Alessia Motta

@research.hsr.it

Post-doc in the Molecular Neurobiology Unit, Division of Neuroscience
IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele

Alessia Motta


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https://researchid.co/motta.alessia

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Molecular Medicine, Developmental Biology
5

Scopus Publications

Scopus Publications

  • Motor innervation directs the correct development of the mouse sympathetic nervous system
    Alek G. Erickson, Alessia Motta, Maria Eleni Kastriti, Steven Edwards, Fanny Coulpier, Emy Théoulle, Aliia Murtazina, Irina Poverennaya, Daniel Wies, Jeremy Ganofsky, Giovanni Canu, Francois Lallemend, Piotr Topilko, Saida Hadjab, Kaj Fried, Christiana Ruhrberg, Quenten Schwarz, Valerie Castellani, Dario Bonanomi, Igor Adameyko
    Nature Communications, 2024
    The sympathetic nervous system controls bodily functions including vascular tone, cardiac rhythm, and the “fight-or-flight response”. Sympathetic chain ganglia develop in parallel with preganglionic motor nerves extending from the neural tube, raising the question of whether axon targeting contributes to sympathetic chain formation. Using nerve-selective genetic ablations and lineage tracing in mouse, we reveal that motor nerve-associated Schwann cell precursors (SCPs) contribute sympathetic neurons and satellite glia after the initial seeding of sympathetic ganglia by neural crest. Motor nerve ablation causes mispositioning of SCP-derived sympathoblasts as well as sympathetic chain hypoplasia and fragmentation. Sympathetic neurons in motor-ablated embryos project precociously and abnormally towards dorsal root ganglia, eventually resulting in fusion of sympathetic and sensory ganglia. Cell interaction analysis identifies semaphorins as potential motor nerve-derived signaling molecules regulating sympathoblast positioning and outgrowth. Overall, central innervation functions both as infrastructure and regulatory niche to ensure the integrity of peripheral ganglia morphogenesis.
  • Structured wound angiogenesis instructs mesenchymal barrier compartments in the regenerating nerve
    Ganesh Parameshwar Bhat, Aurora Maurizio, Alessia Motta, Paola Podini, Santo Diprima, Chiara Malpighi, Ilaria Brambilla, Luis Martins, Aurora Badaloni, Daniela Boselli, Francesca Bianchi, Marta Pellegatta, Marco Genua, Renato Ostuni, Ubaldo Del Carro, Carla Taveggia, Stefano de Pretis, Angelo Quattrini, Dario Bonanomi
    Neuron, 2024
  • Motor neurons use push-pull signals to direct vascular remodeling critical for their connectivity
    Luis F. Martins, Ilaria Brambilla, Alessia Motta, Stefano de Pretis, Ganesh Parameshwar Bhat, Aurora Badaloni, Chiara Malpighi, Neal D. Amin, Fumiyasu Imai, Ramiro D. Almeida, Yutaka Yoshida, Samuel L. Pfaff, Dario Bonanomi
    Neuron, 2022
  • Endothelial PlexinD1 signaling instructs spinal cord vascularization and motor neuron development
    José Ricardo Vieira, Bhavin Shah, Sebastian Dupraz, Isidora Paredes, Patricia Himmels, Géza Schermann, Heike Adler, Alessia Motta, Lea Gärtner, Ariadna Navarro-Aragall, Elena Ioannou, Elena Dyukova, Remy Bonnavion, Andreas Fischer, Dario Bonanomi, Frank Bradke, Christiana Ruhrberg, Carmen Ruiz de Almodóvar
    Neuron, 2022
    How the vascular and neural compartment cooperate to achieve such a complex and highly specialized structure as the central nervous system is still unclear. Here, we reveal a crosstalk between motor neurons (MNs) and endothelial cells (ECs), necessary for the coordinated development of MNs. By analyzing cell-to-cell interaction profiles of the mouse developing spinal cord, we uncovered semaphorin 3C (Sema3C) and PlexinD1 as a communication axis between MNs and ECs. Using cell-specific knockout mice and in vitro assays, we demonstrate that removal of Sema3C in MNs, or its receptor PlexinD1 in ECs, results in premature and aberrant vascularization of MN columns. Those vascular defects impair MN axon exit from the spinal cord. Impaired PlexinD1 signaling in ECs also causes MN maturation defects at later stages. This study highlights the importance of a timely and spatially controlled communication between MNs and ECs for proper spinal cord development.
  • Sox2 Acts in Thalamic Neurons to Control the Development of Retina-Thalamus-Cortex Connectivity
    Sara Mercurio, Linda Serra, Alessia Motta, Lorenzo Gesuita, Luisa Sanchez-Arrones, Francesca Inverardi, Benedetta Foglio, Cristiana Barone, Polynikis Kaimakis, Ben Martynoga, Sergio Ottolenghi, Michèle Studer, Francois Guillemot, Carolina Frassoni, Paola Bovolenta, Silvia K. Nicolis
    Iscience, 2019
    Visual system development involves the formation of neuronal projections connecting the retina to the thalamic dorso-lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) and the thalamus to the visual cerebral cortex. Patients carrying mutations in the SOX2 transcription factor gene present severe visual defects, thought to be linked to SOX2 functions in the retina. We show that Sox2 is strongly expressed in mouse postmitotic thalamic projection neurons. Cre-mediated deletion of Sox2 in these neurons causes reduction of the dLGN, abnormal distribution of retino-thalamic and thalamo-cortical projections, and secondary defects in cortical patterning. Reduced expression, in mutants, of Sox2 target genes encoding ephrin-A5 and the serotonin transport molecules SERT and vMAT2 (important for establishment of thalamic connectivity) likely provides a molecular contribution to these defects. These findings unveil thalamic SOX2 function as a novel regulator of visual system development and a plausible additional cause of brain-linked genetic blindness in humans.