Staci E. Engle

The paper investigates how physiological conditions like feeding, obesity, and circadian rhythm affect ciliary GPCR localization and cilia dynamics in the brain using MCHR1 and NPY2R as models.

This study shows hedgehog pathway genes are expressed in adult mouse hypothalamic neurons involved in feeding and that pathway activity is transcriptionally regulated by fasting.

The paper develops a strategy to fluorescently tag MCHR1, a ciliary GPCR, in vivo using CRISPR/Cas9, revealing its localization to neuronal cilia and identifying a new knockout line with altered synaptic strength.

This study creates Bbs5 mouse models to investigate ciliary function, revealing developmental origins of specific BBS phenotypes like pituitary anomalies and infertility.