Dr. Irollo promoted to Research Assistant Professor
This month, Dr. Elena Irollo enjoyed two outstanding events. She was promoted to a new position as a Research Assistant Professor in the department, and more importantly, she has tied the knot with her husband. Congratulations, Elena & Jonathan!
Meucci and Gaskill labs publish a collaborative review article
Graphical abstract
Dr. Meucci and her former student Dr. Lindsay Festa collaborated with Dr. Gaskill and his former student Dr. Emily Nickoloff on a new review article discussing how HIV co-receptor signaling can contribute to HIV pathogenesis. The review article starts with a primer on HIV pathogenesis and the chemokine co-receptors that HIV uses to infect cells, and then thoroughly explores the signaling pathways downstream of HIV-activated co-receptors and how these pathways can contribute to HIV neuropathogenesis. The article ends with a discussion of treatment strategies based on targeting HIV co-receptors and their downstream signaling pathways.
The article is titled “Co-receptor signaling in the pathogenesis of neuroHIV” and is open-access and freely available in the journal Retrovirology.
Meucci lab publishes review on neuronal dysfunction in HAND
Simplified pathways that can contribute to dendritic spine deficits in HAND (left) and pathways that counteract these effects (right).
In a new review article published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, Dr. Meucci’s group discusses clinical evidence of disrupted neuronal connectivity in HIV patients and the molecular mechanisms that drive neuronal dysfunction and cognitive impairment in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.
The article is titled “Mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders” and is freely available here. For the PDF version, click here.
Jared Luchetta awarded neuroAIDS fellowship
Jared Luchetta was appointed as a National Research Service Award (NRSA) pre-doctoral fellow on Drexel University’s Interdisciplinary and Translational Research Training Grant in NeuroAIDS. The training grant is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health as part of a long-standing collaboration between Drexel and Temple University investigators.
Congratulations Jared!
Meucci lab publishes book chapter on opioid regulation of neuronal iron homeostasis
The Meucci lab published a book chapter on known and potential 
mechanisms by which µ-opioid agonists regulate neuronal iron homeostasis, a new finding that has implications for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and other neurological disorders. The chapter expands on previous work from our lab showing that morphine regulates iron storage in endolysosomes, and this leads to dendritic spine deficits in cortical neurons. In addition, the chapter covers known and probable molecular mechanisms for morphine regulation of endolysosomal iron stores, implications for other iron-related proteins including amyloid precursor protein (APP), and a new approach to determine if µ-opioid agonists regulate APP expression or processing.
This chapter was published in the second edition of the book “Opioid Receptors”, and an illustration from our chapter inspired the book cover art. The book is a part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series.
The abstract of the book chapter is available here.
Dr. Meucci contributes to article on links between COVID-19 and Parkinson’s disease
In collaboration with 15 researchers, Dr. Meucci contributed to a 
viewpoint article on how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could be linked to Parkinson’s disease and Parkinsonism. The article discusses current knowledge and potential mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 may establish an infection in the brain, how brain infection might lead to clinical manifestations of Parkinsonism, and current clinical reports of movement disorders in COVID-19 patients.
The article is open-access and freely available at NPJ Parkinson’s Disease.
New Meucci lab publication shows that a chemokine can enhance cognitive flexibility
DiI labeling of dendritic spines in the layer II/III prefrontal cortex.
The Meucci lab recently published a new study suggesting that learning and memory problems in patients with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) may be reversible. Using an animal model of HAND, Dr. Lindsay Festa and colleagues showed that treatment with the chemokine CXCL12 improved cognitive flexibility in a set-shifting task and increased dendritic spine density in the layer II/III prefrontal cortex, a critical brain area for flexible problem solving. CXCL12 treatment achieved these effects by activating a molecular signaling cascade via the small GTPase Rac1, which stabilized thin dendritic spines on cortical neurons. The study shows that CXCL12 reverses cognitive impairment in an animal model of HAND, suggesting that new treatments for HAND could exploit the CXCL12/Rac1 pathway in the brain.
This study is open access and freely available at eLIFE.
DUniBo update: “The Outlooking Scientist”
DUniBo, the new collaboration between Drexel University and the University of Bologna, Italy – led by Dr. Olimpia Meucci (DUCOM) and Dr. Renato Brandimarti (UniBo) – received funding from the University of Bologna to launch its first exchange project titled ‘The outlooking scientist’. The grant supports a visit of four graduate students (two from each institution) to their respective academic partner. The Drexel University ambassadors for 2019 (Anthony DiNatale and Julia Farnan, trainees from the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology) returned to Philly on December 5th, 2019. The students from the University of Bologna (Ottavia Tartagni and Claudia Albertini from the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology) will arrive on January 10, 2020. The program will conclude in the Spring of 2020 with a half day workshop – organized and run by the students – focused on the impact of social media on science.
Morphine releases iron from storage: Research summary on Neuronline
Bradley Nash and Olimpia Meucci recently published an article on the Society for Neuroscience website Neuronline breaking down the Meucci lab’s latest research on opioid regulation of neuronal iron metabolism. The article discusses why the lab was looking into opioids effects on iron, the results of our most recent study, and how the insights gained from the study may apply to several different neurological disorders. Neuronline works to promote learning and discussion of neuroscience topics and professional development of people working in the neurosciences.
Read the Neuronline article here and see the original research report published in eNeuro.