Welcome to AstroMiRimage
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JANOSCH HELLER
I am a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow in the Physiology & Medical Physics Department at RCSI as well as FutureNeuro. My research focuses on elucidating local translation in astrocyte processes in the healthy brain and in epilepsy. To do so, I use super-resolution microscopy to visualize microRNAs and locally produced proteins in astrocytes. As a novel strategy that could benefit patients with drug-resistant, refractory epilepsy, I target candidate microRNAs to influence astrocyte morphology, and increase local translation of neurotransmitter and ion channels in astrocytic processes. This allows the clearing of excess glutamate and potassium from the synaptic cleft and hence prevents synchronous neuronal discharges that generate seizures.
Prior to joining FutureNeuro, I worked as a Research Associate at University College London, UK with Prof Dmitri Rusakov, using super-resolution microscopy to image astrocyte processes surrounding excitatory synapses.
I have a Diplom in Biology from University of Cologne, Germany and a PhD in Clinical Neurosciences from University of Cambridge, UK.
PUBLICATIONS
24. Campbell A, Morris G, Heller JP, Langa E, Brindley E, Worm J, Jensen MA, Miller MT, Henshall DC and Reschke CR. Antagomir-mediated suppression of microRNA-134 reduces kainic acid-induced seizures in immature mice. Sci Rep 11(340):1-12. DOI:10.1038/s41598-020-79350-7
23. Michaluk P, Heller J and Rusakov DA (2020) Rapid cellular dynamics of astroglial glutamate transporters. bioRXiv DOI:10.1101/2020.11.08.373233
22. Heller JP*, Heintz TG, Kwok JCF, Martin KR* and Fawcett JW* (2020) Immunochemical analysis of the integrin expression in retinal pigment epithelial cells. bioRXiv DOI:10.1101/2020.06.26.133553
21. Henneberger C, Bard L, Panatier A, Reynolds JP, Kopach O, Medvedev NI, Minge D, Herde MK, Anders S, Kraev I, Heller JP, Rama S, Zheng K, Jensen TP, Sanchez-Romero I, Jackson C, Janovjak H, Ottersen O-P, Nagelhus E-A, Oliet SHR, Stewart MG, Nagerl UV and Rusakov DA (2020) LTP induction boosts glutamate spillover by driving withdrawal of astroglia. Neuron 108:1-18. DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2020.08.030 - cited 3 times
20. Venø MT, Reschke CR, Morris G, Connolly NMC, Su J, Yan Y, Engel T, Jimenez-Mateos EM, Harder LM, Pultz D, Haunsberger SJ, Pal A, Heller JP, Campbell A, Langa E, Brennan GP, Conboy K, Richardson A, Norwood BA, Costard LS, Neubert V, Del Gallo F, Salvetti B, Vangoor VR, Sanz Rodriguez A, Muilu J, Fabene PF, Pasterkamp RJ, Prehn JHM, Schorge S, Andersen JS, Rosenow F, Bauer S, Kjems J and Henshall DC (2020) A systems approach delivers a functional microRNA catalog and expanded targets for seizure suppression in temporal lobe epilepsy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117(27):15977-88. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1919313117 - cited 2 times
19. Heller JP*, Reynolds JP and Rusakov DA* (2020) Multi-colour super-resolution microscopy to reveal the ultra-structure of astrocytes. Neuromethods 155:15-35. DOI:10.1007/978-1-0716-0691-9_2
18. Heller JP*, Odii T, Zheng K and Rusakov DA* (2020) Imaging tripartite synapses using super-resolution microscopy. Methods 174:81-90. DOI:10.1016/j.ymeth.2019.05.024 - cited 6 times
17. Haq N, Schmidt-Hieber C, Sialana FJ, Ciani L, Heller JP, Stewart M, Bentley L, Wells S, Rodenburg R, Nolan P, Forsythe E, Wu M, Salinas P, Lubec G, Häusser M, Beales P and Christou-Savina S (2019) Loss of Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins causes synaptic aberrations in principal neurons. PLoS Biol 17(9): e3000414. DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000414 - cited 5 times
