Juan Reyes

Principal Research Engineer

About me

I received my PhD in Neuroscience from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine where I focused on the post-translational modifications of Tau and their role in self-aggregation in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurogenerative conditions known as non-AD tauopathies.

Given my keen interest in neuroscience and the spreading of hallmark pathology associated with neurodegeneration, I pursued a post-doctoral position at Lund University (Sweden) and then at the Swiss Institute of technology (EPFL), where I focused on the mechanisms of alpha-synuclein transmission in cellular and animal models of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a related synucleinopathy.

Currently, I am a Senior Research Fellow focusing on the role of cellular connectivity and the spreading of hallmark pathology associated with PD and AD. Our recent work identified a novel molecular mechanism involving the gap junction proteins, the connexins (Cx), in the transmission of alpha-synuclein pathology both in neurons and oligodendrocytes, cell types vulnerable to alpha-synuclein accumulation in PD and MSA, respectively, (Reyes et al., Acta Neuropathologica, 2019).

It is now widely established that aside from the brain, alpha-synuclein accumulation also appears in multiple peripheral tissues in PD. Consistent with these findings, we recently identified alpha-synuclein accumulation in PD and observed a time dependent accumulation of alpha-synuclein pathology in the liver in multiple animal models of PD and MSA, suggesting a potential liver involvement in the clearance of PD associated pathology (Reyes et al., Acta Neuropathologica Comm. 2021).

News

A newly discovered mechanism reveals how Parkinson’s disease can spread

Tiny channels between nerve cells are involved in a newly discovered mechanism of how Parkinson’s disease can spread throughout the brain. Harmful protein aggregates can “hitch a lift” with channel-forming proteins, and spread to healthy cells.

