ZFIN ID: ZDB-LAB-050811-1
Sagasti lab UCLA
PI/Director: Sagasti, Alvaro
Contact Person: Sagasti, Alvaro
Email: sagasti@mcdb.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.mcdb.ucla.edu/Research/Sagasti/
Address: BSRB 450B MCDB Department, UCLA 610 Charles E. Young Drive S Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606
Country: United States
Phone: 3102066147
Fax:
Line Designation: la


GENOMIC FEATURES ORIGINATING FROM THIS LAB
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STATEMENT OF RESEARCH INTERESTS
The Sagasti lab studies the morphogenesis of developing skin cells and sensory neurons, which together mediate touch sensation. The skin at early developmental stages consists of two epithelial layers, each with distinct functions and morphologies. Sensory neurons project elaborately branched cellular processes called peripheral axons into the territory between the two skin layers to detect touch stimuli. We investigate how each of these cell types adopts its distinct morphological features and how skin cells and neurons influence each other's morphogenesis. To study these questions we use zebrafish embryos and larvae as a model. Because zebrafish eggs are externally fertilized and their embryos are optically clear, cellular behaviors can be imaged in live animals. Transgenic lines allow us to visualize specific cells and subcellular processes, laser-based techniques allow us to damage cells at precise times and places to study repair, and genetic manipulations provide insight into the molecular underpinnings of cell behaviors. By studying basic cellular processes we hope to shed light on how they are impacted by damage and disease.


