Nurit Ballas

Research Professor
PhD, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

nurit.ballas@stonybrook.edu

Research

My area of expertise is centered on the regulation of gene expression by specific transcription factors during brain development and the implications of their loss on brain functions and the manifestation of neurological disorders. For many years, my lab has been studying the roles of the transcriptional repressor REST in CNS development. REST is a master regulator of a large network of genes involved in the acquisition of neural fate and its dysregulation has been implicated in several neurological disorders. Currently, we focus on the mechanism that underlies Rett syndrome (RTT), a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene. We examine the cellular and molecular mechanism(s) by which the loss of the MeCP2 function manifests as neurological symptoms at a specific developmental stage and the non-cell autonomous effect of glia in the manifestation and rescue of RTT. Our studies have used different mouse models for RTT, and in recent years, we have also established several patient iPSC-based models to investigate the mechanism(s) underlying RTT neuropathology, while specifically focusing on neuron-glia interactions.
 

• Publications

  Sun, J., Osenberg, S., Irwin A, Ma, L-H., Lee, N., Xiang Y., Li, F., Wan., Y-W., Park., I-H., Maletic-Savatic, M., and Ballas, N. (2023) Mutations in the transcriptional regulator MeCP2 severely impact key cellular and molecular signatures of human astrocytes during maturation. Cell Rep. 42, 111942.

  Osenberg S., Karten, A., Charkowick, S., Li, J., Sun, J., Felice, C.A., Kritzer, M., Nguyen, M.V.C., Yu, P., and Ballas, N. (2018) Activity-dependent aberrations in gene expression and alternative splicing in a mouse model of Rett syndrome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 115 E5363-E5372.

  Du, F., Nguyen, M.V.C, Karten, A., Felice, C.A., Mandel, G., and Ballas, N. (2016) Acute and crucial requirement for MeCP2 function upon transition from early to late adult stage of brain maturation. Hum. Molec. Genet. 25, 1690-1702 6 .

  Nguyen, M.V.C, Felice, C.A., Du, F., Covey, M.V., Robinson, J.K., Mandel , G., and Ballas, N. (2013) Oligodendrocyte lineage cells contribute unique features to Rett Syndrome neuropathology. J. Neurosci. 33, 18764-18774 5 .

  Lioy, D. T., Monaghan, C., Hirrlinger, F.K., Bissonnete, J.M., Ballas, N., and Mandel, G. (2011) A role for glia in progression of Rett’s Syndrome. Nature, 475, 497-500.

  Mandel, G., Fiondella, C., Covey, M., Lu, D.D., LoTurco, J.J., and Ballas, N. (2011) REST controls radial migration and temporal neuronal specification during nervous system development. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 108, 16789-96794.

  Ballas, N., Lioy, D.T., Grunseich, C., and Mandel, G. (2009) Non-cell autonomous influence of MeCP2-deficient glia on neuronal dendritic morphology: a cellular model for Rett Syndrome. Nat. Neurosci. 12, 311-317 4 .