Neural Cell News Volume 11.23 | Jun 14 2017

TOP STORY

A Retinal Code for Motion along the Gravitational and Body Axes

The authors examined the direction preferences of direction-sensitive ganglion cells (DSGCs) in flattened mouse retinas in vitro. They showed that for each subtype of DSGC, direction preference varied topographically so as to align with specific translatory optic flow fields, creating a neural ensemble tuned for a specific direction of motion through space. [Nature] Abstract | Press Release

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

A Unique Microglia Type Associated with Restricting Development of Alzheimer’s Disease

Using transcriptional single-cell sorting, researchers comprehensively mapped all immune populations in wild-type and Alzheimer’s disease-transgenic mouse brains. They describe a novel microglia type associated with neurodegenerative diseases and identify markers, spatial localization, and pathways associated with these cells. [Cell] Abstract | Press Release | Graphical Abstract | Video

A TNF–JNK–Axl–ERK Signaling Axis Mediates Primary Resistance to EGFR Inhibition in Glioblastoma

Investigators proposed that primary resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition in glioma cells results from a rapid compensatory response to EGFR inhibition that mediates cell survival. They showed that in glioma cells expressing either EGFR wild type or the mutant EGFRvIII, EGFR inhibition triggered a rapid adaptive response driven by increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF) secretion, which lead to activation in turn of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), the Axl receptor tyrosine kinase and extracellular signal–regulated kinases (ERK). [Nat Neurosci] Abstract | Press Release

Selective Targeting of Neurons with Inorganic Nanoparticles: Revealing the Crucial Role of Nanoparticle Surface Charge

The authors revealed the role of nanoparticle (NP) surface charge in determining their neuronal interactions and electrical responses. They discovered that negatively charged NPs administered at low concentration interacted with the neuronal membrane and at the synaptic cleft, whereas positively- and neutrally-charged NPs never localized on neurons. [ACS Nano] Abstract

Blood-Brain-Barrier Spheroids as an In Vitro Screening Platform for Brain-Penetrating Agents

Scientists report that self-assembling multicellular blood–brain barrier (BBB) spheroids display reproducible BBB features and functions. The spheroid core was comprised mainly of astrocytes, while brain endothelial cells and pericytes encased the surface, acting as a barrier that regulated transport of molecules. The spheroid surface exhibited high expression of tight junction proteins, VEGF-dependent permeability, efflux pump activity and receptor-mediated transcytosis of angiopep-2. [Nat Commun] Full Article | Press Release

MTOR Controls Genesis and Autophagy of GABAergic Interneurons during Brain Development

Researchers showed that mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR) regulates proliferation and macroautophagy/autophagy of interneuron progenitors in the developing ventral telencephalon. To investigate the role of MTOR in interneuron progenitors, they conditionally deleted the Mtor gene in mouse interneuron progenitors and their progeny by using Tg(mI56i-cre,EGFP)1Kc/Dlx5/6-Cre-IRES-EGFP and Nkx2-1-Cre drivers. They found that Mtor deletion markedly reduced the number of interneurons in the cerebral cortex. [Autophagy] Abstract

Polarity of Varicosity Initiation in Central Neuron Mechanosensation

The authors report that mechanical stress specifically induces varicosities in the axons but not the dendrites of central neurons by activating TRPV4, a Ca²⁺/Na⁺-permeable mechanosensitive channel. They further showed that axonal varicosities are induced by persistent Ca²⁺ increase, disassembled microtubules (MTs), and subsequently reversible disruption of axonal transport, and are regulated by stable tubulin-only polypeptide, an MT-associated protein. [J Cell Biol] Full Article

A Novel Nuclear Complex of DRR1, F-Actin and COMMD1 Involved in NF-κB Degradation and Cell Growth Suppression in Neuroblastoma

Scientists identified an interaction between filamentous actin (F-actin) and downregulated in renal cell carcinoma 1 (DRR1) in the nucleus, and demonstrated that copper metabolism MURR1 domain-containing 1 (COMMD1) is another binding partner of DRR1. DRR1 and COMMD1 suppressed the cyclin D1 expression, G1/S transition and cell proliferation of neuroblastoma cells. [Oncogene] Abstract

Acute Lesioning and Rapid Repair of Hypothalamic Neurons outside the Blood-Brain Barrier

Researchers showed that, in adult mice, agouti-related protein (AgRP) neurons outside the blood-brain barrier (BBB) were rapidly ablated by peripheral administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG), whereas AgRP neurons inside the BBB and most proopiomelanocortin neurons were spared. MSG treatment induced proliferation of tanycytes, the putative hypothalamic neural progenitor cells, but the newly proliferated tanycytes did not become neurons. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Substance P Effects Exclusively on Prototypic Neurons in Mouse Globus Pallidus

Investigators identified that the substance P (SP)-responsive cells comprise a highly specific cell type in the globus pallidus (GP) with regard to immunofluorescence, electrophysiology, and projection properties. An in vitro electrophysiological study revealed that, among 48 GP neurons, the SP agonist induced inward current in 21 neurons. [Brain Struct Funct] Abstract

