Neurons communicate through neurochemical signals that either terminate at the postsynaptic process (“wired transmission”) or diffuse beyond the synaptic cleft to modulate the activity of larger neuronal networks (“volume transmission”). Molecules such as dopamine, serotonin, and neuropeptides such as oxytocin belong to the latter class of neurochemicals, called neuromodulators, and have been the pharmacological targets of antidepressants and antipsychotics for decades.
Markita Landry, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley
However, until very recently, imaging the spatial and temporal propagation of neurochemical signals was not possible. To this end, we present a library of nanoscale near-infrared fluorescent nanosensors to image synaptic-scale neurochemical propagation of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, and describe how to implement our nanosensors to image neurochemical signaling in living brain tissue.
We show that our dopamine probes can uncover synaptic-scale mechanisms of neurochemical signaling aberrations in Huntington’s Disease model mice, in which neurons lose their ability to effectively release dopamine. We also show that our oxytocin nanosensors can be used to study non-reproductive peer relationships in voles and find that oxytocin signaling is impaired in voles that show decreased peer relationship preferences. We finally discuss the relevance of our findings for supporting advances in understanding and treating neurodegenerative disease, psychiatric conditions, and autism spectrum disorders.
Markita Landry is an associate professor in the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She received a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Ph.D. in chemical physics and a certificate in business administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed an NSF postdoctoral fellowship in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Her research centers on the development of synthetic nanoparticle-polymer conjugates for imaging neuromodulation in the brain, to study lipid nanoparticle-cell membrane interactions, and for the delivery of genetic materials into plants.
Markita is a member of the scientific advisory boards and a consultant for several major agricultural companies, and co-founder and CSO of Biophilia Genetics. She is a recent recipient of over 40 career awards, including awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Schmidt Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the DARPA Young Investigator program, the Beckman Young Investigator program, the NSF CAREER award, and the Sloan research fellowship. Recently, Markita was named the 2024 Blavatnik National Laureate in Chemistry.