Sebastian Jessberger

Guest speaker: Sebastian Jessberger
Professor for Neurosciences
Director Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich.

Title: Molecular and functional heterogeneity of neural stem cells.

Abstract:

Neural stem cells generate new neurons throughout life in distinct regions of the mammalian brain. This process, called adult neurogenesis, is critically involved in certain forms of learning and memory. In addition, failing or altered neurogenesis has been associated with a number of neuro-psychiatric diseases such as major depression and cognitive aging. We aim to characterize the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating neural stem cell activity and behavior on a single cell level. We present new approaches to study the cellular principles underlying life-long neurogenesis using imaging-based tools and single cell molecular profiling. Further, we provide evidence for novel molecular mechanisms governing the neurogenic process in the mammalian brain. Thus, the data presented provide new insights into the cellular principles of hippocampal neurogenesis and identify novel mechanisms regulating the behavior of rodent and human neural stem cells.

Some words on Sebastian:

Sebastian Jessberger is Professor for Neurosciences and Director of the Brain Research Institute at the University of Zurich. He studied Medicine in Hamburg, Germany and carried out his medical thesis at the Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH) in Hamburg. In 2002 he started a joint residency in the laboratory of Gerd Kempermann at the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and the Dept. of Neurology of the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany. As a postdoctoral fellow (2004-2007) in the laboratory of Fred H. Gage at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, USA he continued to work on neural stem cell biology and neurogenesis in the adult brain. From 2007 to 2012 he was Assistant Professor at the ETH Zurich and joined the Brain Research Institute in August 2012. He is a fellow of the MaxnetAging network of the Max Planck Society, received several prizes (e.g., Friedrich Götz prize 2013, Robert Bing prize 2016) and was awarded to join the EMBO Young Investigator program in 2012. He received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2016 and an SNSF Advanced Grant in 2022.

Some words on the lab: Laboratory of Neural Plasticity.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) generate new neurons throughout life in two distinct areas of the mammalian brain. Adult neurogenesis has been implicated in tissue homeostasis, physiologic brain function, and is also associated with a number of neuro-psychiatric diseases, such as cognitive aging and depression. Understanding the mechanisms underlying adult neurogenesis represents a prerequisite for future therapeutic targeting of adult NSCs for endogenous brain repair. Our previous work has identified several pathways/genes that are critically involved in certain steps, from the dividing NSC to the integrating newborn neuron, during the developmental course of adult neurogenesis. Further, we have participated in efforts to characterize the functional role of adult neurogenesis on a behavioral level. Currently, we use novel imaging approaches and a variety of molecular tools to study the molecular and cellular framework of NSC diversity in the mouse and human brain. In addition, our laboratory aims to understand how physiologic and disease-associated alterations of the neurogenic niche are translated into stem cell-associated plastic changes of the adult brain on a cellular and behavioral level.

Recent Key Publications:

• Denoth-Lippuner A, Jaeger BN, Liang T, Chie SE, Royall LN, Buthey K, Machado D, Korobeynyk VI, KruseM, Munz CM, Gerbaulet A, Simons BD, Jessberger S (2021) Visualization of individual cell division history in complex tissues using iCOUNT. Cell Stem Cell 28:1-15
• Bin Imtiaz MK, Jaeger BN, Bottes S, Machado RAC, Vidmar M, Moore DL, Jessberger S (2021) Declining lamin B1 expression mediates age-dependent decreases of hippocampal stem cell activity. Cell Stem Cell 28:967-977
• Denoth-Lippuner A, Jessberger S (2021) Formation and integration of new neurons in the adult hippocampus. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 22:223-236
• Bottes S, Jaeger BN, Pilz GA, Jorg DJ, Cole JD, Kruse M, Harris L, Korobeynyk VI, Mallona I, Helmchen F, Guillemot F, Simons BD, Jessberger S (2021) Long-term self-renewing stem cells in the adult mouse hippocampus identified by intravital imaging. Nature Neurosci 24:225-233
• Bowers M, Liang T, Gonzalez-Bohorquez D, Zocher S, Jaeger BN, Kovacs W, Röhrl C, Cramb K, Winterer J, Kruse M, Dimitrieva S, Overall RW, Wegleiter T, Najmabadi H, Semenkovich CF, Kempermann G, Földy C, Jessberger S (2020) FASN-dependent lipid metabolism links neural stem/progenitor cell activity to learning and memory deficits. Cell Stem Cell 27:89-109
• Pilz GA, Bottes S, Betizeau M, Jörg DJ, Carta S, Simons BD, Helmchen F, Jessberger S (2018) Live imaging
  of neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus. Science 359:658-66