Embedded Files
TAN Lab publications
TAN Lab publications
(Lab trainees underlined)
R. van Bruggen, K. Manzanet Freyre, S. Vasanthkumar, M. Wang, Q. Tan (2026) Partial Deletion of Cxcl12 from Hippocampal Cajal–Retzius Cells Does Not Disrupt Dentate Gyrus Development or Neurobehaviors. eNeuro. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0245-25.2025
Check out our new paper!
CXCL12 is a signaling molecule known to shape hippocampal development, but which cells matter most has remained unclear. In this study, we show that a specialized group of early-born neurons called Cajal–Retzius cells produce CXCL12 during early postnatal development, but much less so in adulthood. Surprisingly, reducing CXCL12 specifically from these cells did not alter hippocampal structure, neurogenesis, or behavior, suggesting that CXCL12 signaling in the hippocampus is more flexible and redundant than previously thought.
Z.H. Patel, R. van Bruggen, M. Wang, Q. Tan (2025) Capicua regulates the survival of Cajal-Retzius cells in the postnatal hippocampus. Cell Death & Disease. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-025-08206-7
Check out our new paper!
During brain development, many temporary neurons are programmed to die, but how this process is controlled is still not fully understood. We found that loss of the gene CIC allows a normally short-lived group of neurons, called Cajal-Retzius cells, to survive abnormally in the adult hippocampus, and that this prolonged survival is linked to changes in growth-factor signaling, even though it does not noticeably affect behavior or seizure sensitivity.
R. van Bruggen, K. Manzanet Freyre, M. Wang, Q. Tan (2025) Capicua Refines Mossy Fiber–CA3 Axon Targeting in the Late Postnatal Hippocampus. The FASEB Journal. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202403229R
Check out our paper!
Precise brain wiring depends on nerve fibers connecting to the right part of their target cells, but how this precision is maintained as new neurons are added after birth is not well understood. We found that loss of the gene CIC in hippocampal granule neurons disrupts the normal targeting of mossy fiber connections to CA3 neurons later in development and into adulthood, revealing a new role for CIC in maintaining accurate neural circuit organization in the postnatal brain.
M. Wang, R. van Bruggen, L. Mohammed, K. Egor, Q. Tan (2025) Loss of NFIA Impairs Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis. Hippocampus. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.70016
Check out our paper!
The adult brain continues to generate new neurons in the hippocampus, a process that supports learning and memory, but the genetic controls behind it are still being uncovered. We found that the transcription factor NFIA is essential for maintaining adult neural stem cells and producing new hippocampal neurons, and that losing NFIA disrupts this process and specifically impairs contextual memory without broadly affecting behavior.
M. Khan, X.X.L. Chen, M. Dias, J.R. Santos, S. Kour, J. You, R. van Bruggen, M.M.M. Youssef, Y.W. Wan, Z. Liu, J.A. Rosenfeld, Q. Tan, U.B. Pandey, H.K. Yalamanchili and J. Park (2024). MATR3 pathogenic variants differentially impair its cryptic splicing repression function. FEBS Letters 598(4): 415-436.
From our collaborator: Pathogenic variants in MATR3, a risk gene for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), disrupt RNA processing through multiple mechanisms.
G. Eskandari-Sedighi, M. Crichton, S. Zia, E. Gomez-Cardona, L.M. Cortez, Z.H. Patel, K. Takahashi-Yamashiro, C.D. St Laurent, G. Sidhu, S. Sarkar, V. Aghanya, V.L. Sim, Q. Tan, O. Julien, J.R. Plemel and M.S. Macauley (2024). Alzheimer's disease associated isoforms of human CD33 distinctively modulate microglial cell responses in 5XFAD mice. Molecular Neurodegeneration 19(1): 42
From our collaborator: A human CD33 isoform influences pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.
R. van Bruggen, Z.H. Patel, M. Wang, T.R. Suk, M.W.C. Rousseaux, Q. Tan (2023) A Versatile Strategy for Genetic Manipulation of Cajal-Retzius Cells in the Adult Mouse Hippocampus. eNeuro. doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0054-23.2023
Check out our paper!
Cajal–Retzius cells were long thought to disappear after birth, but many persist in the adult hippocampus, where their functions remain poorly understood due to a lack of specific experimental tools. We developed a simple and reliable strategy to selectively target these surviving cells from early postnatal stages into adulthood, enabling precise genetic and activity-based studies of Cajal–Retzius cells in the mature brain.
S. Sharma, B. Hourigan, Z. Patel, J. A. Rosenfeld, K. M. Chan, M. F. Wangler, J. S. Yi, A. Lehman, the CAUSES Study, G. Horvath, P. A. Cloos, Q. Tan (2022) Novel CIC variants identified in individuals with neurodevelopmental phenotypes. Human Mutation.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/humu.24346 (Request of full-text article can be sent to qiumin@ualberta.ca).
Check out our paper!
We describe the genetics and phenotypes of four individuals with CIC pathogenic variants and performed functional studies of some of the variants. Importantly, we identify the first case of a pathogenic variant specific to an isoform of CIC and a second case of pediatric leukemia linked to germline CIC variants.
