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Watanabe Lab @JHU

@watanabelab.bsky.social
607 followers 278 following 48 posts

studying “ultrafast” events at synapses with innovative electron microscopy techniques. t.co/fKGNMx2cyo

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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
drmicrosynapse.bsky.social @drmicrosynapse.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
So excited to share this work with the world! 🧠
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Kudos to everyone involved, particularly the first author Renee Pepper - she is on the job market this year, so please look out for her application!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
New preprint alert from the Watanabe lab!! Have you wondered what microglia are surveying with their motile processes? Have you wondered what happens to proteolytic organelles that are stuck in axons? Check this out! Microglia are the garbage man! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Microglia extract neuronal proteolytic organelles via skoupocytosis
Neurons face unique challenges in maintaining protein homeostasis due to their tortuous morphology and extended processes. Proteolytic organelles are typically transported retrogradely towards their s...
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
We are hosting our annual cell biology symposium at the Johns Hopkins DC campus on 4/10/26. We have two fantastic keynote speakers. Excellent opportunities to preset your work and connect! The registration is free and open till 3/8/2016. please rt.
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Here’s a nice article from the @hopkinsmedicine.bsky.social news room, covering the work!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Happy to share our new paper, just published in @cellpress.bsky.social. We show that our zap&freeze approach can be used in human brain tissues to study synaptic membrane dynamics! Our brain is ultrafast after all! nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
OneNeuro Initiative @oneneurojhu.org · 20/08/2025
Johns Hopkins scientists discover how a protein organizes message-carrying "bubbles" in brain synapses—advancing understanding of memory formation and learning. www.oneneurojhu.org/... @watanabelab.bsky.social
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
I am incredibly honored to receive this award! But now that I am behind the computer all day, this really is for the team! Congrats to the Watanabe lab!
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Marine Biological Laboratory @mblscience.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
We're thrilled to announce the largest private gift in our 137-year history: a $25 million unrestricted donation from MBL Whitman Scientist Mark Terasaki. His extraordinary generosity will bolster our renowned research and education programs. 🔬 Learn more: bit.ly/452WL1m
bit.ly
MBL Announces Largest Ever Gift for Its Renowned Biological Education and Research Programs | Marine Biological Laboratory
Cell Biology Researcher Mark Terasaki’s $25 Million Unrestricted Gift Will Support Operations and Infrastructure Contact: Samantha Cummis scummis@mbl.edu; 973.800.4119
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Alexander Groh @grohlex.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
We unrestrained mice to study how they use their whiskers to learn a discrimination task. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A tactile discrimination task to study neuronal dynamics in freely-moving mice - Nature Communications
Task paradigms allowing studies on the core ethological function of the whiskers are lacking. Authors here present a task for freely moving mice that enables the study of how the brain processes touch...
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Nature Neuroscience @natneuro.nature.com · 09/07/2025
Intersectin and endophilin condensates prime synaptic vesicles for release site replenishment @watanabelab.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Intersectin and endophilin condensates prime synaptic vesicles for release site replenishment - Nature Neuroscience
Time-resolved electron microscopy reveals that intersectin-1 and endophilin A1 condensates hold replacement synaptic vesicles close to release sites. Without this, replacement vesicles are unavailable...
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
@ogunmowo.bsky.social led the work with the help from Renee Pepper, Chin Patel (supported by Brady Maher), Annie Ho, and Sumana Raychaudhuri. Congrats to all!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
We sincerely thank our wonderful collaborators, Ben Cooper, Ira Milosevic and Dragomir Milovanovic, and their lab members (Christian Hoffmann, Han Wang, Sindhuja Gowrisankaran, Johanna Idel).
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Speculatively, Itsn1-EndoA1 condensates may be acting like pickering agents, stabilizing the active zone phase and the vesicle cluster phase at rest, and upon calcium influx, enabling the transition of vesicles across different phases. But more work is needed!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
In the absence of Itsn1 or EndoA1, fewer vesicles are available around this region, and consequently, new synaptic vesicles cannot occupy the vacated release sites rapidly and synapses depress faster during the train of stimuli in the mutants.
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Super excited to share that our new study is published @natneuro.nature.com today!! Here we show that intersectin and endophilin form condensates between the active zone and the reserve pool and maintain synaptic vesicles near the active zone for rapid replenishment. rdcu.be/evi5y
STED images showing localization of Intersectin 1 and Synapsin 1 relative to the active zone, marked by Bassoon
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
We wrote a review article on ultrafast endocytosis and its mechanisms and relevance to diseases. Enjoy! pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40062769/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Beyond Clathrin: Decoding the Mechanism of Ultrafast Endocytosis - PubMed
Endocytosis in nonneuronal cells requires gradual recruitment of proteins to endocytic sites for inducing membrane curvature and forming scaffolds around the neck of endocytic pits. This recruitment p...
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
A new preprint alert from the lab!! Evidence for ultrafast endocytosis in inhibitory synapses!! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
A weekend fun with the lab! Welcoming four new members to the lab!!
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Jana Kroll @janakroll.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Excited to share our new preprint "Dynamic nanoscale architecture of synaptic vesicle fusion in mouse hippocampal neurons" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We combine optogenetic stimulation of neurons with in situ cryo-ET to characterize membrane dynamics during synaptic vesicle fusion ❄️🔬⏱️
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
David Perrais @davip-bdx.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
New preprint from the MemTraS team ! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Great collaboration with @fronzeslab.bsky.social and Vladan Lucic to determine the first cryo electron tomography images of dopamine "synapses" extracted from adult mouse brain.