Functional Roles of p120ctn Family of Proteins in Central Neurons

The authors provide an overview of the p120ctn family in neurons and their varied functional roles in central neurons. They examine the emerging roles of this family of proteins in neurodevelopmental disorders. [Semin Cell Dev Biol] Abstract

Next-Generation Probes, Particles, and Proteins for Neural Interfacing

Researchers describe how the understanding of neural signaling and material-tissue interactions has fueled the expansion of the available tool set. New probe architectures and materials, nanoparticles, dyes, and designer genetically encoded proteins push the limits of recording and stimulation lifetime, localization, and specificity, blurring the boundary between living tissue and engineered tools. [Sci Adv] Full Article

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

Probiodrug Announces Encouraging Results of the Phase IIa SAPHIR Study

Probiodrug AG announced first line results of its Phase IIa SAPHIR study in early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. The SAPHIR study is the first clinical trial to investigate the glutaminylcyclase inhibitor PQ912 in patients with early AD over a treatment period of 12 weeks. [Probiodrug AG] Press Release

Mallinckrodt Enrolls First Patient in Phase IIB Trial of H.P. Acthar^® Gel (Repository Corticotropin Injection) for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Mallinckrodt plc confirmed enrollment of the first patient in the company’s Phase IIB study designed to assess the efficacy and safety of H.P. Acthar^® Gel as a treatment for ALS. [Mallinckrodt plc] Press Release

Herantis Pharma’s Clinical Study with CDNF in Parkinson’s Disease Authorized in Finland, Company Expands on Development Plan

Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea has authorized Herantis Pharma Plc’s first-in-human clinical study of the company’s investigational product cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. [Herantis Pharma Plc] Press Release

European Medicines Agency Accepts Design of NeuroDerm’s ND0612 Phase III iNDiGO Efficacy Trial

NeuroDerm Ltd. announced that it has received a Scientific Advice Letter from the Scientific Advice Working Party of the European Medicines Agency. The letter accepts the main design elements suggested by NeuroDerm for the amended iNDiGO Phase III efficacy trial, including study population and primary and secondary endpoints, as well as the suggested statistical analysis approach. [NeuroDerm Ltd.] Press Release

NTCELL^® Continues to Halt Progression of Parkinson’s Disease

130 weeks after treatment all four patients who took part in Living Cell Technologies Limited’s Phase I/IIa clinical study of NTCELL^® for Parkinson’s disease remain well and there are no safety concerns. The primary clinical endpoint of this initial open clinical study, involving the implantation of 40 NTCELL capsules into the putamen on one side of the brain only, is safety. [Living Cell Technologies Limited] Press Release | Editorial

Empty Rhetoric over Data Sharing Slows Science

Government agencies lack the funds to build platforms for data sharing and resist taking responsibility for such infrastructure. They may hope that universities will host data, but the development of institutional repositories is patchy, and to rely on them is effectively to discourage common data standards and curation. [Nature News] Editorial

Can Fake Names Tease Out NIH Reviewer Bias?

When the label “white male” is attached to a research grant application, do peer reviewers give it a better score? That’s the question psychologist Patricia Devine of the University of Wisconsin in Madison has spent the past four years, and more than $1 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, trying to answer with an unusual experiment. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Curiosity and Irritation Meet Macron’s Effort to Lure Foreign Scientists to France

The French government unveiled a website aimed at attracting foreign scientists with four-year grants worth up to €1.5 million each. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Trump Names Sharpless to Lead U.S. Cancer Institute

President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Norman “Ned” Sharpless to be the next director of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Sharpless, who is 50 years old, is a physician and currently director of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He also holds an academic appointment at the university’s school of medicine. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW Gordon Research Conferences: Wnt Signaling
August 6-11, 2017
Stowe, Vermont, United States

NEW Keystone Symposia: Regenerative Biology and Applications: Cell Differentiation, Tissue Organization and Biomedical Engineering
October 15-19, 2017
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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NEW Assistant Professor – Reparative Medicine (Karolinska Institutet)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Neurobiology (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuroscience (State University of New York)

PhD Position – Molecular Biology (Institute of Molecular Biology Mainz)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Applied Neural Interfaces (Florida International University)

Postdoctoral Position – Neuroscience-Neural Engineering (University of California, Los Angeles)

Postdoctoral Scientist – Neural Stem Cell Biology (Institute for Neuroscience of Montpellier)

Faculty Position(s) – Pain Medicine (Southern University of Science and Technology)

Senior/Principle Research Associate – Cell and Molecular Biology (Editas Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuroendocrine Biology of Metabolism (The Scripps Research Institute)

Research Fellow – Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders (Duke-NUS Medical School)

Postdoctoral Position – Molecular Biology (KU Leuven)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Neuroscience and Imaging (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Stem Cell Differentiation (University of Oklahoma)

Postdoctoral Positions – Stem Cell Technology/Neuroscience/Drug Discovery (University of California Davis)

Neuroscientist – Precision Neurotherapeutics (University of California Davis)

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