H. Hong, J. Lee, G.Y. Park, S. Kim, J. Park, J.S. Park, Y. Song, S. Lee, T.J. Kim, Y.J. Lee, T.Y. Roh, S.K. Kwok, S.W. Kim, Q. Tan, Y. Lee, Postnatal regulation of B-1a cell development and survival by the CIC-PER2-BHLHE41 axis, Cell Reports, 38 (2022) 110386.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124722001073
From our collaborator! A new role of CIC in B cell development.
B. Hourigan, S.D. Balay, G. Yee, S. Sharma, Q. Tan, Capicua regulates the development of adult-born neurons in the hippocampus, Scientific Reports, 11 (2021) 11725.
https://rdcu.be/clQSa (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-91168-5)
New neurons are being born everyday in the adult brain (how cool is that!) and capicua plays an important role in this process.
Our paper is also featured in the Guest Editor's Collection "Adult neurogenesis and aging mechanisms". Check it out here.
C.S. Kao, R. van Bruggen, J.R. Kim, X.X.L. Chen, C. Chan, J. Lee, W.I. Cho, M. Zhao, C. Arndt, K. Maksimovic, M. Khan, Q. Tan, M.D. Wilson, J. Park, Selective neuronal degeneration in MATR3 S85C knock-in mouse model of early-stage ALS, Nature Communications, 11 (2020) 5304.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18949-w
From our collaborator! A new genetic mouse model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig's disease.
A. Didonna, E. Canto Puig, Q. Ma, A. Matsunaga, B. Ho, S.J. Caillier, H. Shams, N. Lee, S.L. Hauser, Q. Tan, S.S. Zamvil, J.R. Oksenberg, Ataxin-1 regulates B cell function and the severity of autoimmune experimental encephalomyelitis, PNAS, 117 (2020) 23742-23750.
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/38/23742
From our collaborator! The ataxin 1-capicua protein complex may play a role in multiple sclerosis.
Publications before the tan LAB
Publications before the tan LAB
Q Tan*, HY Zoghbi*. (2019) Mouse models as a tool for discovering new neurological diseases. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (*Co-corresponding authors)
VV Bondar, CJ Adamski, TS Onur, Q Tan, L Wang, J Diaz-Garcia, J Park, HT Orr, J Botas, HY Zoghbi. (2018) PAK1 regulates ATXN1 levels providing an opportunity to modify its toxicity in Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1. Human Molecular Genetics 27 (15): 2863-2873.
Q Tan*, LM Brunetti, MWC Rousseaux, H-C Lu, Y-W Wan, JP Revelli, Z Liu, MA Goodell, HY Zoghbi*. (2018) Loss of Capicua alters early T cell development and predisposes mice to T cell lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A 115 (7) E1511-E1519 (*Co-corresponding authors)
MWC Rousseaux, T Tschumperlin, H-C Lu, EP Lackey, VV Bondar, Y-W Wan, Q Tan, CJ Adamski, J Friedrich, K Twaroski, W Chen, J Tolar, C Henzler, A Sharma, A Bajić, T Lin, L Duvick, RV Sillitoe, HY Zoghbi, HT Orr. (2018) Gain of function of the ATXN1-CIC complex drives cerebellar pathology in Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1. Neuron 97 (6):1235-1243
H-C Lu*, Q Tan*, MWC Rousseaux, J-Y Kim, Y-W Wan, S-Y Yeh, JM Patel, X Liu, Y Lee, JD Fryer, J Han, M Chahrour, RH Finnell, Y Lei, EZ Zurita-Jimenez, P Ahimaz, K Anyane-Yeboa, D Lehalle, N Jean-Marcais, A-L Mosca-Boidron, J Thevenon, MA Cousin, DE Bro, BC Lanpher, EW Klee, N Alexander, MN Bainbridge, HT Orr, Z Liu, CP Schaaf, HY Zoghbi. (2017) Disruption of the ATXN1-CIC complex causes a spectrum of neurobehavioral phenotypes in mice and humans. Nature Genetics 49: 527-536. (*co-first authors)
Q Tan, H Krishna Yalamanchili, J Park, A De Maio, H-C Lu, Y-W Wan, JJ White, VV Bondar, LS Sayegh, X Liu, Y Gao, RV Sillitoe, HT Orr, Z Liu, HY Zoghbi. (2016) Extensive cryptic splicing upon loss of RBM17 and TDP43 in neurodegeneration models. Human Molecular Genetics 25, 5083-5093. Issue cover image.
J Park, I Al-Ramahi, Q Tan, N Mollema, JR Diaz-Garcia, T Gallego-Flores, H-C Lu, S Lagalwar, L Duvick, H Kang, Y Lee, P Jafar-Nejad, LS Sayegh, R Richman, X Liu, Y Gao, CA Shaw, JSC Arthur., HT Orr, TF Westbrook, J Botas, HY Zoghbi. (2013) RAS-MAPK-MSK1 pathway modulates ataxin 1 protein levels and toxicity in SCA1. Nature 498, 325-331.
Page updated
Report abuse