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
another piece, covering our work! Thanks to Laura Tran at the Scientist!! www.the-scientist.com/challenging-...
the-scientist.com
Challenging the Axon’s Classic Shape
Forget the traditional tubular shape—researchers are investigating a pearl-on-a-string formation for axons, unlocking new insights into neural signaling in health and disease.
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Marine Biological Laboratory @mblscience.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
📆Deadline extension alert!📆 The last day to submit applications for the MBL's 2025 Neurobiology course has been moved to February 3. Don't miss your opportunity to apply! Read more: bit.ly/3C2psks #ScienceStartsHere
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
and axons in human brain!? yep, it's pearled!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
This was led by Chelsy_Eddings! assisted by Xiomara McDonald, and wonderful collaboration with David Nauen, Stan William (neurosurgeon), Minghua Fan&Paul Worley, Yuuta Imoto, Kie Itoh, @HopkinsMedicine and Kristina Lippmann&Jens Eilers! Thanks all for their efforts!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
and the mechanism? seems to be conserved! A brain-enriched splice variant of Dynamin 1 is pre-recruited to the endocytic zone, just like we showed in mouse neurons. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35809574/
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
another preprint to end 2024! Wondered how synaptic vesicles are recycled in human brains? and whether you can use human brain tissues to address it? You bet! We used live human brain slices and demonstrated that ultrafast endocytosis does it!! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Here's another article, covering our work!! www.sciencenews.org/article/axon...
sciencenews.org
The message-sending part of neurons may be blobby, not smooth
Axons can be shaped like strings of pearls, research in mice and people show. How that shape may influence brain signaling is not yet clear.
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
OneNeuro Initiative @oneneurojhu.org · 10/12/2024
Study finds axons are not the cylindrical tubes pictured in books but more like pearls on a string. Article Link: www.oneneurojhu.org/2024/12/10/s... “These findings challenge a century of understanding about axon structure,” says lead researcher Shigeki Watanabe, Ph.D. @watanabelab.bsky.social
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Thank you! Those are exact questions we are trying to address rn!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Would be cool to figure out where NaV and KV are located relative to these structures!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Fixation by PFA can affect cytoskeletal elements, protein localization, and membrane architecture and properties. Osmolarity effect cannot be excluded.. so it will be difficult to pinpoint it…
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Marine Biological Laboratory @mblscience.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
This new study, led by Shigeki Watanabe and partially conducted in the MBL’s Neurobiology course, challenges a fundamental tenet in neuroscience about the shape of axons and proposes a new model for understanding how information is transmitted in the brain. #science 🧪 🧠
mbl.edu
A String of Pearls: Study Challenges Long-held Beliefs about Nerve Cell Shape and Function | Marine Biological Laboratory
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- In a provocative new study, scientists challenge a fundamental tenet in neuroscience about the shape of axons -- the long, thin filaments radiating from nerve cells that transmit ...
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
hard to predict since cholesterol contributes to more than just the membrane fluidity... also, lipid saturation levels could be altered... interesting to look at!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Yes, even in C. elegans adults, axons exhibit this morphology. That's where I first noticed this morphology, indeed!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
We also never paid attention to it until recently! Glad you liked it!
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Did we conceive the structure of neurons incorrectly all these years? nature.com/articles/s41... not smooth, cylindrical strands but a string of pearls? it's controversial science.org/content/arti... @science.org
nature.com
Membrane mechanics dictate axonal pearls-on-a-string morphology and function - Nature Neuroscience
Axons have always been assumed to be cylindrical. Using in silico modeling and cryopreservation of tissues, Griswold et al. demonstrate that unmyelinated axons of the mammalian central nervous system ...
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Thanks! and a great point! We discussed this in the paper, but the actin rings are probably not tightly associated with the membrane based on the mechanical measurements taken by several labs.
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
If interested in the course (June 8 – July 21, 2025), please let us know! The application is due January 27, 2025. go.mbl.edu/neuroNeurobi...:
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
importantly, a part of this work was done in the Neurobiology course at MBL, with a student from the course co-authoring the manuscript! A nice cover article from Diana Kenny. www.mbl.edu/news/string-...
mbl.edu
A String of Pearls: Study Challenges Long-held Beliefs about Nerve Cell Shape and Function | Marine Biological Laboratory
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- In a provocative new study, scientists challenge a fundamental tenet in neuroscience about the shape of axons -- the long, thin filaments radiating from nerve cells that transmit ...
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
We certainly hope so
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thank you!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thanks! And yes, will be an important discussion!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thanks!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thanks!! Those processes we look at have presynaptic varicosities along them.
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thank you!!!
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thank you!!
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Reposted by Watanabe Lab @JHU
Christophe 🔬 Leterrier @christlet.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Important article that challenges the classic view of axons as simple tubes. To what extent they fluctuate in diameter is up for debate - see some thoughts in this commentary piece in @science.org. Exciting time for axon scientists!
science.org
Controversial study redraws classical picture of the neuron
Let’s go with: Fine-grained imaging of mouse brain cells suggests “pearling” of axons that researchers think may help with signaling
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Watanabe Lab @JHU @watanabelab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
and a nice cover article from @science.org on our work. www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Controversial study redraws classical picture of the neuron
Let’s go with: Fine-grained imaging of mouse brain cells suggests “pearling” of axons that researchers think may help with signaling
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