Neural Cell News Volume 11.40 | Oct 11 2017

TOP STORY

HDAC6 Inhibition Reverses Axonal Transport Defects in Motor Neurons Derived from FUS-ALS Patients

Scientists generated and characterized induced pluripotent stem cells from ALS patients with different fused in sarcoma (FUS) mutations, as well as from healthy controls. Patient-derived motor neurons showed typical cytoplasmic FUS pathology, hypoexcitability, as well as progressive axonal transport defects. [Nat Commun] Full Article

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Self-Organized Cerebral Organoids with Human-Specific Features Predict Effective Drugs to Combat Zika Virus Infection

The authors describe optimized organoid culture methods that efficiently and reliably produce cortical and basal ganglia structures similar to those in the human fetal brain in vivo. Neurons within the organoids were functional and exhibited network-like activities. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Press Release | Graphical Abstract

Bifunctional Hydrogels Containing the Laminin Motif IKVAV Promote Neurogenesis

Researchers addressed the effect of bifunctionalized hydrogels comprising polylysine and a 19-mer peptide containing the laminin motif IKVAV on embryonic and adult neuronal progenitor cells under different stiffness regimes. Neuronal differentiation of embryonic and adult neural progenitors was accelerated by adjusting the gel stiffness to 2 kPa and 20 kPa, respectively. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

FUS Mutant Human Motoneurons Display Altered Transcriptome and MicroRNA Pathways with Implications for ALS Pathogenesis

Investigators report the transcriptome analysis of human purified motoneurons, obtained from FUS wild-type or mutant isogenic induced pluripotent stem cells. Gene ontology analysis of differentially expressed genes identified significant enrichment of pathways previously associated to sporadic ALS and other neurological diseases. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Direct and Efficient Transfection of Mouse Neural Stem Cells and Mature Neurons by In Vivo mRNA Electroporation

Scientists present a systematic study of mRNA as a vector for acute genetic manipulation in the developing and adult brain. They demonstrated that mRNA electroporation is far more efficient than DNA and leads to faster and more homogeneous protein expression in vivo. [Development] Abstract

RNF20 Controls Astrocytic Differentiation through Epigenetic Regulation of STAT3 in the Developing Brain

The authors identified that RNF20, an E3 ligase of H2BK120 in the mammalian system, regulates astrocyte production from neural precursor cells. RNF20 deficiency by shRNA knockdown or deletion in conditional knockout mice impairs the astrocytic differentiation. [Cell Death Differ] Full Article

Neuron and Microglia/Macrophage-Derived FGF10 Activate Neuronal FGFR2/PI3K/Akt Signaling and Inhibit Microglia/Macrophages TLR4/NF-κB-Dependent Neuroinflammation to Improve Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury

Researchers found that FGF10 is mainly produced by neuron and microglia/macrophages, and its expression is increased after spinal cord injury. Exogenous treatment of FGF10 improved functional recovery after injury by reducing apoptosis, as well as repairing neurites via FGFR2/PI3K/Akt pathway. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

NS1 of H7N9 Influenza A Virus Induces NO-Mediated Cellular Senescence in Neuro2a Cells

H7N9/NS1 in Neuro2a cells and primary cultured mouse cortical neurons increased the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and boosted nitric oxide (NO) release. Neuro2a cells constitutively expressing NS1 displayed a reduced proliferative ability, enhanced senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining, increased level of IL-6 and IL-8 and a typical punctuate structure of phosphorylated heterochromatin protein 1γ in nuclei. [Cell Physiol Biochem] Full Article

Multiple Mechanisms of Dimethyl Fumarate in Amyloid β-Induced Neurotoxicity in Human Neuronal Cells

Investigators evaluated the potential beneficial effects of dimethyl fumarate (DMF), compared with its active metabolite monomethyl fumarate (MMF) in an in vitro Alzheimer’s model using SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell lines stimulated with amyloid-beta (Aβ). The effect of DMF, compared with MMF, was evaluated by an ex vivo model using organotypic hippocampal slice cultures stimulated with Aβ1-42, to better understand its action in a pathological setting. [J Cell Mol Med] Full Article

Short Term Changes in the Proteome of Human Cerebral Organoids Induced by 5-MeO-DMT

Scientists used shotgun mass spectrometry to explore proteomic differences induced by 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) on human cerebral organoids. Out of the 6,728 identified proteins, 934 were found differentially expressed in 5-MeO-DMT-treated cerebral organoids. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Low Immunogenicity of Mouse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells

The authors evaluated the immunogenicity of mouse fetal neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NSPCs both in vitro and in vivo. Flow cytometry revealed the low expression of immunological surface antigens, and these cells survived in all mice when transplanted syngeneically into subcutaneous tissue and the spinal cord. [Sci Rep] Full Article

iPSC-Derived Neural Precursor Cells: Potential for Cell Transplantation Therapy in Spinal Cord Injury

