Jessica Tollkuhn

Jun 1, 2024 | nature.com | Qingtao Sun |Miriam Ferrer |Melody Wu |Youngkyu Park |Jessica Tollkuhn |Tobias Janowitz

AbstractInterleukin-6 (IL-6) has been long considered a key player in cancer cachexia. It is believed that sustained elevation of IL-6 production during cancer progression causes brain dysfunctions, which ultimately result in cachexia. However, how peripheral IL-6 influences the brain remains poorly understood. Here we show that neurons in the area postrema (AP), a circumventricular structure in the hindbrain, is a critical mediator of IL-6 function in cancer cachexia in male mice.

May 22, 2024 | nature.com | Jessica Tollkuhn

For over 50 years, steroid hormone receptors have been a premiere model system for investigating mechanisms of gene regulation. Steroid hormones such as oestrogens and cortisol are released from endocrine glands into the circulation where they can access cells throughout the body. These hormones can pass through the cell membrane to bind their cognate nuclear receptors, which are transcription factors.

May 15, 2024 | nature.com | Jessica Tollkuhn

NEWS AND VIEWS 15 May 2024 Both parents of oldfield mice care for offspring, whereas in deer mice, mothers usually care for pups. The discovery of a type of adrenal-gland cell that is present in oldfield mice but not in deer mice helps to explain the difference. How does a species evolve its unique repertoire of behaviours? The identification of causal relationships between genes and biological outcomes is a major goal of biology.

May 13, 2023 | biorxiv.org | Jessica Tollkuhn |Katherine Denney |Melody Wu |Soyoun Moon

New Results doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.12.540606 AbstractThe socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) and promiscuous meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) are closely related, but only prairie voles display long-lasting pair bonds, biparental care, and selective aggression towards unfamiliar individuals after pair bonding.