Marija Cvetanovic, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience

E-MAIL: [email protected]
Advising Statement

Research Interests:

Our lab aims to understand how different brain cells and their interactions influence the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. The ultimate goal is to increase knowledge of these disorders and open new avenues for therapeutic approaches.

Selected Publications:

(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

  • Yu D, Zarate N, White A, Coates D, Tsai W, Nanclares C, Cuccu F, Yue JS, Brown TG, Mansky RH, Jiang K, Kim H, Nichols-Meade T, Larson SN, Gundry K, Zhang Y, Tomas-Zapico C, Lucas JJ, Benneyworth M, Öz G, Cvetanovic M, Araque A, Gomez-Pastor R. CK2 alpha prime and alpha-synuclein pathogenic functional interaction mediates synaptic dysregulation in huntington's disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2022 Jun 3;10(1):83
  • Cendelin J, Cvetanovic M, Gandelman M, Hirai H, Orr HT, Pulst SM, Strupp M, Tichanek F, Tuma J, Manto M. Consensus paper: Strengths and weaknesses of animal models of spinocerebellar ataxias and their clinical implications. Cerebellum. 2021 Aug 10. 
  • Asher M, Rosa JG, Cvetanovic M. Mood alterations in mouse models of Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 1. Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 12;11(1):713.
  • Sheeler C, Rosa JG, Borgenheimer E, Mellesmoen A, Rainwater O, Cvetanovic M. Post-symptomatic delivery of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) ameliorates spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) pathogenesis. Cerebellum. 2021 Jun;20(3):420-429.
  • Hamel KA, Cvetanovic M. Cerebellar regional dissection for molecular analysis. J Vis Exp. 2020:Dec 5;(166). doi: 10.3791/61922.
  • Sheeler C, Rosa JG, Ferro A, McAdams B, Borgenheimer E, Cvetanovic M. Glia in neurodegeneration: The housekeeper, the defender and the perpetrator. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Dec 2;21(23):9188.
  • Asher M, Rosa JC, Rainwater O, Duvick L, Bennyworth M, Lai RY, CRC-SCA, Kuo SH, Cvetanovic M. Cerebellar contribution to the cognitive alterations in SCA1: evidence from mouse models. Hum Mol Genet. 2020;29(1):117-131.
  • Ferro A, Sheeler C, Cvetanovic M. Microglial self-recognition STINGs in A-T neurodegeneration. Trends Neurosci. 2019;42(11):753-755.
  • Mellesmoen A, Sheeler C, Ferro A, Rainwater O, Cvetanovic M. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) delays onset of pathogenesis in transgenic mouse model of apinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1). Front Cell Neurosci. 2019 Jan 21;12:509.
  • Ferro A, Sheeler C, Rosa JG, Cvetanovic M. Role of microglia in ataxias. J Mol Biol. 2019;431(9):1792-1804.
  • Kim JH, Lukowicz A, Qu W, Johnson A, Cvetanovic M. Astroglia contribute to the pathogenesis of spinocerebellar ataxia Type 1 (SCA1) in a biphasic, stage-of-disease specific manner. Glia. 2018;66:1972-1987.
  • Ferro A, Qu W, Lukowicz A, Svedberg D, Johnson A, Cvetanovic M. Inhibition of NF-κB signaling in IKKβF/F;LysM Cre mice causes motor deficits but does not alter pathogenesis of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1. PLoS One. 2018 Jul 5;13(7):e0200013.
  • Qu W, Johnson A, Kim JH, Lukowicz A, Svedberg D, Cvetanovic M. Inhibition of colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor early in disease ameliorates motor deficits in SCA1 mice. J Neuroinflammation. 2017;14(1):107.
  • Cvetanovic M, Hu YS, Opal P. Mutant ataxin-1 inhibits neural progenitor cell proliferation in SCA1. Cerebellum. 2017;16:340-347.
  • Stanojlovic M, Pang X, Lin Y, Stone S, Cvetanovic M, Lin W. Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 exacerbates loss of lower motor neurons and axons during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. PLoS One. 2016;11(7):e0160158.
  • Asher M, Johnson A, Zecevic B, Pease D, Cvetanovic M. Ataxin-1 regulates proliferation of hippocampal neural precursors. Neuroscience. 2016;322:54-65.
  • Cvetanovic M, Ingram M, Orr H, Opal P. Early activation of microglia and astrocytes in mouse models of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1. Neuroscience. 2015;289:289-299.
  • Cvetanovic M. Decreased expression of glutamate transporter GLAST in bergmann glia is associated with the loss of Purkinje neurons in the spinocerebellar ataxia type 1.Cerebellum. 2015;14:8-11.
  • Venkatraman A, Hu YS, Didonna A, Cvetanovic M, Krbanjevic A, Bilesimo P, Opal P. The histone deacetylase HDAC3 is essential for Purkinje cell function, potentially complicating the use of HDAC inhibitors in SCA1. Hum Mol Genet. 2014;23:3733-3745.

Current Graduate Students:

Katherine Hamel (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

Carrie Sheeler (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

Alyssa Soles (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

Austin Ferro (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

Former Graduate Students:

Melissa Asher (Masters, University of Minnesota)

cvet