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Ruslan Rust

Assistant Professor of Research Physiology and Neuroscience

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Overview

Ruslan Rust, PhD, holds the position of Assistant Professor of Research in Physiology and Neuroscience at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute in the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

A central focus of his research is to overcome existing limitations in cell therapies for stroke and neurodegeneration by utilizing advanced genetic, molecular, and computational tools. As a cell source, he uses different induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cells, including pericytes and neural stem cells (NSCs). The transplants are gene-edited to improve graft delivery to the injured tissue, immunocompatibility to the host, and safety. The efficacy of these optimized cell therapies is assessed through a comprehensive experimental pipeline, consisting of in vivo imaging, deep learning-based behavioral profiling, and single-cell omics technologies. The insights gained from this research may contribute to advancing cell therapy for brain injuries and neurodegeneration closer to clinical application.

Publications

  • Dataset on stroke infarct volume in rodents: A comparison of MRI and histological methods Data Brief. 2024 Apr; 53:110188. . View in PubMed
  • Beneath the radar: immune-evasive cell sources for stroke therapy Trends Mol Med. 2024 Mar; 30(3):223-238. . View in PubMed
  • Science around the world Trends Mol Med. 2024 Feb 23. . View in PubMed
  • A toolkit for stroke infarct volume estimation in rodents Neuroimage. 2024 Feb 15; 287:120518. . View in PubMed
  • Stem Cell Therapy for Repair of the Injured Brain: Five Principles Neuroscientist. 2024 Feb; 30(1):10-16. . View in PubMed
  • Nogo-A is secreted in extracellular vesicles, occurs in blood and can influence vascular permeability J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2023 Nov 24; 271678X231216270. . View in PubMed
  • Rebooting disruptive science: Exploring the challenges and potential solutions Eur J Clin Invest. 2023 Aug; 53(8):e13988. . View in PubMed
  • Ischemic stroke-related gene expression profiles across species: a meta-analysis J Inflamm (Lond). 2023 Jun 19; 20(1):21. . View in PubMed
  • Selenium mediates exercise-induced adult neurogenesis and reverses learning deficits induced by hippocampal injury and aging Cell Metab. 2023 Jun 06; 35(6):1085. . View in PubMed
  • Leakage beyond the primary lesion: A temporal analysis of cerebrovascular dysregulation at sites of hippocampal secondary neurodegeneration following cortical photothrombotic stroke J Neurochem. 2023 12; 167(6):733-752. . View in PubMed
  • The vascular gene Apold1 is dispensable for normal development but controls angiogenesis under pathological conditions Angiogenesis. 2023 08; 26(3):385-407. . View in PubMed
  • Preserving stroke penumbra by targeting lipid signalling J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2023 01; 43(1):167-169. . View in PubMed
  • Editing a gateway for cell therapy across the blood-brain barrier Brain. 2023 03 01; 146(3):823-841. . View in PubMed
  • APOE2, E3, and E4 differentially modulate cellular homeostasis, cholesterol metabolism, and inflammatory response in isogenic iPSC-derived astrocytes Stem Cell Reports. 2022 May 10; 17(5):1229-1231. . View in PubMed
  • Slow development of bladder malfunction parallels spinal cord fiber sprouting and interneurons’ loss after spinal cord transection Exp Neurol. 2022 02; 348:113937. . View in PubMed
  • ‘Scary’ pericytes: the fibrotic scar in brain and spinal cord lesions Trends Neurosci. 2022 01; 45(1):6-7. . View in PubMed
  • Stimulation of the cuneiform nucleus enables training and boosts recovery after spinal cord injury Brain. 2022 10 21; 145(10):3681-3697. . View in PubMed
  • Isolation and Culture of Adult Hippocampal Precursor Cells as Free-Floating Neurospheres Methods Mol Biol. 2022; 2389:33-44. . View in PubMed
