheral opioids are a safer alternative to systemic opioids. However, peripheral tolerance leads to reduction of analgesia over time, hampering clinical use of peripheral opioids. Here, we highlight a novel epithelial-neuronal communication mechanism that mediates peripheral tolerance. We discovered that intraplantar (i.pl.) morphine injections in mice cause peripheral tolerance via release of platelet-derived growth factor type B (PDGF-B) and activation of platelet-derived growth factor beta (PDGFR{beta}). We find that morphine i.pl. increases PDGF-B in mu-opioid receptor-expressing keratinocytes, which could be released to activate PDGFR{beta} in cutaneous nociceptor endings to mediate peripheral tolerance. Moreover, we show that photostimulation of keratinocytes is sufficient to cause peripheral tolerance in a PDGF-B/PDGFR{beta}-manner. Thus, keratinocytes and PDGF-B are new promising targets for peripheral opioid tolerance.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Development of novel tools for dissection of central versus peripheral dopamine D2-like receptor signaling in dysglycemia

Dopamine (DA) D2-like receptors in both the central nervous system (CNS) and the periphery are key modulators of metabolism. Moreover, disruption of D2-like receptor signaling is implicated in dysglycemia. Yet, the respective metabolic contributions of CNS versus peripheral D2-like receptors including D2 (D2R) and D3 (D3R) receptors remain poorly understood. To address this, we developed new pharmacological tools, D2-like receptor agonists with diminished and delayed blood-brain barrier capability, to selectively manipulate D2R/D3R signaling in the periphery. We designated bromocriptine methiodide (BrMeI), a quaternary methiodide analogue of D2/3R agonist and diabetes drug bromocriptine, as our lead compound based on preservation of D2R/D3R binding and functional efficacy. We then used BrMeI and unmodified bromocriptine to dissect relative contributions of CNS versus peripheral D2R/D3R signaling in treating dysglycemia. Systemic administration of bromocriptine, with unrestricted access to CNS and peripheral targets, significantly improved both insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in obese, dysglycemic mice in vivo. In contrast, metabolic improvements were attenuated when access to bromocriptine was restricted either to the CNS through intracerebroventricular administration or delayed access to the CNS via BrMeI. Our findings demonstrate that the coordinated actions of both CNS and peripheral D2-like receptors are required for correcting dysglycemia. Ultimately, the development of a first-generation of drugs designed to selectively target the periphery provides a blueprint for dissecting mechanisms of central versus peripheral DA signaling and paves the way for novel strategies to treat dysglycemia.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Sexually dimorphic mechanisms of VGLUT-mediated protection from dopaminergic neurodegeneration

Parkinsons disease (PD) targets some dopamine (DA) neurons more than others. Sex differences offer insights, with females more protected from DA neurodegeneration. The mammalian vesicular glutamate transporter VGLUT2 and Drosophila ortholog dVGLUT have been implicated as modulators of DA neuron resilience. However, the mechanisms by which VGLUT2/dVGLUT protects DA neurons remain unknown. We discovered DA neuron dVGLUT knockdown increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species in a sexually dimorphic manner in response to depolarization or paraquat-induced stress, males being especially affected. DA neuron dVGLUT also reduced ATP biosynthetic burden during depolarization. RNA sequencing of VGLUT+ DA neurons in mice and flies identified candidate genes that we functionally screened to further dissect VGLUT-mediated DA neuron resilience across PD models. We discovered transcription factors modulating dVGLUT-dependent DA neuroprotection and identified dj-1{beta} as a regulator of sex-specific DA neuron dVGLUT expression. Overall, VGLUT protects DA neurons from PD-associated degeneration by maintaining mitochondrial health.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Dissociable control of motivation and reinforcement by distinct ventral striatal dopamine receptors

Dopamine release in striatal circuits, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), tracks separable features of reward such as motivation and reinforcement. However, the cellular and circuit mechanisms by which dopamine receptors transform dopamine release into distinct constructs of reward remain unclear. Here, we show that dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) signaling in the NAc drives motivated behavior by regulating local NAc microcircuits. Furthermore, D3Rs co-express with dopamine D1 receptors (D1Rs), which regulate reinforcement, but not motivation. Paralleling dissociable roles in reward function, we report non-overlapping physiological actions of D3R and D1R signaling in NAc neurons. Our results establish a novel cellular framework wherein dopamine signaling within the same NAc cell type is physiologically compartmentalized via actions on distinct dopamine receptors. This structural and functional organization provides neurons in a limbic circuit with the unique ability to orchestrate dissociable aspects of reward-related behaviors that are relevant to the etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Single nucleus transcriptomics of human and monkey striatum implicates DNA damage, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration signaling in opioid use disorder

The striatum in the brain is involved in various behavioral functions, including reward, and disease processes, such as opioid use disorder (OUD). Further understanding of the role of striatal subregions in reward behaviors and their potential associations with OUD requires molecular identification of specific striatal cell types in human brain. The human striatum contains subregions based on different anatomical, functional, and physiological properties, with the dorsal striatum further divided into caudate and putamen. Both caudate and putamen are involved in altered reward processing, formation of habits, and development of negative affect states associated with OUD. Using single nuclei RNA-sequencing of human postmortem caudate and putamen, we identified canonical neuronal cell types in striatum (e.g., dopamine receptor 1 or 2 expressing neurons, D1 or D2) and less abundant subpopulations, including D1/D2-hybrid neurons and multiple classes of interneurons. By comparing unaffected subjects to subjects with OUD, we found neuronal-specific differences in pathways related to neurodegeneration, interferon response, and DNA damage. DNA damage markers were also elevated in striatal neurons of rhesus macaques following chronic opioid administration. We also identified sex-dependent differences in the expression of stress-induced transcripts among astrocytes and oligodendrocytes from female subjects with OUD. Thus, we describe striatal cell types and leverage these data to gain insights into molecular alterations in human striatum associated with opioid addiction.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Three-dimensional characterization of medium spiny neuron heterogeneity in the adult mouse striatum