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16. Heller JP* and Rusakov DA* (2019) A method to visualize the nanoscopic morphology of astrocytes in vitro and in situ. Methods Mol Biol 1938:69-84. DOI:10.1007/978-1-4939-9068-9_5
15. Lieb A, Qiu Y, Dixon CL, Heller JP, Walker MC, Schorge S and Kullmann DM (2018) Biochemical autoregulatory gene therapy for focal epilepsy. Nat Med 24(9):1324-29. DOI:10.1038/s41591-018-0103-x
14. Heller JP* and Rusakov DA* (2017) The nanoworld of the tripartite synapse: Insights from super-resolution microscopy. Front Cell Neurosci 11(374). DOI:10.3389/fncel.2017.00374
13. Heller JP*, Sugao K, and Rusakov DA* (2017) Exploring nanoscale organisation of synapses with super-resolution microscopy. Opera Med Physiol 3(2):48-58. DOI:10.20388/omp2017.002.0045
12. Heller JP*, Michaluk P, Sugao K and Rusakov DA* (2017) Probing nano-organization of astroglia with multi-color super-resolution microscopy. J Neurosci Res 95(11):2159-71. DOI:10.1002/jnr.24026
11. Heller JP, Kwok JCF, Vecino E, Martin KR and Fawcett JW (2015) A method for the isolation and culture of adult rat retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to study retinal diseases. Front Cell Neurosci 9(449). DOI:10.3389/fncel.2015.00449
10. Vecino E, Heller JP, Veiga-Crespo P, Martin KR and Fawcett JW (2015) Influence of extracellular matrix components on the expression of integrins and regeneration of adult retinal ganglion cells. PLoS One 10(5):e0125250. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0125250
09. Heller JP* and Rusakov DA* (2015) Morphological plasticity of astroglia: Understanding synaptic microenvironment. Glia 63(12):2133‑51. DOI:10.1002/glia.22821
08. Tan CL, Kwok JCF, Heller JPD, Zhao R, Eva R and Fawcett JW (2015) Full length talin stimulates integrin activation and axon regeneration. Mol Cell Neurosci 68:1-8. DOI:10.1016/j.mcn.2015.03.011
07. White AJR, Heller JP, Leung J, Tassoni A and Martin KR (2015) Retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection by an angiotensin II blocker in an ex vivo retinal explant model. J Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone Syst 16(4):1193-201. DOI:10.1177/1470320314566018
06. Heintz TG, Heller JP, Zhao R, Caceres A, Eva R and Fawcett JW (2014) Kinesin KIF4A transports integrin β1 in developing axons of cortical neurons. Mol Cell Neurosci 63:60-71. DOI:10.1016/j.mcn.2014.09.003
05. Heller JP and Martin KR (2014) Enhancing RPE cell-based therapy outcomes for AMD: the role of Bruch’s membrane. Transl Vis Sci Technol 3(4):4. DOI:10.1167/tvst.3.4.4
04. Johnson TV, Dekorver NW, Levasseur VA, Osborne A, Tassoni A, Lorber B, Heller JP, Villasmil R, Bull ND, Martin KR and Tomarev SI (2014) Identification of retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection conferred by platelet-derived growth factor through analysis of the mesenchymal stem cell secretome. Brain 137(Pt2):503-19. DOI:10.1093/brain/awt292
03. Kwok JC, Heller JP, Zhao R and Fawcett JW (2014) Targeting inhibitory chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans to promote plasticity after injury. Methods Mol Biol 1162:127-38. DOI:10.1007/978-1-4939-0777-9_10
02. Kwok JCF, Tan CL, Wang D, Heller J, Fawcett JW (2011) Chondroitin sulfates in axon regeneration and plasticity. Trends Glycosci Glycotechnol 23(133):201-11. DOI:10.4052/tigg.23.201
01. Calamai M, Specht CG, Heller J, Alcor D, Machado P, Vannier C and Triller A (2009) Gephyrin oligomerization controls GlyR mobility and synaptic clustering. J Neurosci 29(24):7639-48. DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5711-08.2009
* = corresponding authors
