Thomas M. Durcan

The paper examines how genetic variants in GALC affect the ratio of glucocerebrosidase to galactosylceramidase activity and its association with Parkinson's disease risk.

This study shows that pS129 accumulation in M83 mice leads to structural atrophy, reduced functional connectivity, and hypoactivation in somatosensory areas.

This study shows that USP15 deletion in astrocytes and microglia reduces neuroinflammation and slows synucleinopathy progression in mice, with human data linking USP15 expression to Parkinson's disease risk.

The paper uses imaging to study the spatial distribution of betaII-spectrin in human motor neuron axons, revealing a gap-and-patch pattern in the actin/spectrin membrane skeleton.

The paper shows that extracellular vesicles from HGSNAT-overexpressing cells can rescue MPS IIIC neuron defects by delivering the enzyme to lysosomes.

This study shows that tunable yield stress in biomaterials affects organoid morphogenesis, with optimal yield stress promoting specific developmental features.

This study uses snRNA-seq data from post-mortem Parkinson's disease tissue to identify altered molecular pathways in microglia and astrocytes, showing upregulated protein misfolding responses and downregulated inflammation-related genes.

This study identifies plasma protein biomarkers and mechanistic pathways in Parkinson's disease using deep proteomics and functional genomics.

This study tracks how striatal α-synuclein seeding affects brain networks and cognitive flexibility in marmosets, showing multi-scale reorganization and impaired cognitive flexibility.

This paper develops an automated assay to quantify synuclein aggregate formation in human dopaminergic neurons using pS129-syn as a marker, showing dose- and time-dependent increases with PFFs and genetic factors affecting aggregate formation.

This study shows that N-terminal acetylation of α-synuclein reduces aggregation, uptake, seeding, and toxicity in Parkinson's disease models.

This paper develops a human vocal fold organ-on-chip model to study mucosal responses to particulate matter, finding platform-specific differences in gene expression and barrier function.

This study uses adeno-associated virus to image and analyze 3D morphology and connectivity of neurons and astrocytes in living human midbrain organoids over time.

This study shows that restoring calpastatin activity improves motor neuron function and survival in C9orf72 ALS models by enhancing synaptic proteolysis and NMJ integrity.

The paper describes a high-content imaging assay to screen small molecules that reduce cellular uptake of α-synuclein preformed fibrils in hiPSC-derived cells, identifying compounds that effectively lower intracellular PFF load.

This study identifies how STIP1/HOP interacts with a-Syn to promote toxic oligomer formation in synucleinopathies.

This study integrates iPSC-derived microglia into human midbrain organoids to enhance microglial maturation and inflammatory signaling, revealing altered transcriptional signatures in dopaminergic neurons and astrocytes.

This study shows that Parkin is essential for neuronal differentiation and survival, and small molecule Parkin agonists like FB231 protect dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease models.

This study identifies gut microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles as mediators linking intestinal dysbiosis to neuroimmune activation in Long COVID.

This study shows fibrinogen has opposing effects on human oligodendrocyte lineage cells depending on their maturation stage, inhibiting early differentiation but enhancing myelination in mature cells.

The paper tests a synthetic peptide ACTH(4-7)PGP in MPS III mouse models, showing it improves synaptic function, reduces neuroinflammation, and extends lifespan.

This study shows that SNCA triplication in human midbrain organoids causes early proteostasis disruption and extracellular matrix changes before neurodegeneration.

This study shows that glucosylceramide-induced ectosomes transmit pathogenic α-synuclein between neurons in Parkinson's disease.

This study shows that PINK1 in myeloid cells represses mtDNA release and immune signaling, which contributes to neuronal pathology in Parkinson's disease models.

This study compares four methods of purifying α-synuclein for seed amplification assays, finding that osmotic shock-purified monomer has the lowest aggregation propensity and best inter-batch reproducibility.

This study investigates how LRRK2 kinase activity affects GCase activity in microglia under inflammatory conditions, finding that LRRK2 variants influence GCase response to interferon gamma.

The paper establishes a validated antibody platform for ALS research, identifying high-quality antibodies and revealing protein expression patterns in neurological cell types.

The paper identifies MLN4924 as a compound that improves cell viability in TDP-43 mutant motor neurons by targeting NEDD8-activating enzyme.

This study investigates how alpha-synuclein propagation affects brain atrophy and motor deficits across different genotypes and inoculation sites in mice.

This study shows that reduced NEU1 activity in neurological MPS leads to hypersialylation of brain glycoproteins, contributing to CNS pathology through disrupted synaptogenesis and behavior.