It finally happend on January 16th 2014! The key experiments from my PhD at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge have been published in the prestigous journal Cell. The paper is called: Neuronal Control of Metabolism through Nutrient-Dependent Modulation of Tracheal Branching. Please find the graphical abstract and the abstract text below.

Cell graphical abstract

Neuronal Control of Metabolism through Nutrient-Dependent Modulation of Tracheal Branching

Summary

During adaptive angiogenesis, a key process in the etiology and treatment of cancer and obesity, the vasculature changes to meet the metabolic needs of its target tissues. Although the cues governing vascular remodeling are not fully understood, target-derived signals are generally believed to underlie this process. Here, we identify an alternative mechanism by characterizing the previously unrecognized nutrient-dependent plasticity of the Drosophila tracheal system: a network of oxygen-delivering tubules developmentally akin to mammalian blood vessels. We find that this plasticity, particularly prominent in the intestine, drives—rather than responds to—metabolic change. Mechanistically, it is regulated by distinct populations of nutrient- and oxygen-responsive neurons that, through delivery of both local and systemic insulin- and VIP-like neuropeptides, sculpt the growth of specific tracheal subsets. Thus, we describe a novel mechanism by which nutritional cues modulate neuronal activity to give rise to organ-specific, long-lasting changes in vascular architecture.

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