Efficacy of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-neural precursor cells in non-human primate spinal cord injury models fostered momentum of clinical application for SCI patients. At the same time, however, artificial induction methods in iPSC technology created alternative issues including genetic and epigenetic abnormalities, and tumorigenicity after transplantation. [Cell Mol Life Sci] Abstract

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

Medicenna Presents Clinical Data on Initial Experience from Ongoing Phase IIb Study of MDNA55

Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. announced that new clinical data presented demonstrated successful delivery in brain cancer patients and a reassuring safety profile for MDNA55, the company’s lead immunotherapeutic agent targeting the interleukin-4 receptor. [Press release from Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. discussing research presented at the 2017 Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Boston] Press Release

National MS Society Commits Nearly $14 Million to New Research to Stop Multiple Sclerosis, Restore Function and End MS Forever

The National MS Society has committed nearly $14 million to support 40 new MS research projects. These are part of a comprehensive approach to accelerate research breakthroughs aimed at stopping MS, restoring function that has been lost, and ending the disease forever. [The National Multiple Sclerosis Society] Press Release

City of Hope CAR-T Scientist Christine Brown and Team Receive $12.8 Million Grant from California’s Stem Cell Agency to Fund Trial for Brain Cancer

City of Hope announced that a research team led by Christine Brown, Ph.D., and a clinical team headed by Behnam Badie, M.D., chief of neurosurgery, has received a $12.8 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to fund a Phase I chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell trial targeting an aggressive brain cancer called malignant glioma, which includes glioblastoma. [City of Hope] Press Release

IU Awarded $7.6 Million Grant to Establish Groundbreaking Study of Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease

Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine has been awarded a one-year, $7.6 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to establish a network of sites to study early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. [Indiana University] Press Release

Neuro-Oncologist Dr. Howard Fine Wins NIH Director’s Pioneer Award

Internationally renowned neuro-oncologist Dr. Howard A. Fine of Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian will receive a five-year, $6 million National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award for brain cancer research. [Weill Cornell Medicine] Press Release

Government of Canada Invests over $3.7M in Innovative Health Research Projects at the University of Regina

The Government of Canada awarded three grants to university researchers that will total over $3.7 million. Dr. Mohan Babu, an associate professor at the University of Regina, will use his $1.9M grant to shed light on the genes linked to Parkinson’s disease. [Canadian Institutes of Health Research] Press Release

Kosman Awarded Grant to Study Protein Linked to Alzheimer’s

Daniel J. Kosman, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of biochemistry, has been awarded a five-year, $1.96 million grant that may lead to advances in understanding the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. [University at Buffalo] Press Release

HMS Scientists Receive NIH Director’s Awards

Four Harvard Medical School (HMS) scientists are among 86 recipients nationwide honored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program. [Harvard Medical School] Press Release

First Patient Treated with Titan Pharmaceuticals’ Subdermal Implant for Parkinson’s Disease

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the first patient has been treated in a Phase I/II trial of the company’s ropinirole implant intended for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. [Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release

Boston Biomedical Announces Orphan Drug Designation by FDA for Investigational WT1 Cancer Peptide Vaccine DSP-7888 in Brain Cancer

Boston Biomedical, Inc. announced the FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation for DSP-7888, an investigational cancer peptide vaccine, for the treatment of brain cancer. DSP-7888 contains peptides to induce Wilms’ tumor gene 1 (WT1)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and helper T cells, which attack WT1-expressing cancerous cells found in various types of hematologic and solid cancers. [Boston Biomedical, Inc.] Press Release

Publishers Threaten to Remove Millions of Papers from ResearchGate

Millions of articles might soon disappear from ResearchGate, the world’s largest scholarly social network. Five publishers said they had formed a coalition that would start ordering ResearchGate to remove research articles from its site because they breach publishers’ copyright. [Nature News] Editorial

Navajo Nation Reconsiders Ban on Genetic Research

When the Navajo Nation opens its first oncology center next year in Tuba City, Arizona, clinicians there may be able to offer a service that has been banned on tribal lands for 15 years: analyzing the DNA of Navajo tribe members to guide treatments and study the genetic roots of disease. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW EMBO-EMBL Symposia: Tissue Self-Organization: Challenging the Systems
March 11-14, 2018
Heidelberg, Germany

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

NEW Faculty Position – Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research (Indiana University)

NEW PhD Student – Brain Organoids (University of Antwerp)

PhD Students – Glioblastomas (Various Organizations)

Research Associate – Wnt Signaling (University College London)

PhD Position – Extracellular Vesicles in Neural Cell Communication (Institut of Molecular Biology)

PhD Studentships – Molecular Biology (Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

Faculty Position – Neurobiology (University of California, Berkeley)

Postdoctoral Positions – Circular RNAs and Circadian Rhythms (Brandeis University)

Faculty Members – Neuroscience (Mercer University)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Stem Cell Differentiation (University of Oklahoma)

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.