Alessandro Prigione

🌍 Applications are open! The IBRO Exchange Fellowships give early career #neuroscientists to conduct lab visits with several expenses covered during the exchange.

🗓 Apply by 15 Apr: https://ibro.org/grant/exchange-fellowships/

#grant #IBROinAsiaPacific #IBROinUSCanada #IBROinAfrica #IBROinLatAm

Structure and mechanism of the mitochondrial calcium transporter NCLX - Nature Cryogenic electron microscopy structures and functional analyses reveal that NCLX functions as a H+/Ca2+ rather than a Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, and uncover its transport mechanism with implications for the...

NCLX is a mitochondrial proton/calcium exchanger, not a sodium/calcium exchanger as previously thought
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

MiSBIE Study The Mitochondrial Stress, Brain Imaging, and Epigenetics (MiSBIE) study is a NIH-funded research platform allowing investigators to ask deeply interdisciplinary questions around brain-body processes,....

Interested in energy-based thinking around health?
Interested in mitochondria and body-mind processes?

Join us for the 2025 Mitochondrial Stress, Brain Imaging, and Epigenetics (MiSBIE) Symposium on December 12th.

Poster abstract submission open.

www.picardlab.org/misbie

Spatially organized cellular communities shape functional tissue architecture in the pancreas Spatial maps reveal dynamic epithelial-mesenchymal niches shaping pancreatic development and function.

🚨 Check out our new paper is now online in its final version!!!
🎉 👏 Congratulations @alejotorrescano.bsky.social who led the study
+ past & current team @labspagnoli.bsky.social
+ collaborators #VigilanteLab @kingslsm.bsky.social

➡️ doi.org/10.1126/scia...

short 🧵 below & more acknowledgments ⤵️

Diagram illustrating altered neurodevelopment in Huntington’s disease (HD) and proposed early interventions. The top row shows a healthy brain trajectory: wild-type huntingtin (wtHTT) supports normal development from a healthy developing brain to a healthy adult brain. The bottom row shows HD trajectory: presence of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) leads to an aberrant developing brain and later regional brain atrophy. Below, two intervention strategies to preserve developmental compensation are shown: Cell-autonomous approaches target stress response mechanisms (CHCHD2, DRP1, ATM, HSF1, other factors) to preserve mitochondrial health; Non-cell-autonomous approaches support intercellular communication, with compensation by cerebellum, healthy cells, and glial cells.

A new #DMMPerspective from Wenqing Xu & @aleprigio.bsky.social explores increasing evidence of #neurodevelopmental aspects in #HuntingtonsDisease & early interventions that might lead to prevention or delay of the disease pathology

journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...

Thanks for the highlight @dmmjournal.bsky.social

The metabolic engine of cognition: microglia–neuron interactions in health, ageing and disease - Nature Metabolism This Review highlights how metabolic interactions between microglia and neurons shape brain health, and how their disruption in ageing and disease contributes to cognitive decline.

Out now in @natmetabolism.nature.com 🚨

This Review highlights how metabolic interactions between microglia and neurons shape brain health, and how their disruption in ageing as well as in metabolic, neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases contributes to cognitive decline.

Congrats Christian and team!!

An atlas of mitochondrial ATP synthase activity across the lifespan Mitochondrial dysfunction and declining energy production are hallmarks of aging, yet we lack a comprehensive systems-level view of ATP synthase (Comp…

An atlas of mitochondrial ATP synthase activity across the lifespan #mitochondria
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Brain organoid models of Huntington's disease shift the focus towards neurodevelopment Summary: Increasing evidence indicates neurodevelopmental aspects in Huntington's disease. Early interventions promoting healthy brain development and mitochondrial fitness might lead to prevention or...

Our latest perspective is out in Dis Model Mech (@biologist.bsky.social)!
We discuss how brain organoids highlight the impact of Huntington's disease on brain development. We suggest takling mitochondrial fitness early on a as a potential treatment strategy.

doi.org/10.1242/dmm....

Fantastic discovery! Congratulations!

Cool! Congratulations Carmelo and team!!

Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, UN commission of inquiry says The panel finds that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out against Palestinians during the war.

Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, UN commission of inquiry says www.bbc.com/news/article...

Cells are swapping their mitochondria. What does this mean for our health? Researchers are studying why the energy factories are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases.

Researchers are studying why mitochondria are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases

go.nature.com/4fYoEwG

Complex genetic variation in nearly complete human genomes - Nature Using sequencing and haplotype-resolved assembly of 65 diverse human genomes, complex regions including the major histocompatibility complex and centromeres are analysed.

Two papers in today's issue of @nature.com ‬: 1) we assemble 65 genomes to near completion, including centromeres and the MHC. tinyurl.com/3huhax6w. 2) we sequence 1,019 genomes from the 1kGP with long reads, revealing SVs down to low allele frequencies tinyurl.com/wbx3we9x.

Neuronal branching in stem cell models of mitochondrial and neurological diseases Abstract. Neuronal branching, the extension and arborization of neurites, is critical for establishing and maintaining functional neural circuits. Emerging

Our latest review is out in STEM CELLS!
We discuss the role of mitochondria in neuronal branching and how iPSC models in 2D and 3D can be used dissect the impact of neuronal branching defects in mitochondrial disorders.

academic.oup.com/stmcls/advan...

