Sarat Vatsavayai, PhD

Specialist

Fields of Interest

Sarat Vatsavayai received a master of science degree in Human Genetics from Andhra University, India. He then did his doctoral work in the field of Huntington’s disease at the Open University, UK, where he was characterizing a novel mouse model and was trying to find out if DNA repeat instability could modify disease progression. In July 2013, he joined Dr. Seeley’s lab and is studying the molecular basis of C9orf72 mutation in frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Publications

Cryptic splicing in synaptic and membrane excitability genes links TDP-43 loss to neuronal dysfunction.

Guo C, Chen K, Vatsavayai SC, Akiyama T, Zeng Y, Liu C, Sianto O, Yang E, Bombosch J, Powell R, Zhen S, Mekhoubad S, Morrie RD, Miller G, Green EM, Petrucelli L, Seeley WW, Gitler AD

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration targets brain regions linked to expression of recently evolved genes.

Pasquini L, Pereira FL, Seddighi S, Zeng Y, Wei Y, Illán-Gala I, Vatsavayai SC, Friedberg A, Lee AJ, Brown JA, Spina S, Grinberg LT, Sirkis DW, Bonham LW, Yokoyama JS, Boxer AL, Kramer JH, Rosen HJ, Humphrey J, Gitler AD, Miller BL, Pollard KS, Ward ME, Seeley WW

Brain : a journal of neurology

FTLD targets brain regions expressing recently evolved genes.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Loss of TDP-43 function contributes to genomic instability in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Fang M, Deibler SK, Nana AL, Vatsavayai SC, Banday S, Zhou Y, Almeida S, Weiss A, Brown RH, Seeley WW, Gao FB, Green MR

Frontiers in neuroscience

Tuberous sclerosis complex is associated with a novel human tauopathy.

Hwang JL, Perloff OS, Gaus SE, Benitez C, Alquezar C, Cosme CQ, Nana AL, Vatsavayai SC, Ramos EM, Geschwind DH, Miller BL, Kao AW, Seeley WW

Acta neuropathologica

TDP-43 represses cryptic exon inclusion in the FTD-ALS gene UNC13A.

Ma XR, Prudencio M, Koike Y, Vatsavayai SC, Kim G, Harbinski F, Briner A, Rodriguez CM, Guo C, Akiyama T, Schmidt HB, Cummings BB, Wyatt DW, Kurylo K, Miller G, Mekhoubad S, Sallee N, Mekonnen G, Ganser L, Rubien JD, Jansen-West K, Cook CN, Pickles S, Oskarsson B, Graff-Radford NR, Boeve BF, Knopman DS, Petersen RC, Dickson DW, Shorter J, Myong S, Green EM, Seeley WW, Petrucelli L, Gitler AD

Nature

C9orf72-specific phenomena associated with frontotemporal dementia and gastrointestinal symptoms in the absence of TDP-43 aggregation.

Sampognaro PJ, Vatsavayai SC, Cosme CG, Hwang JL, Nolan A, Huang EJ, Seeley WW, De May MG

Acta neuropathologica

C9orf72-FTD/ALS pathogenesis: evidence from human neuropathological studies.

Vatsavayai SC, Nana AL, Yokoyama JS, Seeley WW

Acta neuropathologica

Suppression of C9orf72 RNA repeat-induced neurotoxicity by the ALS-associated RNA-binding protein Zfp106.

Celona B, Dollen JV, Vatsavayai SC, Kashima R, Johnson JR, Tang AA, Hata A, Miller BL, Huang EJ, Krogan NJ, Seeley WW, Black BL

eLife

Neuropathology of dementia.

Eun-Joo Kim, Sarat Vatsavayai, William W. Seeley

Timing and significance of pathological features in C9orf72 expansion-associated frontotemporal dementia.

Vatsavayai SC, Yoon SJ, Gardner RC, Gendron TF, Vargas JN, Trujillo A, Pribadi M, Phillips JJ, Gaus SE, Hixson JD, Garcia PA, Rabinovici GD, Coppola G, Geschwind DH, Petrucelli L, Miller BL, Seeley WW

Brain : a journal of neurology

Dysfunctional Dopaminergic Neurones in Mouse Models of Huntington's Disease: A Role for SK3 Channels.

Dallérac GM, Levasseur G, Vatsavayai SC, Milnerwood AJ, Cummings DM, Kraev I, Huetz C, Evans KA, Walters SW, Rezaie P, Cho Y, Hirst MC, Murphy KP

Neuro-degenerative diseases

B05 CAG profiling in R6/1 89Q indicates early and progressive expansion in critical neuronal populations and expansion and changes in surrounding glial cell populations.

M Hirst, S Vatsavayai, G Dallerac, A Milnerwood, D Cummings, P Rezaie, K Evans, A Stramek, S Walters, K Murphy

Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

B24 Dysfunctional dopaminergic neurones and biphasic activity-dependent dopamine release in mouse models of Huntington's disease.

KPSJ Murphy, GM Dallerac, AJ Milnerwood, DM Cummings, SC Vatsavayai, A Stramek, KA Evans, SW Walters, MC Hirst

Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

Impaired long-term potentiation in the prefrontal cortex of Huntington's disease mouse models: rescue by D1 dopamine receptor activation.

Dallérac GM, Vatsavayai SC, Cummings DM, Milnerwood AJ, Peddie CJ, Evans KA, Walters SW, Rezaie P, Hirst MC, Murphy KP

Neuro-degenerative diseases

Abnormal cortical synaptic plasticity in a mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Cummings DM, Milnerwood AJ, Dallérac GM, Vatsavayai SC, Hirst MC, Murphy KP

Brain research bulletin

Progressive CAG expansion in the brain of a novel R6/1-89Q mouse model of Huntington's disease with delayed phenotypic onset.

Vatsavayai SC, Dallérac GM, Milnerwood AJ, Cummings DM, Rezaie P, Murphy KP, Hirst MC

Brain research bulletin

Aberrant cortical synaptic plasticity and dopaminergic dysfunction in a mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Cummings DM, Milnerwood AJ, Dallérac GM, Waights V, Brown JY, Vatsavayai SC, Hirst MC, Murphy KP

Human molecular genetics

Early development of aberrant synaptic plasticity in a mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Milnerwood AJ, Cummings DM, Dallérac GM, Brown JY, Vatsavayai SC, Hirst MC, Rezaie P, Murphy KP

Human molecular genetics