Venue: Centre Broca
Nicolas Panayotis
Group Leader Molecular Biology of Neuronal Transport Lab
Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences (SPPIN), CNRS UMR 8003
Université Paris Cité
Invited by Etienne Herzog (IINS)
Title
Deciphering the role of Importins Nuclear Transport Factors in CNS Functions and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Biosketch
Nicolas Panayotis is a Molecular Neurobiologist. He studied Neurobiology and Behavior at the Aix-Marseille University and obtained a Ph.D. in Medical Genetics at the Marseille Medical Genetics center (Inserm-MMG), under the direction of Dr. Jean-Christophe Roux. There he investigated the MeCP2-deficient mouse model for Rett Syndrome, a devastating genetic neurodevelopmental disorder.
He joined the group of Prof. Mike Fainzilber at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel for his postdoc and Senior Internship from 2012 to 2023. His goal was to decipher the roles of the importin family of nuclear transport factors in mouse behaviors and neuronal pathways. Using a comprehensive battery of approaches from behavior to molecular mechanisms, his research shed light on the roles for importin α5 in the regulation of anxiety via control of nuclear shuttling of MeCP2 and of other importins and transcription factors in pain and memory.
Nicolas recently launched a new group at the Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences (SPPIN) of the CNRS. He will present his main research achievements and will outline planned future directions in the study of the role of nuclear transport factors in neurodevelopmental disorders. The lab’s priority is to dissect the basic rules of importin α-MeCP2’s interaction and transport dynamics using behavioral analyses, imaging of MeCP2 nuclear shuttling, and testing how modulation of MeCP2 transport can help to rescue phenotypes associated with MeCP2-related disorders such as Rett and MeCP2 duplication syndromes.
Key publications
- β-sitosterol reduces anxiety and synergizes with established anxiolytic drugs in mice.
Panayotis N, Freund PA, Marvaldi L, Shalit T, Brandis A, Mehlman T, Tsoory MM, Fainzilber M : Cell Rep Med, 2021 - Importin α3 regulates chronic pain pathways in peripheral sensory neurons.
Marvaldi L, Panayotis N, Alber S, Dagan SY, Okladnikov N, Koppel I, Di Pizio A, Song DA, Tzur Y, Terenzio M, Rishal I, Gordon D, Rother F, Hartmann E, Bader M, Fainzilber M : Science, 2020 - Huntingtin phosphorylation governs BDNF homeostasis and improves the phenotype of Mecp2 knockout mice.
Ehinger Y, Bruyère J, Panayotis N, Abada YS, Borloz E, Matagne V, Scaramuzzino C, Vitet H, Delatour B, Saidi L, Villard L, Saudou F, Roux JC : EMBO Mol Med, 2020 - Hidden Figures: A Non-translated RNA Regulates Axonal Neurotrophin Signaling.
Panayotis N, Fainzilber M : Neuron, 2019 - Importin α5 Regulates Anxiety through MeCP2 and Sphingosine Kinase 1.
Panayotis N, Sheinin A, Dagan SY, Tsoory MM, Rother F, Vadhvani M, Meshcheriakova A, Koley S, Marvaldi L, Song DA, Reuveny E, Eickholt BJ, Hartmann E, Bader M, Michaelevski I, Fainzilber M : Cell Rep, 2018