ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION OF THE NEURONAL CYTOSKELETON DURING DEVELOPMENT AND DURING NEURODEGENERATION
In our laboratory we aim to understand the modifications of the axonal cytoskeleton during the activation and execution of the axonal degeneration program, as well as during the axon development and maintenance. For this purpose, we use primary cultures of mouse sensory and hippocampal neurons and the most advanced microscopy techniques (Confocal, Expansion, Spinning Disk) and nanoscopy (STED and dSTORM) that allow us to evaluate in nanometer detail modifications in the actin, spectrin and tubulin cytoskeletons in the different degenerative phases that culminate in axon fragmentation.
We also study the cortical actin/spectrin cytoskeleton in axons (MPS), which shows a characteristic periodic organization under superresolution microscopy. We are studying these structures in mouse neurons, in the nervous system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and in human motor neurons derived from induced stem cells (hiPSCs).
COMPETITIVE RESEARCH FUNDS
Present
- PICT-2021-GRF-II-00048. Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica.
Past
- IBRO Collaborations Grant 2021.
- Early Career Award 2019. International Brain Research Organization.
- ANPCyT-FonCyT, PICT-2018-00684.
- ISN Career Development Grant 2020.
- IBRO Early Career Award 2019.
- Proyectos de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Provincia de Córdoba – 2018.
- ISN – Category 1B (ISN-CAEN program – 2017).
- ANPCyT-FonCyT, PICT-2016-0838 Investigador Jóven.
- Pre-Semilla 2016 – Fundación Argentina de Nanotecnología.
- ANPCyT, PICT-Clase V. 2015.
- ISN-CAEN: Return Home Grant – 2014.
PUBLICATIONS (LATEST FIVE YEARS)
- 2026. Pre-print en revisión. NG Gazal, G Escalante, LF. Lopez, L Goutebroze, M Bisbal, EA Gorostiza, AM. Szalai, FD. Stefani, N Unsain. Nanoscale organization of betaII-spectrin within segments of the membrane-associated periodic skeleton in mouse sciatic nerve axons. bioRxiv 2026.02.19.705149.
- 2025. Pre-print en revisión. NG Gazal, MJ Castellanos-Montiel, G Bruno, AK Franco-Flores, S Lépine, L Gursu, G Haghi, G Maussion, A Anastasía, M Bisbal, EA Gorostiza, TM Durcan, N Unsain. BetaII-Spectrin Gaps and Patches Emerge from the Patterned Assembly of the Actin/Spectrin Membrane Skeleton in Human Motor Neuron Axons. bioRxiv: 2025.05. 09.653215.
- 2024. J Wojnacki, G Quassollo, MD Bordenave, N Unsain, GF Martínez, AM Szalai, O Pertz, GG Gundersen, F Bartolini, FD Stefani, A Cáceres, M Bisbal. Dual spatio-temporal regulation of axon growth and microtubule dynamics by RhoA signaling pathways. Journal of cell science 137 (14), jcs261970.
- 2023. Peralta Cuasolo YM, Dupraz S, Unsain N, Bisbal M, Quassollo G, Galiano MR, Grassi D, Quiroga S, Sosa LJ. The GTPase Rab21 is required for neuronal development and migration in the cerebral cortex. J Neurochem. 2023 Sep;166(5):790-808.
- 2022. Martínez GF, Fagetti J, Vierci G, Brauer MM, Unsain N, Richeri A. Extracellular matrix stiffness negatively affects axon elongation, growth cone area and F-actin levels in a collagen type I 3D culture. J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2022 Feb;16(2):151-162. doi: 10.1002/term.3269.
- 2021. Szalai AM, Siarry B, Lukin J, Giusti S, Unsain N, Cáceres A, Steiner F, Tinnefeld P, Refojo D, Jovin TM, Stefani FD. Super-resolution Imaging of Energy Transfer by Intensity-Based STED-FRET. Nano Lett. 2021 Mar 10;21(5):2296-2303. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00158.
- 2021. Szalai AM, Siarry B, Lukin J, Williamson DJ, Unsain N, Cáceres A, Pilo-Pais M, Acuna G, Refojo D, Owen DM, Simoncelli S, Stefani FD. Three-dimensional total-internal reflection fluorescence nanoscopy with nanometric axial resolution by photometric localization of single molecules. Nat Commun. 2021 Jan 22;12(1):517. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20863-0.
- 2020. Martínez GF, Gazal NG, Quassollo G, Szalai AM, Cid-Pellitero ED, Durcan TM, Fon EA, Bisbal M, Stefani FD, Unsain N. Quantitative expansion microscopy for the characterization of the spectrin periodic skeleton of axons using fluorescence microscopy. Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 19;10(1):2917. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59856-w.
- 2020. Girouard MP, Simas T, Hua L, Morquette B, Khazaei MR, Unsain N, Johnstone AD, Rambaldi I, Sanz RL, Di Raddo ME, Gamage KK, Yong Y, Willis DE, Verge VMK, Barker PA, Deppmann C, Fournier AE. Collapsin Response Mediator Protein 4 (CRMP4) Facilitates Wallerian Degeneration and Axon Regeneration following Sciatic Nerve Injury. eNeuro. 2020 Mar 2;7(2). pii: ENEURO.0479-19.2020. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0479-19.2020.
- Complete and updated list available here.
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