Scholars@Duke
Nicole Janet Scott-Hewitt

Nicole Janet Scott-Hewitt

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology
Cell Biology

Selected Publications

Microglia in systemic neuroimmune communication: functions beyond phagocytosis.

Journal Article Trends Immunol · January 7, 2026 Bidirectional crosstalk between the immune and nervous systems, via 'neuroimmune circuits', regulates homeostatic and inflammatory responses essential for health. Microglia, long-lived brain macrophages, act as key hubs integrating immune signals into coor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Microglial-derived C1q integrates into neuronal ribonucleoprotein complexes and impacts protein homeostasis in the aging brain.

Journal Article Cell · August 8, 2024 Neuroimmune interactions mediate intercellular communication and underlie critical brain functions. Microglia, CNS-resident macrophages, modulate the brain through direct physical interactions and the secretion of molecules. One such secreted factor, the c ... Full text Link to item Cite

Convergent mechanisms of microglia-mediated synaptic dysfunction contribute to diverse neuropathological conditions.

Journal Article Ann N Y Acad Sci · July 2023 Changes in synaptic function are an early hallmark of neuropathological conditions that often precede symptom onset, with mounting genetic, transcriptional, and epidemiological evidence implicating microglia in this process. The correlation between infecti ... Full text Link to item Cite

Heterozygous carriers of galactocerebrosidase mutations that cause Krabbe disease have impaired microglial function and defective repair of myelin damage.

Journal Article Neural Regen Res · March 2018 This review addresses two puzzling findings related to mutations in galactocerebrosidase (GALC) that cause Krabbe disease (KD), a severe lysosomal storage disorder characterized by extensive myelin damage in children with mutations in both GALC alleles. Fi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Heterozygote galactocerebrosidase (GALC) mutants have reduced remyelination and impaired myelin debris clearance following demyelinating injury.

Journal Article Hum Mol Genet · August 1, 2017 Genome-wide association studies are identifying multiple genetic risk factors for several diseases, but the functional role of these changes remains mostly unknown. Variants in the galactocerebrosidase (GALC) gene, for example, were identified as a risk fa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Lysosomal Re-acidification Prevents Lysosphingolipid-Induced Lysosomal Impairment and Cellular Toxicity.

Journal Article PLoS Biol · December 2016 Neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are severe and untreatable, and mechanisms underlying cellular dysfunction are poorly understood. We found that toxic lipids relevant to three different LSDs disrupt multiple lysosomal and other cellular ... Full text Link to item Cite