[Nature] To further investigate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying gene expression regulation, scientists developed spatially resolved, genome-wide comapping of the epigenome and transcriptome by simultaneous profiling of chromatin accessibility and messenger RNA expression, or histone modifications and mRNA expression on the same tissue section at the cellular level via deterministic cobarcoding.

[Cell] Researchers described a method for prospectively isolating ten distinct neural stem and progenitor cell types from the developing human brain using cell-surface markers.

[Science] Scientists determined that TDP-43 binding in the first intron of the STMN2 pre-mRNA sterically blocked access of RNA processing factors that would otherwise recognize and use a cryptic 3′ splice site.

[Neuron] Investigators characterized an alternative 3′ splice site (A3SS) of SYNGAP1 that induced nonsense-mediated mRNA decay in mouse and human neural development. They demonstrated that PTBP1/2 directly bound to and promoted SYNGAP1 A3SS inclusion.

[Nature Communications] Researchers found that loss of the membrane:cytoskeleton-associated NF2 tumor suppressor, merlin, yields unstable intrinsic polarity and enables Nf2-/- Schwann cells to adopt distinct programs of ErbB ligand production and polarized signaling, suggesting a self-generated model of schwannoma heterogeneity.

[Nature Communications] Using global metabolomic profiling of patient-derived brain tumors, investigators identified the downstream metabolism of tryptophan and accumulation of quinolinate as a metabolic node in glioblastoma and demonstrate its critical role in promoting immune tolerance.

[Translational Psychiatry] Using neuronal cells expressing the wild type form of amyloid precursor protein infected by HSV-1, scientists characterized a representative cellular model of the early stage of the sporadic form of the disease and unraveled a molecular mechanism sustaining this HSV-1- Alzheimer’s disease interplay.

[Molecular Therapy-Methods & Clinical Development] Researchers evaluated a cell therapy treatment using mouse-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural precursor cells engineered to overexpress lysosomal acid β-glucosidase.

[Experimental Cell Research] Investigators reported that ginsenoside Rg1 effectively suppressed the inflammatory activation of brain microglia cells under cerebral ischemia/reperfusion conditions depending on the inhibition of Toll-like receptor4 proteins.

[Nature Reviews Neuroscience] The authors review the current knowledge of general and central nervous system-specific mechanisms of angiogenesis during brain development and in brain vascular malformations and brain tumors, including how key molecular signaling pathways are reactivated in vascular-dependent diseases.

[Molecular Psychiatry] Scientists briefly describe the current understanding of how pathological tau exerts dual effects on neuronal death by acting as a double-edged sword in different neurological diseases.

[Novartis] Novartis announced the US FDA granted approval for Tafinlar® + Mekinist® for the treatment of pediatric patients 1 year of age and older with low-grade glioma with a BRAF V600E mutation who require systemic therapy.