Publications

Carla Azevedo, Gabriel Teku, Yuriy Pomeshchik, Juan F. Reyes, Margarita Chumarina, Kaspar Russ, Ekaterina Svachenko, Anna Hammarberg, Nuno Jorge Lamas, Anna Collin, Stefano Goldwurm, Gunnar K. Gouras, Oxana Klementieva, Martin Hallbeck, Ricardo Taipa, Mauno Vihinen, Laurent Roybon^1,#,*Transcriptomic analysis of Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy patient-derived oligodendrocytes reveals changes in maturation and immune reactive properties linked to alpha-synuclein. PNAS. 119 (12) 2023
Reyes J.F., S. Ermark-Lewen S., Perdiki M., Klingstedt T., Hoffmann A., Nilsson P., Winkler J., Alafuzoff I., Ingelsson M. and Hallbeck M. Accumulation of brain-derived alpha-synuclein in hepatocytes - a potential feature in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. Acta Neuropathologica Comm. 2021.
Serge Moudio, Fredrik Rodin, Nazira Albargothy, , Urban Karlsson, Juan F. Reyes, and Martin Hallbeck¹, Modeling α-Synuclein in organotypic slice cultures, the ESOS model. Front Neurol.Feb 16; 13:826102. 2022
Juan F. Reyes¹^*, Christopher Sackmann¹, Alana Hoffman², Per Sveningsson³, Jüergen Winkler², Martin Ingelsson⁴, Martin Hallbeck¹. Direct binding of α-syn oligomers to Cx32 facilitates protein uptake and transfer in neurons and oligodendrocytes. Acta Neuropathologica. 2019.
Juan F. Reyes¹^*, Anna Ansell-Schultz*, My Samuelsson¹ and Martin Hallbeck. Reduced retromer function decreases oAβ recycling resulting in protein accumulation in a co-culture model system. Molecular and cellular Neuroscience, 93:18-26, 2018
Zalis C. Marina, Reyes Juan F., Augustsson Per, Holmqvist Staffan, Roybon Laurent, Laurel Thomas, Dierborg Tomas. Label-free concentration of viable neurons, hESC and cancer cells by means of Acoustophoresis. Ingr Biol., 8, (3), 332–340, 2016
Boza-Serrano A, Reyes JF, Rey NL, Leffler H, Bousset L, Nilsson U, Brundin P, Venero J, Burguillos M, Deierborg T. The role of Galectin-3 in alpha-synuclein-induced microglial activation. Acta Neuropathol commun. Nov 12;2(1):156, 2014
Juan F Reyes, Tomas Olsson, Jennifer Lamberts, Michael Devine, Tilo Kunath and Patrik Brundin: A Cellular Model System to Monitor alpha-synuclein Cell-to-Cell Transfer. Neurobiology of disease. July 16, 2014
Juan F Reyes, Nolwen L Rey, Luc Bousset, Ronald Melki, Patrik Brundin*, Elodie Angot*. Alpha-synuclein transfer from neurons to oligodendrocytes. Glia. Mar;62(3):387-98. 2014
Juan F Reyes, Nolwen L Rey and Elodie Angot. Transmission of tau pathology induced by tau pre-formed filaments. The Journal of Neuroscience. Apr 17;33(16):6707-8. 2013
Juan F. Reyes*, Christopher J.R. Dunning*, Jennifer A. Steiner, Patrik Brundin. Can Parkinson’s Disease Pathology be Propagated from One Neuron to Another? Progress in neurobiology, 2012 May;97(2):205-19
Juan F. Reyes, Changiz Geula and Lester I. Binder. Tau Tyrosine Nitration in non-AD Tauopathies. Acta Neuropathol. Jan;123(1):119-32, 2012
Patterson KR, Remmers C, Fu Y, Brooker S, Kanaan NM, Vana L, Ward S, Reyes J F, Philibert K, Glucksman MJ, Binder LI, Characterization of prefibrillar tau oligomers in vitro and in Alzheimer’s disease. J Biol Chem. 26:23063-76. 2011
Juan F. Reyes, Yifan Fu, Nicholas Kanaan, Changiz Geula and Lester I Binder. Tau Susceptibility to Tyrosine Nitration within the Proline Rich Region: Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Tauopathies. Am J Pathol. May;178(5):2275-85, 2011
Juan F. Reyes, Karen Stone, Jeanie Ramos, and Andrew Maselli. Formation of Hirano Bodies After Inducible Expression of a Modified Form of an Actin-Cross-linking Protein. Eukaryot Cell. Jun;8(6):852-7, 2009
Juan F. Reyes, Matthew R. Reynolds, Peleg Horowittz, Yifan Fu, Angela L. Guillozet-Bongaarts, Robert W. Berry and Lester I Binder. A possible Link Between Tau Nitration and Astrocyte Activation in Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurobiology of Disease. 31, 198-208, 2008
Matthew R. Reynolds, Juan F. Reyes, Yifan Fu, Eileen H. Bigio, Angela L. Guillozet-Bongaarts, Robert W. Berry and Lester I Binder. Tau Nitration Occurs at Tyrosine 29 in the Fibrillar Lesions of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Tauopathies. Journal of Neuroscience; 26: 10636 – 10645, 2006
Sharp M., Reyes F. Juan, Verma M., Buhse H. Jr. The effects of para-fluoro-L-phenylalanine on the effects of differentiation on the polymorphic ciliate Tetrahymena vorax. Illinois State Academy of Science (ISAS), vol. 97 #1. 2004

Organisation

The Division of Cell and Neurobiology (CNB)

The Division of Cell and Neurobiology is a dynamic and innovative environment where we conduct research and teaching on both the structure and function of various cells as well as the nervous system and sensory organs.

Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV)

What characterizes the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV) is the wide breadth of research and education. BKV is one of the largest departments at LiU with affiliation mainly to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Studenthuset on Campus Valla in Linköping

About LiU

Linköping University, LiU, offers innovative education and boundary-crossing research. The students are among the most desirable in the labour market and international rankings consistently place LiU as a leading global university.