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Understanding how the nervous system is assembled and organized at the cellular and synaptic level is key to unlocking brain function. Work in our lab is focused on studying astrocytes, a specialized class of non-neuronal cells in the nervous system known as glia, and their roles in regulating the formation and function of developing neural circuits in the healthy and diseased or injured brain.

We have three active lines of investigation in the lab.

Astrocyte - neuron interactions. Astrocytes are essential for synaptic formation and closely monitor synaptic activity to ensure proper function. The goal of this project is to understand the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate these processes.

Astrocyte development. The underlying principles governing the development maturation of astrocytes are not well understood. Our work aims to address basic questions surrounding astrocyte development, including how they are patterned and arranged in the cortex.

Astrocyte heterogeneity. Despite the long-standing appreciation for the relative structural and functional diversity of neurons, the concept of astrocyte diversity has only recently gained recognition. Studies in this project are aimed at understanding differential gene expression programs between different populations of astrocytes and how these programs contribute to specialized functional properties.

To address these questions, we use a combination of mouse molecular genetics together with advanced imaging of fixed and living tissues by confocal and two-photon microscopy.

鈥淎strocyte development 鈥� more questions than answers鈥�
Markey K.M., Saunders J.C., Smuts J., von Reyn C.R., Garcia A.D.R.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 11:1063843. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1063843 (2023)

鈥淪onic hedgehog-dependent recruitment of GABAergic interneurons into the developing visual thalamus鈥�
Somaiya R.D., Stebbins K., Gingrich E.C., Xie H., Garcia A.D.R., Campbell J.N., Fox M.A.
eLife, 11:e79833. doi: 10.7554/eLife.79833. PMID: 36342840 (2022)

鈥淎 subpopulation of astrocyte progenitors defined by Sonic hedgehog signaling鈥�
Gingrich E.C., Case K., Garcia A.D.R.
Neural Dev. Jan 14;17(1):2. PMID: 35027088 (2022)

鈥淣ew tricks for an old (hedge)hog: Sonic hedgehog regulation of astrocyte function鈥�
Garcia A.D.R.
Cells. May 30;10(6):1353. PMID: 34070740 (2021)

鈥淪onic hedgehog signaling in astrocytes鈥�
Hill S., Fu M., Garcia A.D.R.
Cell and Molecular Life Sciences. Feb;78(4):1393-1403. PMID: 33079226 (2021)

鈥淪onic hedgehog signaling in astrocytes mediates cell type specific synaptic organization鈥�
Hill S.*, Blaeser A.*, Coley A.A., Xie Y., Shepard K.A., Harwell C.C., Gao W-J., Garcia A.D.R.
eLife, 8:e45545. PMID: 31194676 (2019)

鈥淪onic hedgehog signaling is negatively regulated in reactive astrocytes after forebrain stab injury鈥�
Allahyari, R.V., Clark K.L., Shepard K.A., Garcia A.D.R.
Sci. Rep. 9(1):565. PMID: 30679745 (2019)

鈥淭he elegance of sonic hedgehog: Emerging novel functions for a classic morphogen鈥�
Garcia A.D.R., Han Y-G., Triplett, J, Farmer W.T., Ihrie R.A., Harwell, C.C.
J. Neurosci. 38(44):9338-9345. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1662-18.2018 PMID: 30381425 (2018)

鈥淒egradation of dendritic cargos requires Rab7-dependent transport to somatic lysosomes鈥�
Yap C.C., Digilio L., McMahon L.P., Garcia A.D.R., Winckler B.
J. Cell Bio. 217(9):3141-3159. PMID: 29907658 (2018)

鈥淭riggering reactive gliosis in vivo by a forebrain stab injury鈥�
Allahyari, R.V., Garcia A.D.R.
JoVE. PMID: 26167674 (2015)

鈥淭itration of GLI3 repressor activity by sonic hedgehog signaling is critical for maintaining multiple adult neural stem cell and astrocyte functions鈥�
Petrova R., Garcia A.D.R., Joyner A.L.
J. Neurosci. 33(44):17490-505. PMID: 24174682 (2013)

鈥淪onic hedgehog regulates discrete populations of astrocytes in the adult mouse forebrain鈥�
Garcia A.D.R., Petrova, R., Eng L., Joyner A.L.
J. Neurosci., 30(41):13597-608. PMID: 20943901 (2010)