LAB MEMBERS


ZEBRAFISH PUBLICATIONS OF LAB MEMBERS
Peterman, E., Quitevis, E.J.A., Black, E.C., Horton, E.C., Aelmore, R.L., White, E., Sagasti, A., Rasmussen, J.P. (2023) Zebrafish cutaneous injury models reveal Langerhans cells engulf axonal debris in adult epidermis. Disease models & mechanisms. 16(4):
Rosa, J.B., Nassman, K.Y., Sagasti, A. (2022) Sensory axons induce epithelial lipid microdomain remodeling and determine the distribution of junctions in the epidermis. Molecular biology of the cell. 34(1):ar5
Adula, K.P., Shorey, M., Chauhan, V., Nassman, K., Chen, S.F., Rolls, M.M., Sagasti, A. (2022) The MAP3Ks DLK and LZK direct diverse responses to axon damage in zebrafish peripheral neurons. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 42(32):6195-6210
Shorey, M., Rao, K., Stone, M.C., Mattie, F.J., Sagasti, A., Rolls, M.M. (2021) Microtubule organization of vertebrate sensory neurons in vivo. Developmental Biology. 478:1-12
van Loon, A.P., Erofeev, I.S., Goryachev, A.B., Sagasti, A. (2021) Stochastic contraction of myosin minifilaments drives evolution of microridge protrusion patterns in epithelial cells. Molecular biology of the cell. 32(16):1501-1513
Inaba, Y., Chauhan, V., van Loon, A.P., Choudhury, L.S., Sagasti, A. (2020) Keratins and Plakin family cytolinker proteins control the length of epithelial microridge protrusions. eLIFE. 9:
Feng, C., Thyagarajan, P., Shorey, M., Seebold, D.Y., Weiner, A.T., Albertson, R.M., Rao, K.S., Sagasti, A., Goetschius, D.J., Rolls, M.M. (2019) Patronin-mediated minus end growth is required for dendritic microtubule polarity. The Journal of cell biology. 218(7):2309-2328
Jiang, N., Rasmussen, J.P., Clanton, J.A., Rosenberg, M.F., Luedke, K.P., Cronan, M.R., Parker, E.D., Kim, H.J., Vaughan, J.C., Sagasti, A., Parrish, J.Z. (2019) A conserved morphogenetic mechanism for epidermal ensheathment of nociceptive sensory neurites. eLIFE. 8:
Julien, D.P., Chan, A.W., Barrios, J., Mathiaparanam, J., Douglass, A., Wolman, M.A., Sagasti, A. (2018) Zebrafish expression reporters and mutants reveal that the IgSF cell adhesion molecule Dscamb is required for feeding and survival. Journal of neurogenetics. 32(4):336-352
Rasmussen, J.P., Vo, N.T., Sagasti, A. (2018) Fish Scales Dictate the Pattern of Adult Skin Innervation and Vascularization. Developmental Cell. 46(3):344-359.e4
Madigan, C.A., Cambier, C.J., Kelly-Scumpia, K.M., Scumpia, P.O., Cheng, T.Y., Zailaa, J., Bloom, B.R., Moody, D.B., Smale, S.T., Sagasti, A., Modlin, R.L., Ramakrishnan, L. (2017) A Macrophage Response to Mycobacterium leprae Phenolic Glycolipid Initiates Nerve Damage in Leprosy. Cell. 170:973-985.e10
Rasmussen, J.P., Sagasti, A. (2017) Learning to swim, again: Axon regeneration in fish. Experimental neurology. 287(Pt 3):318-330
Lulla, A., Barnhill, L., Bitan, G., Ivanova, M.I., Nguyen, B., O'Donnell, K., Stahl, M.C., Yamashiro, C., Klärner, F.G., Schrader, T., Sagasti, A., Bronstein, J.M. (2016) Neurotoxicity of the Parkinson's Disease-Associated Pesticide Ziram Is Synuclein-Dependent in Zebrafish Embryos. Environmental health perspectives. 124(11):1766-1775
Vargas, M.E., Yamagishi, Y., Tessier-Lavigne, M., Sagasti, A. (2015) Live Imaging of Calcium Dynamics during Axon Degeneration Reveals Two Functionally Distinct Phases of Calcium Influx. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 35:15026-38
Rasmussen, J.P., Sack, G.S., Martin, S.M., Sagasti, A. (2015) Vertebrate epidermal cells are broad-specificity phagocytes that clear sensory axon debris. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 35:559-70
Julien, D.P., Sagasti, A. (2014) Synaptic Specificity: When the Neighbors Are Away, Sensory Axons Turn Promiscuous. Current biology : CB. 24:R1168-R1170
Chun, R.F., Blatter, E., Elliott, S., Fitz-Gibbon, S., Rieger, S., Sagasti, A., Adams, J.S., Hewison, M. (2014) Cloning of a functional 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1α-hydroxylase in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Cell biochemistry and function. 32(8):675-82
O'Donnell, K.C., Lulla, A., Stahl, M.C., Wheat, N.D., Bronstein, J.M., Sagasti, A. (2014) Axon degeneration and PGC-1alpha-mediated protection in a zebrafish model of alpha-synuclein toxicity. Disease models & mechanisms. 7:571-82
O'Donnell, K.C., Vargas, M.E., and Sagasti, A. (2013) WldS and PGC-1alpha Regulate Mitochondrial Transport and Oxidation State after Axonal Injury. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 33(37):14778-14790
Palanca, A.M., Lee, S.L., Yee, L.E., Joe-Wong, C., Trinh, L.A., Hiroyasu, E., Husain, M., Fraser, S.E., Pellegrini, M., and Sagasti, A. (2013) New transgenic reporters identify somatosensory neuron subtypes in larval zebrafish. Developmental Neurobiology. 73(2):152-167
Palanca, A.M., and Sagasti, A. (2013) Optogenetic Activation of Zebrafish Somatosensory Neurons using ChEF-tdTomato. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE. (71):e50184
Fitzmaurice, A.G., Rhodes, S.L., Lulla, A., Murphy, N.P., Lam, H.A., O'Donnell, K.C., Barnhill, L., Casida, J.E., Cockburn, M., Sagasti, A., Stahl, M.C., Maidment, N.T., Ritz, B., and Bronstein, J.M. (2013) Aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibition as a pathogenic mechanism in Parkinson disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110(2):636-641
Issa, F.A., Mock, A.F., Sagasti, A., and Papazian, D.M. (2012) Spinocerebellar ataxia type 13 mutation associated with disease onset in infancy disrupts axonal pathfinding during neuronal development. Disease models & mechanisms. 5(6):921-929
Villegas, R., Martin, S.M., O'Donnell, K., Carrillo, S., Sagasti, A., and Allende, M.L. (2012) Dynamics of degeneration and regeneration in developing zebrafish peripheral axons reveals a requirement for extrinsic cell types. Neural Development. 7(1):19
Wang, F., Wolfson, S.N., Gharib, A., and Sagasti, A. (2012) LAR Receptor Tyrosine Phosphatases and HSPGs Guide Peripheral Sensory Axons to the Skin. Current biology : CB. 22(5):373-382
O'Brien, G.S., Rieger, S., Wang, F., Smolen, G.A., Gonzalez, R.E., Buchanan, J., and Sagasti, A. (2012) Coordinate development of skin cells and cutaneous sensory axons in zebrafish. The Journal of comparative neurology. 520(4):816-31
Rieger, S., Wang, F., and Sagasti, A. (2011) Time-lapse imaging of neural development: Zebrafish lead the way into the fourth dimension. Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000). 49(7):534-45
Rieger, S., and Sagasti, A. (2011) Hydrogen peroxide promotes injury-induced peripheral sensory axon regeneration in the zebrafish skin. PLoS Biology. 9(5):e1000621
Issa, F.A., O'Brien, G., Kettunen, P., Sagasti, A., Glanzman, D.L., Papazian, D.M. (2011) Neural circuit activity in freely behaving zebrafish (Danio rerio). The Journal of experimental biology. 213(Pt 6):1028-1038
Martin, S.M., O'Brien, G.S., Portera-Cailliau, C., and Sagasti, A. (2010) Wallerian degeneration of zebrafish trigeminal axons in the skin is required for regeneration and developmental pruning. Development (Cambridge, England). 137(23):3985-3994
O'Brien, G.S., Martin, S.M., Söllner, C., Wright, G.J., Becker, C.G., Portera-Cailliau, C., and Sagasti, A. (2009) Developmentally Regulated Impediments to Skin Reinnervation by Injured Peripheral Sensory Axon Terminals. Current biology : CB. 19(24):2086-2090
Sagasti, A., O'Brien, G.S., Rieger, S., Martin, S.M., Cavanaugh, A.M., and Portera-Cailliau, C. (2009) Two-photon axotomy and time-lapse confocal imaging in live zebrafish embryos. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE. (24)
Merchant, S.S., and Sagasti, A. (2006) Precious metal economy. Cell Metabolism. 4(2):99-101
Sagasti, A., Guido, M.R., Raible, D.W., and Schier, A.F. (2005) Repulsive interactions shape the morphologies and functional arrangement of zebrafish peripheral sensory arbors. Current biology : CB. 15(9):804-814