Under Pressure: How Mechanical Forces Influence Structural Plasticity

Host

Rita Cardoso-Figueiredo, Behavior and Metabolism Lab

Venue

Seminar room

Abstract

Activity-dependent structural plasticity is a key feature of nervous system development and function. Despite this, the mechanism by which activity-dependent boutons form in wired neurons remains unclear. Our findings at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction revealed a novel mechanism of presynaptic bouton formation, where membrane blebbing coupled with muscle contraction drive neuronal remodeling. Our data suggests that neurons, muscle, and possibly glia integrate mechanical and biochemical signals to regulate synapse formation upon stimulation. This challenges the conventional view that bouton formation is governed by intrinsic neuronal signaling and instead suggests that external mechanical forces, including contractile forces from muscle, actively contribute to synapse addition. Neurons do not function in isolation—they exist within a mechanically active tissue, continuously exposed to physical forces generated by their own cytoskeleton, neighboring cells, and the extracellular matrix. In our work, we explore how mechanical forces, ECM stiffness and biochemical signaling are coordinated to regulate neuronal growth and remodeling. 

Biography

Rita Teodoro graduated in Applied Chemistry from NOVA University of Lisbon, and was part of the Gulbenkian PhD Program in Biology and Medicine. For her PhD Rita went to the University of California San Francisco to work with Dr. Patrick O’Farrell, where she investigated how nitric oxide promotes survival during hypoxia in Drosophila. She then moved to Harvard Medical School (Boston Children’s Hospital for postdoctoral training with Dr. Thomas Schwarz, studying how neurons and the intracellular trafficking machinery sense synaptic activity to regulate neuronal structure. Currently, Rita Teodoro is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Group Leader of the Neuronal Growth and Plasticity Lab at NOVA Medical School (NMS). Her laboratory studies how neurons and glia integrate 3D information from intrinsic and extrinsic factors to form new synaptic structures.
 

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About CR Colloquia Series

Champalimaud Research (CR) Colloquia Series is a seminar programme organised by the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown to promote the discussion about the most interesting and significant questions in neuroscience and physiology & cancer with appointed speakers by the CR Community.