Zebrafish as a Window into Complex Systems: From Cardiometabolic Circuits to Behavioral Flexibility

Title: Decoding Systemic Neuro-Immune Circuits in Cardiometabolic Disease

Speaker: Dr. Suphansa Sawamiphak

Abstract:

The regenerative capacity of tissues and their susceptibility to pathological remodelling are not dictated solely by local cellular mechanics. Instead, tissue plasticity is governed by highly integrated networks linking systemic neuro-immune and metabolic circuits. This seminar presents a multi-scale systems biology approach to decoding these higher-order physiological interactions, leveraging the in vivo capabilities of zebrafish combined with single-cell transcriptomics and cross-species validation.

First, I will detail our recent characterization of a systemic gut-brain-heart axis, demonstrating how microbial dyshomeostasis hyperactivates central sympathetic outflow to drive hypertensive cardiac remodelling. Next, I will explore how this systemic sympathetic tone is locally interpreted by the immune system to regulate fibrosis. Furthermore, I will present our latest findings revealing how systemic metabolic stress corrupts this neuro-immune crosstalk to impair cardiac tissue self-renewal, and how this translates into adverse remodelling in human cardiometabolic disease.

Building on these findings, I will discuss how mechanical and metabolic signals converge to dictate whether a tissue successfully regenerates or forms a fibrotic scar. Finally, I will briefly highlight our ongoing efforts to translate these in vivo paradigms into human 3D hiPSC-derived models to further dissect these complex biophysical interactions.
 

Title: Neuronal circuits for neuromodulation and behavioral flexibility

Speaker: Dr. Alessandro Filosa

Abstract: 

Surviving in dynamic environments requires organisms to continuously adapt their behavior based on external sensory information and internal states, such as physiological needs and emotions. While the circuits governing these processes are essential for survival, their dysregulation is a primary driver of psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. This talk highlights recent insights from our research group into the molecular and circuit mechanisms underlying behavioral flexibility. By exploiting the optical transparency and genetic tractability of larval zebrafish, we bridge different scales of neuroscience, linking molecular signaling and subcellular events directly to the large-scale network dynamics that drive neuromodulation.