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Authors & Affiliations
Saudina Mateus Gomes
Abstract
The cerebellum helps to coordinate both motor and non-motor behaviors. Several studies suggest that the development of the cerebellum is an important process that regulates the onset of a broad range of behaviors. Its dysfunction during development could lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity later in life. The field of neuro-immunology is growing, and immune cells have been described as important modulators of neurodevelopment. We used spectral confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, transcriptomic profiling, bioinformatic pipelines of cell-cell algorithms to analyze the role of myeloid cells in cerebellar neurodevelopment. Our preliminary data in different animal models suggest that myeloid cells play a role in regulating gene expression and cell proliferation in the developing cerebellum, especially in the external granule cell layer. We are investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms in place, and the functional consequences of such regulation. We hope that our work will highlight the importance of neuro-immune communication in regulating neurodevelopmental processes, in health and disease.