Berta Alsina

Group website

Research Outline

We are interested in the regulation of cell renewal, tissue remodelling and cell fate acquisition during inner ear development to understand the signals and cellular events that lead to the senses of hearing and balance. Which signals and cellular events allow the precise pattern of sensory neurons and hair cells in the organ, are those re-used during regeneration? How is cell signalling coupled with morphogenesis? How specific mutations cause hearing loss?

We combine high-resolution imaging technologies with genetic (transgenesis, CRISPR), pharmacological and mechanical perturbations in zebrafish and human inner organoids to investigate gene regulation, dynamical cellular and molecular changes over tissues and to manipulate them.

 

Research Lines

1- Studying inner ear neuronal cell behaviors to understand the development of the statoacoustic ganglion (SAG)

 

Through single-cell labelling and cell tracking methods, we have characterized the migratory behaviours of delaminating otic neuronal progenitors in vivo and identified a group of pioneer cells in the SAG. We are currently investigating their role in neuroblast recruitment and axogenesis by laser cell ablation studies and neurotrophin receptor inhibition. 

 

2- Deciphering the role of pioneer factors and terminal selectors in neuronal differentiation

 

We study the chromatin landscape dynamics during otic sensory neuron differentiation through ATAC-seq and RNA-seq. By crispr we are generating a collection of reporter lines to map the expression of homeodomain transcription factors in the SAG and study their role in terminal differentiation of sensory neurons in KO zebrafish embryos.

 

3- CRISPRa and CRISPRi technologies to regulate gene expression in human inner ear organoids and revert hearing loss 

 

We are currently generating human inner ear organoids to assess the use of the CRISPRa technology to revert regulatory variants causing deafness in humans. We will also identify novel inner ear enhancers by using the CRISPRi technology.

 

 

Team during 2019-20

​

PhD students: Aitor Bañon, Manuel Blanco, Nerea Montedeoca

 

Technicians: Laia Subirana, Marta Linares

 

Selected publications 

1-  Alsina B. (2020). Cell specification in vertebrate sensory organs and cranial ganglia. Current Opin Cell Biol. 67:79-85. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2020.08.006.

 

2-  Taberner L. Bañón A, Alsina B. (2020). Sensory neuroblast quiescence depends on vascular cytoneme contacts and sensory neuronal differentiation requires initiation of blood flow. Cell Reports 32 (2), 107903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107903

 

Other relevant information 

- Invited Speaker to the 43rd Meeting Annual Sociedad Española de Biologia Molecular, 2020. Postponed to 2021.

 

- Invited speaker to EMBO Workshop “Long-distance cell-cell signalling in development and disease” for 2020. Postponed to September 2021. 

 

 

Arborization tree of a zebrafish otic sensory neuron.