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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

So this preprint opens up many new questions in astrocyte cell biology!

This was a real team effort:
- Postdoc Will Barclay started the project at the NIH
- Postbac Johanna Bergstrom and undergrad Eva Lopez analyzed data
- PhD student Lana Ho contributed imaging data

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

Many distal ends are enriched in GFAP.

We don't know what this means yet - maybe these can become endfeet that contact blood vessels. Astrocyte processes are heterogeneous in vivo (some contact blood vessels, others contact synapses) - like axons vs. dendrites in neurons.

7/x

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

By cryo-ET, we could see a lot of intermediate filaments (IFs). The ratio of IFs:microtubules was very high ~7:1.

Image below shows: IFs (blue), microtubules (green), actin (yellow).

6/x

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

Microtubules in primary processes are highly stable as indicated by:
- Acetylation
- Detyrosination
- MIPs (microtubule inner proteins)
- IF content

5/x

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

And we confirmed this with cryo-ET.

4/x

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

We used live-cell imaging with plus-end binding protein EB3 to determine microtubule polarity in astrocytes for the first time. They are ~88% plus-ends out.

3/x

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

We isolated astrocytes using the immunopanning method. Most images are from cells grown in serum-free media for ~2 weeks... they make beautiful processes!

Microtubules & GFAP dominate in thick long primary processes.

And we see a novel actin structure - reticular webbing!

2/x

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · 1d

Excited to share our preprint on cytoskeletal organization in astrocytes!
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

Postdoc @mewynne759 looked at microtubules, IFs/GFAP & actin along long elaborate processes.

Wonderful to collaborate w postdoc @dharshinigopal & @NogalesLab on cryo-ET 🤓

1/x

https://biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

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Reposted by Meng-meng Fu

American Society for Cell Biology @ascbiology.bsky.social · Aug 4

Meet the 2025 ASCB Award Winners—trailblazing scientists honored for research, mentoring, education, and innovation. Celebrate excellence across all career stages in cell biology. Read more: www.ascb.org/society-news...

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · Jul 12

Wow! Good eye! You’re the only one who spotted the 5th chick 🤓

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · Jul 11

Dang where’s the 5th chick? I could only spot 4 in the picture though there were 6 chicks total.

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · Jul 11

Important work Teddy!

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · Jul 11

Powerful stuff!

Teddy Drivas 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @tdrivas.bsky.social · Jul 11

We’re super grateful to see our work amplified by @sciencenews.bsky.social , which covered our study’s implications for ICU practice, surprise diagnoses, and what must change for genetic testing to help more adults.

📰 Read the feature:
www.science.org/content/arti...

Genetic testing of critically ill adults can yield surprises—and reveal disparities in treatment of Black patients

Adults in the ICU often don’t know about the genetic diagnoses related to their symptoms, DNA sequencing study shows

www.science.org

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · Jul 11

Saw a family of quails! How many do you see?

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Reposted by Meng-meng Fu

Harini Iyer @iyerharini.bsky.social · Jul 8

Deepika Dogra, Karin Tuschl, and I are thrilled to host the Neural Disorders RIG meeting of the @ZDMSociety on July 30, 10:00-11:30 am ET. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers. Register here: zdmsociety.org/2025-zdms-ri....

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Reposted by Meng-meng Fu

Kathrin Leppek @katleppek.bsky.social · Jul 1

This week, we welcome Lana Ho (right), PhD student from @mengmengfu.bsky.social's lab at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social, to our lab to teach us some cool smFISH (in a heatwave) as part of a lab exchange in the @hfspo.bsky.social Early Career Award.

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · Jun 12

Vaults are cool!
What do they do?
We don’t know!

Oli Clarke @olibclarke.bsky.social · Jun 12

1/x New story - the structure of the Vault cap, at 2.3Å! Matching a beautiful preprint from @sjorsscheres.bsky.social, we show that the cap of the vault particle has C13 symmetry, in contrast to the 39-fold symmetry of the body. Study lead by talented postdoc @huanli00.bsky.social from my group! ⬇️

At left, a reconstruction of the vault cap with C39 symmetry imposed; at right, the reconstruction after identifying the correct symmetry, with the three non-equivalent protomers highlighted.

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · May 30

I’m sorry to hear that 😞 I think it’s a simple and reasonable thing to ask for now.

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · May 18

Really beautiful study from Mike & collaborators!

Basic cell biology question: how do axons know how long to grow? Important implications for PNS & CNS injury.

Unexpected link between retrograde signaling & transposon/lncRNA mediated feedback!

Wonderful demonstration of omics use & team science!

Mike Fainzilber @mfainzilber.bsky.social · May 16

A 🧵 to walk those interested through this paper...

Mike Fainzilber @mfainzilber.bsky.social · May 16

Online now at @cp-cell.bsky.social , the culmination of a 12-year effort. 🧵 to follow later this evening

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

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Reposted by Meng-meng Fu

Samara Reck-Peterson @samreckpeterson.bsky.social · May 13

As the incoming Chair of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine, I am looking for a Director of Research. Exciting opportunity for a PhD scientist to shape the future of this new Department! Apply here: jobs.weill.cornell.edu/NY/job/New-Y...

Director of Research, Biochemistry & Biophysics

jobs.weill.cornell.edu

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · May 5

Saw some cool mushrooms on campus today! Near Euclid and Hearst.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathru...

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Reposted by Meng-meng Fu

Dr. Suzanne Le Menestrel @drsl.bsky.social · May 2

The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.

www.spencer.org/grant_types/...

Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program

In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...

www.spencer.org

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Reposted by Meng-meng Fu

Jenny Zhen-Duan, PhD @drjennyzd.bsky.social · Apr 29

My dear health equity peers, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is doubling down on their DEI efforts. 💪🏽 Here’s a grant opportunity tinyurl.com/3pnxhy2d with a rapid response option those whose “health equity research projects have lost federal funding.”

⭐️ Please share ⭐️

Research to Advance Racial and Indigenous Health Equity

We seek to build an actionable body of evidence to construct fair systems that determine resource distribution and support health equity. Deadlines: Rapid Response brief proposal 5/28/25; New Research...

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Meng-meng Fu

Henne lab @hennelab.bsky.social · Apr 7

Important to celebrate trainee victories: excited to have Holly Merta's @hollymerta.bsky.social paper out!

We use TurboID sub-organelle proteomics to map the ER network.

We find calmin/CLMN, an ER-to-actin tether regulating focal adhesions & cell motility.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Spatial proteomics of ER tubules reveals CLMN, an ER-actin tether at focal adhesions that promotes cell migration

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is structurally and functionally diverse, yet how its functions are organized within morphological subdomains is incomp…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Meng-meng Fu @mengmengfu.bsky.social · Apr 6

… We have androgen insensitivity, XY genetically, but may have female external sex characteristics and internally have testes. There's a 5-alpha reductase deficiency that causes changes in testosterone metabolism.”