Biology subjects

Wake, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Wake, H..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Developmental prefrontal myelination shapes inhibitory interneuron function and adult social behavior

Early-life adversity and abnormal myelination are implicated in psychiatric disorders, but how developmental myelination influences adult social cognition remains unclear. Here, we tested whether disrupting developmental myelination in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) impairs adult social behavior. Using complementary genetic strategies in male mice, we suppressed Myelin Regulatory Factor (Myrf)-dependent myelination locally in the juvenile mPFC or broadly in oligodendrocyte-lineage cells. Both approaches selectively impaired adult social novelty preference while sparing sociability, locomotion, and affective behaviors. Focal prefrontal dysmyelination also reduced social dominance. Spatial transcriptomics revealed coupling between myelin-related genes and parvalbumin (PV) interneuron markers in the healthy mPFC, which was disrupted by developmental hypomyelination. Consistent with this transcriptional alteration, PV interneurons showed reduced high-frequency firing despite preserved intrinsic excitability. In the human prefrontal cortex, MBP-PV expression was correlated in controls but not in individuals with schizophrenia. These findings indicate that developmental prefrontal myelination contributes to PV interneuron maturation and suggest that disrupted oligodendrocyte-interneuron coordination may contribute to impaired social recognition.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

A preoptic circuit triggers rewarming from torpor

Torpor is an adaptive hypometabolic state that enables homeotherm to survive periods of energetic challenge. This strategy ranges from short bouts of daily torpor to prolonged hibernation. During torpor, animals markedly suppress metabolic rate, body temperature, heart rate, and respiration, while retaining the ability to rewarm. Torpor therefore comprises two critical transitions -entry into a hypometabolic state and active rewarming-both essential for organismal viability. Although neural mechanisms controlling torpor entry have begun to emerge, the circuits that initiate active rewarming and restore euthermia remain poorly defined. Here we identify corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh)-expressing neurons in the anterodorsal preoptic area (ADP) as a key population for rewarming from fasting-induced torpor in mice. These neurons become active around natural rewarming and are selectively required to limit the depth and duration of torpor. Unlike pathways mediating acute cold defence, stress hyperthermia, or LPS-induced fever, this circuit is dedicated to promoting timely recovery to euthermia. Closed-loop optogenetic activation of ADPCrh neurons during torpor entry rapidly initiates rewarming, and thermographic recordings show that brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis precedes locomotor arousal. ADPCrh neurons are predominantly GABAergic and project monosynaptically to the lateral preoptic area, whose terminal activation is sufficient to increase body temperature and locomotor activity. Finally, we find robust activation of ADPCrh neurons during rewarming in a hibernator, suggesting conserved logic for exiting deep torpor. Together, our results define a discrete preoptic circuit that drives recovery from torpor and provide a framework for understanding and potentially controlling timely rewarming from profound hypothermia.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Vicious circle of amyloid and leptomeningeal macrophages evokes vascular dysfunction in CAA

The subarachnoid space contains leptomeningeal arteries and resident immune cells known as subarachnoid macrophages (SAMs). In Alzheimers disease (AD) and related cerebral amyloid angiopathy, amyloid-{beta} (A{beta}) frequently accumulates around the leptomeningeal arteries. Nevertheless, the local immune responses and their functional consequences remain poorly understood. Using longitudinal intravital imaging in a mouse model of AD, we tracked A{beta} deposition and identified a distinct SAM population that migrates to and phagocytoses these arterial A{beta} deposits. SAM recruitment correlated with vascular remodeling, including smooth muscle loss, aneurysm formation, and reduced cerebral perfusion. Transcriptomic profiling revealed a distinct SAM population in AD with upregulated CD39 expression. Pharmacological inhibition of CD39 attenuated arterial A{beta} deposition, identifying SAMs as a potential therapeutic target in AD.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Unsupervised deep learning enables blur-free super-resolution in two-photon microscopy

We developed an unsupervised deep learning method to simultaneously perform deblurring, super-resolution, and segmentation of two-photon microscopy images. Two-photon microscopy is an excellent technique for non-invasively observing deep biological tissues, but blurring during deep imaging has been a challenge. Conventional deblurring methods have limited performance and are not suitable for deblurring two-photon microscopy images. Moreover, methods that simultaneously perform segmentation, which is usually required in downstream analysis, have not been developed. Therefore, in this method (TENET), we precisely modeled the blur of two-photon microscopy and simultaneously achieved deblurring, super-resolution, and segmentation through unsupervised deep learning. In simulation and experimental data, we achieved deblurring, resolution improvement, and segmentation accuracy surpassing conventional methods. Furthermore, we applied the method to live imaging of microglia, enabling quantitative 3D morphological analysis that was previously difficult. This method allows non-invasive visualization of detailed structures in deep biological tissues, and is expected to lead to a more high-definition understanding of biological phenomena. Future applications to time-series morphological analysis of microglia are anticipated.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2022

Border-associated macrophages transventricularly infiltrate the early embryonic cerebral wall to differentiate into microglia

The relationships between microglia and macrophages, especially their lineage segregation outside the yolk sac, have been recently explored, providing a model in which a conversion from macrophages seeds microglia during brain development. However, spatiotemporal evidence to support such microglial seeding and to explain how it occurs has not been obtained. By cell tracking via slice culture, intravital imaging, and Flash tag-mediated labeling, we found that a group of intraventricular macrophages belonging to border-associated macrophages (BAMs), which were abundantly observed along the inner surface of the mouse cerebral wall at embryonic day 12, frequently entered the brain wall. Immunohistochemistry of the tracked cells showed that postinfiltrative BAMs acquired microglial properties while losing a macrophage phenotype. We also found that the intraventricular BAMs were supplied transepithelially from the roof plate. Thus, this study demonstrates that the "roof plate[->]ventricle[->]cerebral wall" route is an essential path for microglial colonization into the embryonic mouse brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Conditional upregulation of KCC2 selectively enhances neuronal inhibition during seizures

Abstract/SummaryEfficacious neuronal inhibition is sustained by the neuronal K+Cl- co-transporter KCC2, and loss of KCC2 function through injury or mutation is associated with altered GABAergic signalling and neuronal seizures. Here we report a transgenic mouse with conditional KCC2 overexpression that results in increased membrane transport function. Increased KCC2 has little impact on behavioural and in vitro assays of neuronal excitability and GABAA receptor responses under resting conditions. In contrast, increased KCC2 imparts resistance to seizure-like neuronal activity in hippocampal slices and prevents the progression of mice into behavioural status epilepticus following multiple kainic acid doses. Our results demonstrate a transgenic mouse to facilitate investigations into the role of KCC2 in brain function, and provide a proof of principle that targeting KCC2 may be an effective way to selectively enhance neuronal inhibition to mitigate against diseases that involve an imbalance between excitation and inhibition.

neuroscience↗