Striatal projection neurons (SPNs) are traditionally segregated into two subpopulations expressing dopamine (DA) D1-like or D2-like receptors. However, this dichotomy is challenged by recent evidence. Functional and expression studies raise important questions: do SPNs co-express different DA receptors, and do these differences reflect unique striatal spatial distributions and expression profiles? Using RNAscope in mouse striatum, we report heterogenous SPN subpopulations distributed across dorsal-ventral and rostral-caudal axes. SPN subpopulations co-express multiple DA receptors, including D1 and D2 (D1/2R) and D1 and D3. Our integrative approach using single-nuclei multi-omics analyses provides a simple consensus to describe SPNs across diverse datasets, connecting it to complementary spatial mapping. Combining RNAscope and multi-omics shows D1/2R SPNs further separate into distinct subtypes according to spatial organization and conserved marker genes. Each SPN cell type contributes uniquely to genetic risk for neuropsychiatric diseases. Our results bridge anatomy and transcriptomics to offer new understandings of striatal neuron heterogeneity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Uncovering circadian rhythm disruptions of synaptic proteome signaling in prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens associated with opioid use disorder

Opioid craving and relapse vulnerability is associated with severe and persistent sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of circadian rhythms and opioid use disorder (OUD) may prove valuable for developing new treatments for opioid addiction. Previous work indicated molecular rhythm disruptions in the human brain associated with OUD, highlighting synaptic alterations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc)--key brain regions involved in cognition and reward, and heavily implicated in the pathophysiology of OUD. To provide further insights into the synaptic alterations in OUD, we used mass-spectrometry based proteomics to deeply profile protein expression alterations in bulk tissue and synaptosome preparations from DLPFC and NAc of unaffected and OUD subjects. We identified 55 differentially expressed (DE) proteins in DLPFC homogenates, and 44 DE proteins in NAc homogenates, between unaffected and OUD subjects. In synaptosomes, we identified 161 and 56 DE proteins in DLPFC and NAc, respectively, of OUD subjects. By comparing homogenate and synaptosome protein expression, we identified proteins enriched specifically in synapses that were significantly altered in both DLPFC and NAc of OUD subjects. Across brain regions, synaptic protein alterations in OUD subjects were primarily identified in glutamate, GABA, and circadian rhythm signaling. Using time-of-death (TOD) analyses, where the TOD of each subject is used as a time-point across a 24- hour cycle, we were able to map circadian-related changes associated with OUD in synaptic proteomes related to vesicle-mediated transport and membrane trafficking in the NAc and platelet derived growth factor receptor beta signaling in DLPFC. Collectively, our findings lend further support for molecular rhythm disruptions in synaptic signaling in the human brain as a key factor in opioid addiction.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Cryo-FIB workflow for imaging brain tissue via in situ cryo-electron microscopy

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) enables the study of protein complexes, cytoskeletal elements, and organelles in three dimensions without the use of chemical fixation. Most cryo-EM studies focus on vitreously frozen individual cells separated from their native tissue contexts. This reliance on imaging of single cells is primarily due to technical challenges associated with preparing fresh tissue sections at a thinness sufficient for visualization via cryo-EM. Highly heterogenous and specialized tissues, such as brain, are especially affected by this limitation as the cellular, subcellular, and synaptic milieus can significantly vary across neuroanatomical locations. To address this limitation, we established new instrumentation and a workflow that consists of: 1) high-pressure freezing of fresh brain tissue; 2) tissue trimming followed by cryo-focused ion beam milling via the H-bar approach to generate ultrathin lamellae; and 3) cryo-EM imaging. Here, we apply this workflow to visualize the fine ultrastructural details of organelles, as well as cytoskeletal and synaptic elements that comprise the cortical neuropil within fresh, unfixed mouse brain tissue. Moreover, we present initial studies that apply principles of the above workflow to the analysis of postmortem human brain tissue. Overall, our work integrates the strengths of cryo-electron microscopy and tissue-based approaches to produce a generalizable workflow capable of visualizing subcellular structures within complex tissue environments.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

A spatial atlas of Wnt and Frizzled receptor expression in adult mouse liver

Hepatic zonation is critical for most metabolic functions in liver. Wnt signaling plays an important role in establishing and maintaining liver zonation. Yet, the anatomic expression of Wnt signaling components, including all 10 Frizzled receptors (Fzds), has not been characterized in adult liver. To address this, we quantitatively mapped the spatial expression of Wnt/Fzd pathway components in adult mouse liver via multiplex fluorescent in situ hybridization. While all 10 Fzds are expressed within a metabolic unit, Fzds 1, 4, and 6 are the highest expressed. Though the majority of Wnt signaling occurs in zone 3, expression of most Fzds is not zonated. In contrast, Fzd6 is preferentially expressed in zone 1. We also discovered that Wnt2 and Wnt9b expression is highly zonated and primarily found in zone 3. Therefore, our results suggest that zonated Wnt expression is critical for zonation maintenance in healthy adult liver. Finally, we showed that Fzds and Wnts are not uniformly expressed by all hepatic cell types. Rather, there is broad distribution among both hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells, including endothelial cells. Overall, our establishment of a definitive mRNA expression atlas of Wnt/Fzd pathway components opens the door to future functional characterization in healthy and disease states.

cell biology↗