Development of an advanced multicellular platform integrated with high-resolution imaging techniques for the study of intercellular cross-talk within the human subventricular niche.

The researcher will be involved in the development and characterization of multi-cell-type models consisting of primary human cultures of neural stem cells, neurons, astrocytes, brain pericytes, and brain endothelial cells. The objective is to define the mechanisms of intercellular communication mediated by tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs), as well as their role in regulating the differentiation fate of neural stem cells.The work will focus on developing co-culture systems capable of recapitulating the physiological hypoxic microenvironment of the embryonic subventricular niche. Within these models, the researcher will analyze the intercellular trafficking of EVs and the communication dynamics mediated by TNTs, integrating these analyses with functional studies on the proliferation and differentiation of human neural stem cells into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes.