Neural Cell News Volume 10.09 | Mar 9 2016

Microglial P2Y12 Is Necessary for Synaptic Plasticity in Mouse Visual Cortex
Scientists focused on the P2Y12 purinergic receptor, which is selectively expressed in non-activated microglia and mediates process motility during early injury responses. They found that disrupting this receptor alters the microglial response to monocular deprivation and abrogates ocular dominance plasticity. [Nat Commun] Full Article | Press Release

Feedback Regulation of Apical Progenitor Fate by Immature Neurons through Wnt7–Celsr3–Fzd3 Signaling
Researchers showed that neurogenesis is protracted and gliogenesis decreased in mice with mutations of genes Celsr3 and Fzd3. This phenotype is not due to gene inactivation in progenitors, but rather in immature cortical neurons. [Nat Commun] Full Article

4-Aminopyridine Induced Activity Rescues Hypoexcitable Motor Neurons from ALS Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Scientists investigated pathophysiological mechanisms underlying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using motor neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells derived from ALS patients carrying mutations in FUS or SOD1. [Stem Cells] Abstract

WNT-C59, a Small-Molecule WNT Inhibitor, Efficiently Induces Anterior Cortex that Includes Cortical Motor Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
The authors compared two types of small molecules, C59 and XAV939, as substitutes for DKK1 to induce cortical neurons from pluripotent stem cells in serum-free embryoid body-like aggregate culture. [Stem Cells Transl Med] Abstract

In Vivo Reprogramming Reactive Glia into iPSCs to Produce New Neurons in the Cortex following Traumatic Brain Injury
The authors showed that retroviral mediated expression of four transcription factors, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc, cooperatively reprogrammed reactive glial cells into induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) in the adult neocortex following traumatic brain injury. [Sci Rep] Full Article

TGFβ Signaling Regulates the Choice between Pluripotent and Neural Fates during Reprogramming of Human Urine Derived Cells
Through sequential removal of individual compound from small molecule cocktail, scientists showed that A8301, a TGFβ signaling inhibitor, is sufficient to switch the cell fate from induced pluripotent stem cells into neural progenitor cells in OSKM-mediated human urine cells reprogramming. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Knockout of Atg5 Delays the Maturation and Reduces the Survival of Adult-Generated Neurons in the Hippocampus
To investigate the role of autophagy in adult hippocampal neurogenesis, the authors genetically deleted autophagy-related gene 5 (Atg5) that reduced autophagic flux and the survival of the progeny of dividing progenitor cells. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Promote In Vitro Neuronal Differentiation and Neurite Outgrowth of Embryonic Neural Stem Cells via Up-Regulating TRPC1
Scientists studied the potential effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) on embryonic neural stem cells (eNSCs). They exposed eNSCs to ELF-EMF for one, two, and three days with four hours per day. They found that eNSC proliferation and maintenance were significantly enhanced after ELF-EMF exposure in proliferation medium. [PLoS One] Full Article

Targeted Activation of Primitive Neural Stem Cells in the Mouse Brain
Investigators tested the self-renewal ability, differentiation capacity, and gene expression profile of pup-derived primitive neural stem cells (pNSCs) and found them each to be comparable to adult-derived pNSCs, including being GFAP^–, nestin^mid, Oct4⁺. [Eur J Neurosci] Abstract

Regulation of Neuronal-Glial Fate Specification by Long Non-Coding RNAs
The authors describe the general features of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are more likely to be relevant to reveal their function. By this, they aim to point out the specific roles of a number of lncRNAs whose function has been described during neuronal and glial cell differentiation. [Rev Neurosci] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the neural cell research field.

International Stem Cell Corporation Announces Commencement of Enrollment of Phase I Trial of ISC-hpNSC
International Stem Cell Corporation announced that it is enrolling patients in the Phase I trial of ISC-hpNSC^®, human parthenogenetic stem cell-derived neural stem cells for the treatment of moderate to severe Parkinson’s disease. [International Stem Cell Corporation] Press Release

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Scientist – Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Neural Differentiation (STEMCELL Technologies)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Stem Cells, Oligodendrogenesis and Remyelination (UC Davis)

Research Fellow Positions – Regenerative Therapies (Queen’s University Belfast)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Gene Control of Neural Network (Baylor College of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Adult Neurogenesis and Brain Cancer (Medical Research Council)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Neural Circuits and Behavior (Rutgers University)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Neural Stem Cell Biology (University of Tromsø)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Brain Cancer (University of Oxford)

PhD Positions – Cancer/Brain Tumor Research (Plymouth University)

Postdoctoral Fellow Positions – Neuroscience/Neuroimmunology (Stanford University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuroscience (Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Regulation/Function/Structure of the Synapse (National Institutes of Health)

PhD Studentship – Various Projects (Hector Fellow Academy)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Pediatric Brain Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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