Picture of Alessandro Prigione featuring his photo and a short biography. Alessandro Prigione will be speaking at Euromit congress in 2026 in Angers, France on Wednesday, June 3rd during the session entitled Innovative technologies. Alessandro Prigione is a professor at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany. His group uses patient-derived iPSCs to generate cerebral cells and organoids to study how mitochondrial dysfunction leads to neurological disorders such as Leigh syndrome. He uses advanced stem cell technologies, genome editing, and high-throughput drug screenings to understand disease mechanisms and identify potential therapies.

🎙️ Focus Speakers – Alessandro Prigione

👀 Curious to know who will be speaking at #euromit2026 ?
✨ Today, we’re introducing A. Prigione @aleprigio.bsky.social who will be taking the stage at the congress.
#euromit2026 #MitochondrialDisease #mtDNA #mitochondria #angers
@ua-recherche.bsky.social

Looking forward to Euromit 2026!!

A mitochondrial disease model is generated and corrected using engineered base editors in rat zygotes - Nature Biotechnology A mitochondrial disease is modeled using engineered base editors in rats.

mtDNA editing!

Thank you Antonio! We think it goes through PRKG1 which in turn may act on calcium homeostasis on one hand and on neurite outgrowth on the other. But still it is likely pleiotropic, so more mechanisms could be in place

Pluripotent stem cell-based drug discovery uncovers sildenafil as a treatment for mitochondrial disease Mitochondrial disease encompasses inherited disorders affecting mitochondrial function. A severe and untreatable form of mitochondrial disease is Leigh syndrome (LS) causing psychomotor regression and...

Exciting news! Our most important work is out as preprint!

We suggest sildenafil as a treatment for mitochondrial disease Leigh syndrome, from stem and organoid model to mice and off-label use.

Next step is the clinical trial starting early next year!

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Spatial transcriptomics reveals human cortical layer and area specification - Nature Multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH) together with deep-learning-based nucleus segmentation enabled the construction of a highly detailed and informative spatially resolved single-cell atlas of human fetal cortical development.

Nature research paper: Spatial transcriptomics reveals human cortical layer and area specification

https://go.nature.com/3GUX8Tm

Molecular machineries shaping the mitochondrial inner membrane - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology The inner mitochondrial membrane forms cristae, which are crucial for mitochondrial function. This Review explores the protein complexes that regulate cristae dynamics, including remodelling and fusio...

Molecular machineries shaping the mitochondrial inner membrane

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A human-specific enhancer fine-tunes radial glia potency and corticogenesis - Nature HARE5, a human accelerated region enhancer, modulates cortical development by influencing neural progenitor cell behaviour, leading to an enlarged neocortex with increased functional independence betw...

Thrilled to share our latest study out in @natureportfolio.nature.com led by the fantastically talented Jing Liu. Our study provides insight into a long standing question in biology: What molecular features make us uniquely human and how do these function? www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I'm thrilled to be co-organizing the very first EMBO Workshop bridging mitochondria and brain research - a powerhouse of science, ideas, and amazing speakers! 🧠🔬

📅 registration closes MAY 30th, so don’t wait to snag your spot!

Stay tuned - more updates about the topics and speakers coming soon! 🎙️

Redefining CNS immune privilege - Nature Reviews Immunology In this Perspective, Smyth and Kipnis reappraise the concept of immune privilege in the central nervous system. Although immune privilege was originally thought to involve isolation of the central ner...

Our perspective in @natrevimmunol.nature.com on new concepts in neuroimmune interactions that have challenged the old dogma that immune privilege is a result of the isolation of the nervous and immune systems.

@jonykipnis.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Vascular network-inspired diffusible scaffolds for engineering functional midbrain organoids Guo and colleagues developed vascular network-inspired diffusible (VID) scaffolds for engineering midbrain organoids, providing a versatile technology for organoid development and therapeutic innovation.

Vascular network-inspired diffusible scaffolds for engineering functional midbrain organoids

Stem cells as role models for reprogramming and repair Stem cells are a promising source for cellular therapies across many diseases and tissues. Their inherent ability to differentiate into other cell types has been the focus of investigation over decade...

After decades of research on stem cells and their reprogramming, we're now seeing extensive clinical trial assessment, some with very encouraging results. This is a new @science.org outstanding review of the biology and ongoing research efforts
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Regional differences in progenitor metabolism shape brain growth during development Brain-wide birthdate mapping reveals that while hindbrain neurogenesis is transient, forebrain neurogenesis is temporally sustained through spatiotemporal regulation of progenitor mitochondrial functi...

Great study by @nataliabaumann.bsky.social @djabaudon.bsky.social & collaborators, showing how regional differences in progenitor metabolism shape brain growth during development
@cp-cell.bsky.social

www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Cellular interplay in brain organoids: Connecting cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous mechanisms in neurodevelopmental disease The field of brain organoids has experienced a period of rapid and transformative growth, enabling researchers to investigate complex human biological…

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