Neural Cell News Volume 10.24 | Jun 22 2016

TOP STORY

Nerve-Insulating Cells More Diverse than Previously Thought

Oligodendrocytes, a type of brain cell that plays a crucial role in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, are more diverse than previously thought, according to a new study. The findings will help increase our understanding of diseases in which these cells are affected and possibly provide clues to future treatment strategies. [Press release from Karolinska Institutet discussing online prepublication in Science] Press Release | Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Translation Dynamics of Single mRNAs in Live Cells and Neurons

Investigators report single-molecule imaging of nascent peptides to assess translation in live cells. The approach provides direct readout of initiation, elongation, and location of translation. [Science] Abstract

Functional Coupling with Cardiac Muscle Promotes Maturation of hPSC-Derived Sympathetic Neurons

Scientists derived sympathetic neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and showed that they can form physical and functional connections with cardiac muscle cells. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract | Press Release

Cortical Neurons Gradually Attain a Post-Mitotic State

Researchers report that newly born neurons from the upper layers of the mouse cortex, despite initiating axon and dendrite elongation, continue to drive gene expression from the neural progenitor tubulin α1 promoter. [Cell Res] Full Article

Ulk4 Regulates Neural Stem Cell Pool

Investigators showed that Ulk4^tm1a/tm1a mice displayed a dramatically reduced neural stem cell pool at birth. [Stem Cells] Abstract

Modulation of the Mesenchymal Stem Cell Secretome Using Computer-Controlled Bioreactors: Impact on Neuronal Cell Proliferation, Survival and Differentiation

Higher levels of in vitro neuronal differentiation and NOTCH1 expression in human neural progenitor cells were observed when these cells were incubated with the secretome of dynamically cultured human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Glutamate Increases In Vitro Survival and Proliferation and Attenuates Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death in Adult Spinal Cord-Derived Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells via Non-NMDA Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors

The authors examined the in vitro effects of glutamate and glutamate receptor agonists on adult rat spinal cord-derived neural stem/progenitor cells. [Stem Cells Dev] Abstract

The Positional Identity of iPSC-Derived Neural Progenitor Cells along the Anterior-Posterior Axis Is Controlled in a Dosage-Dependent Manner by bFGF and EGF

Scientists compared the regional identity of neural rosette cells and specific neural subtypes of their progeny propagated with low and high concentrations of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). [Differentiation] Full Article

Short-Term Grafting of Human Neural Stem Cells: Electrophysiological Properties and Motor Behavioral Amelioration in Experimental Parkinson’s Disease

Researchers studied the electrophysiological and biochemical profiles of two ventral mesencephalic human Neural Stem Cell clonal lines that express high levels of Bcl-XL to enhance their neurogenic capacity, after grafting in an in vitro parkinsonian model. [Cell Transplant] Abstract

Mutant Ataxin-1 Inhibits Neural Progenitor Cell Proliferation in SCA1.

Using spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) knock-in mice that mirror the complexity of the human disease, researchers reported a significant decrease in the capacity of adult neuronal progenitor cells to proliferate. [Cerebellum] Abstract

Modeling Development and Disease with Organoids

The author describes recent advances in 3D culture technology allowing embryonic and adult mammalian stem cells to exhibit their remarkable self-organizing properties, and the resulting organoids reflect key structural and functional properties of organs such as kidney, lung, gut, brain and retina. [Cell] Full Article

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

ORIG3N™ and Kangstem Biotech Announce Collaboration to Study Neural Stem Cells

ORIG3N, Inc. and Kangstem Biotech announced that they have begun a scientific collaboration to study the utility of induced neural stem cells in disease modeling. [ORIG3N Inc. (PR Newswire Association LLC.)] Press Release

$4 Million Grant Expands Major Study to Find Alzheimer’s Prevention Treatments

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a $4.3 million award from the Alzheimer’s Association to expand a major international clinical trial evaluating whether drugs can prevent Alzheimer’s disease in patients genetically predisposed to develop the devastating disease at a young age. [Washington University in St. Louis] Press Release

Ophthotech Completes Patient Recruitment in Phase III Trial of Fovista^® Anti-PDGF Therapy in Combination with Eylea^® or Avastin^® in Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Ophthotech Corporation announced the completion of patient recruitment in its Phase III trial of Fovista^®, anti-PDGF therapy, in combination with Eylea^® or Avastin^® for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration. [Ophthotech Corporation] Press Release

Sangamo BioSciences Announces FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug Application for ZFN-Mediated Genome Editing Treatment of MPS II

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the company’s Investigational New Drug application for SB-913, a zinc finger nuclease (ZFN)-mediated approach designed as a single treatment with the potential to provide a long-lasting therapy for Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II (MPS II). [Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.] Press Release

Neuralstem Announces NSI-189 Shows Enhancement of Long-Term Potentiation In Vitro

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that new in vitro data on NSI-189 provide insight into the neurogenic drug’s mode of action. [Neuralstem, Inc.] Press Release

NEW Nordic Life Science Days 2016
September 14-15, 2016
Stockholm, Sweden

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the neural cell community.

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Neural Stem Cell/Gene Therapy Research (Thomas Jefferson University)

Postdoctoral Researcher Positions – Epigenetic and Transcriptional States of Oligodendrocyte Lineage Cells (Karolinska Institutet)

Postdoctoral Position – Brain Injury and Repair (University of Pennsylvania)

Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Associate – Brain Homeostasis and Aging (North Carolina State University)

Scientist – Neuroscience (The Allen Institute for Brain Science)

Postdoctoral Fellow Positions – Pharmacology (The University of Tennessee Health Science Center)

Postdoctoral Positions – Cell Biology (Boston University)

Postdoctoral Position – Neuroscience (Inserm-ENS)

Postdoctoral Training Fellow – Signaling within Neural Stem Cell Niches In Vitro and In Vivo (Francis Crick Institute)

PhD Student Positions – Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology/Neurosciences/Neurogenetics (University of Fribourg)

Postdoctoral Associate – Neuroscience (Yale University)

Postdoctoral Position – Neurodegenerative Disease Biology (Johns Hopkins University)

Faculty Positions – Brain Research (IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Peking University)

Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.

Have we missed an important article or publication in Neural Cell News? Click here to submit!

Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.