Nicolas F. Berbari

Ciliary ARL13B is essential for body weight regulation in mice

This study shows that ciliary ARL13B in the nervous system is essential for body weight regulation in mice, as its disruption leads to obesity and metabolic dysfunction.

Primary cilia and BBS4 are required for postnatal pituitary development

The paper shows that cilia and BBS4 are essential for postnatal pituitary development through Hedgehog signaling.

Physiological Condition Dependent Changes in Ciliary GPCR Localization in the Brain

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.

The hedgehog signaling pathway is expressed in the adult mouse hypothalamus and modulated by fasting

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.

An N-terminal Fusion Allele to Study Melanin Concentrating Hormone Receptor 1

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.

A Bbs5 mouse model reveals pituitary cilia contributions to developmental abnormalities.

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

Spinophilin limits GluN2B-containing NMDAR activity and sequelae associated with excessive hippocampal NMDAR function.

This study shows that spinophilin modulates GluN2B-containing NMDAR activity by affecting phosphorylation, surface expression, and calcium influx, leading to changes in apoptosis and cognitive flexibility.