  • Deep learning-based behavioral profiling of rodent stroke recovery BMC Biol. 2022 10 15; 20(1):232. . View in PubMed
  • Intracerebral Transplantation and In Vivo Bioluminescence Tracking of Human Neural Progenitor Cells in the Mouse Brain J Vis Exp. 2022 01 27; (179). . View in PubMed
  • APOE2, E3, and E4 differentially modulate cellular homeostasis, cholesterol metabolism, and inflammatory response in isogenic iPSC-derived astrocytes Stem Cell Reports. 2022 01 11; 17(1):110-126. . View in PubMed
  • Xeno-free induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells for in vivo applications J Transl Med. 2022 09 16; 20(1):421. . View in PubMed
  • Selenium mediates exercise-induced adult neurogenesis and reverses learning deficits induced by hippocampal injury and agingCell Metab. 2022 03 01; 34(3):408-423. e8. . View in PubMed
  • Molecular and anatomical roadmap of stroke pathology in immunodeficient mice Front Immunol. 2022; 13:1080482. . View in PubMed
  • iPS-derived pericytes for neurovascular regeneration Eur J Clin Invest. 2021 09; 51(9):e13601. . View in PubMed
  • Astrocytes for brain repair: More than just a neuron’s sidekick Brain Pathol. 2021 09; 31(5):e12999. . View in PubMed
  • Towards blood biomarkers for stroke patients J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2021 04; 41(4):914-916. . View in PubMed
  • Author Correction: Mast cells increase adult neural precursor proliferation and differentiation but this potential is not realized in vivo under physiological conditions Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 09; 10(1):19816. . View in PubMed
  • Distinct changes in all major components of the neurovascular unit across different neuropathological stages of Alzheimer’s disease Brain Pathol. 2020 11; 30(6):1056-1070. . View in PubMed
  • Insights into the dual role of angiogenesis following stroke J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2020 06; 40(6):1167-1171. . View in PubMed
  • Characterization of the Blood Brain Barrier Disruption in the Photothrombotic Stroke Model Front Physiol. 2020; 11:586226. . View in PubMed
  • A Practical Guide to the Automated Analysis of Vascular Growth, Maturation and Injury in the Brain Front Neurosci. 2020; 14:244. . View in PubMed
  • Refueling the Ischemic CNS: Guidance Molecules for Vascular Repair Trends Neurosci. 2019 09; 42(9):644-656. . View in PubMed
  • Pro- and antiangiogenic therapies: current status and clinical implications FASEB J. 2019 01; 33(1):34-48. . View in PubMed
  • Anti-Nogo-A antibodies prevent vascular leakage and act as pro-angiogenic factors following stroke Sci Rep. 2019 12 27; 9(1):20040. . View in PubMed
  • Nogo-A targeted therapy promotes vascular repair and functional recovery following stroke Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 07 09; 116(28):14270-14279. . View in PubMed
  • A Revised View on Growth and Remodeling in the Retinal Vasculature Sci Rep. 2019 03 01; 9(1):3263. . View in PubMed
  • Inflammation after Stroke: A Local Rather Than Systemic Response? Trends Neurosci. 2018 12; 41(12):877-879.. View in PubMed
  • Stroke Promotes Systemic Endothelial Inflammation and Atherosclerosis Trends Mol Med. 2018 07; 24(7):593-595. . View in PubMed
  • Loss of Nogo-A, encoded by the schizophrenia risk gene Rtn4, reduces mGlu3 expression and causes hyperexcitability in hippocampal CA3 circuits PLoS One. 2018; 13(7):e0200896. . View in PubMed
  • T Lymphocytes Contribute to the Control of Baseline Neural Precursor Cell Proliferation but Not the Exercise-Induced Up-Regulation of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis Front Immunol. 2018; 9:2856. . View in PubMed
  • Mast cells increase adult neural precursor proliferation and differentiation but this potential is not realized in vivo under physiological conditions Sci Rep. 2017 12 19; 7(1):17859. . View in PubMed
  • Insights into the Dual Role of Inflammation after Spinal Cord Injury J Neurosci. 2017 05 03; 37(18):4658-4660. . View in PubMed

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