Author

Gina M. Leinninger

Michigan State UniversityORCID 0000-0002-4823-4346Unclaimed ORCID profile · follow to get notified of new preprints

Biology Disciplines

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Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Approach:experimental assay· 7 Organism:mouse· 7 Research Focus:cell type annotation· 3 Research Focus:drug response / drug discovery· 2 Research Focus:differential expression· 1 Assay:electronic health records· 1 Assay:spatial transcriptomics· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Raluca Bugescu· 4 shared Andrew D. SteeleiD· 3 shared Fernando GarciaiD· 2 shared Justine T. Wong· 2 shared Lauren M. SloskyiD· 2 shared Renqi WuiD· 2 shared Zoé A. McElligottiD· 2 shared Abigail E. Summerlin· 1 shared

Activity by Year

2021-2026 · peak 4/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 19 mutual co-author links

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4 shared papersNeuroscience

Raluca Bugescu

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Author profile →

7 papers

Recent·Most cited

Biased signaling via NtsR1 restrains food intake and weight gain in obese mice

Jariel Ramirez‐Virella, Katherine Black, Netanya F. Dennis, Raluca Bugescu, Katie Thompson, Steven H Olsen, Lauren M. Slosky, Zoé A. McElligott, Gina M. Leinninger

This study evaluates SBI-553, a biased NTSR1 modulator, showing it reduces food intake and weight regain in obese mice without affecting metabolic parameters.

bioRxiv · Sep 3, 2026 · PreprintPhysiology

Biased signaling at NTSR1 differentially regulates inhibitory synaptic transmission in the extended amygdala and suppresses motivated feeding in mice

Sarah E. Sizer, Alex R. Brown, Josephine K. Anderson, Abigail E. Summerlin, Isabella Girgis, Stephen Y. Yang, Madigan L. Bedard, Steven H. Olson, Lauren M. Slosky, Gina M. Leinninger, Zoé A. McElligott

This study investigates how biased signaling at NTSR1 modulates GABAergic transmission in the extended amygdala and affects feeding behavior in mice.

bioRxiv · Aug 19, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

A Knock-in Ntsr1-Flp Driver Enables Intersectional and Systemic Targeting of Heterogeneous Midbrain Dopamine Circuits

Fernando Garcia, Andrew P. Villa, Justine T. Wong, Renqi Wu, Priscilla Coriano, Lief E. Fenno, Gina M. Leinninger, Andrew D. Steele

The paper develops a knock-in Ntsr1-Flp mouse line for intersectional targeting of midbrain dopamine circuits and demonstrates its utility in distinguishing dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic neurons.

bioRxiv · Jul 6, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Nmur1 and Cckar fail to support functional genetic access in adult dopamine neurons and challenge GPCR atlas assignments

Moueez Shah, Renqi Wu, Qiao Ye, Raluca Bugescu, Andrew Villa, Justine T. Wong, Fernando Garcia, Zhiqun Tan, Xiangmin Xu, Gina M. Leinninger, Andrew D. Steele

The paper shows that proposed GPCR markers for adult dopamine neurons, like Nmur1 and Cckar, lack functional expression and challenge existing atlas assignments.

bioRxiv · May 14, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Mice lacking dopamine production in neurotensin receptor 1 neurons voluntarily undergo time-restricted feeding of high fat diet and resist obesity

Firozeh Farahmand, Michael Sidikpramana, Alyssa R. Gomez, Luis J. Rivera, Jacqueline R. Trzeciak, Sarah Sharif, Qijun Tang, Gina M. Leinninger, Ali D. Güler, Andrew D. Steele

This study shows that mice lacking dopamine production in neurotensin receptor 1 neurons resist obesity on a high fat diet by not increasing daytime eating.

Obesity · Jul 9, 2024Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Hypocretin/orexin neurons encode social discrimination and exhibit a sex-dependent necessity for social interaction

Matthew Dawson, Dylan J. Terstege, Naila F. Jamani, Mio Tsutsui, Dmitrii Pavlov, Raluca Bugescu, Jonathan R. Epp, Gina M. Leinninger, Derya Sargin

This study investigates the role of hypocretin neurons in social behavior using fiber photometry and optogenetics in mice, revealing sex-dependent effects on social interaction.

Cell Reports · Jul 1, 2023Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Depleting Hypothalamic Somatostatinergic Neurons Recapitulates Diabetic Phenotypes in Brain, Bone Marrow, Adipose, and Retina

Chao Huang, Robert F. Rosencrans, Raluca Bugescu, Cristiano Pedrozo Vieira, Ping Hu, Yvonne Adu-Agyeiwaah, Karen L. Gamble, Ana Leda F. Longhini, Patrick Michael Fuller, Gina M. Leinninger, Maria B. Grant

This study shows that reducing hypothalamic somatostatinergic neurons in mice leads to diabetes-like symptoms in multiple tissues without hyperglycemia.

Diabetologia · Aug 24, 2021Peer-reviewedNeuroscience