Neural Cell News Volume 12.24 | Jun 20 2018

TOP STORY

Study Suggests Well-Known Growth Suppressor Actually Fuels Lethal Brain Cancers

Scientists point to a protein that helps regulate cell metabolism called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Their data suggest AMPK is a key driver of the mostly untreatable brain cancers, and blocking it may produce therapeutic benefit for very ill patients. [Press release from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital discussing online prepublication in Nature Cell Biology] Press Release | Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Direct Pericyte-to-Neuron Reprogramming via Unfolding of a Neural Stem Cell-Like Program

Researchers showed that successful direct reprogramming of adult human brain pericytes into functional induced neurons by Ascl1 and Sox2 encompasses transient activation of a neural stem cell-like gene expression program that precedes bifurcation into distinct neuronal lineages. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract

Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology Propagation by Exosomes Containing Toxic Amyloid-Beta Oligomers

Investigators showed that small extracellular vesicles, exosomes, from Alzheimer patients’ brains contain increased levels of amyloid-beta oligomers and can act as vehicles for the neuron-to-neuron transfer of such toxic species in recipient neurons in culture. [Acta Neuropathol] Full Article | Press Release

Dual Requirement of CHD8 for Chromatin Landscape Establishment and Histone Methyltransferase Recruitment to Promote CNS Myelination and Repair

Researchers showed that cell-type specific Chd8 deletion in oligodendrocyte progenitors, but not in neurons, results in myelination defects, revealing a cell-intrinsic dependence on CHD8 for oligodendrocyte lineage development, myelination and post-injury remyelination. [Dev Cell] Abstract | Press Release | Graphical Abstract

High-Throughput Functional Analysis Distinguishes Pathogenic, Nonpathogenic, and Compensatory Transcriptional Changes in Neurodegeneration

Knockdown of disease-driving genes in Huntington disease patient-derived cells lowered mutant huntingtin levels and activated macroautophagy, suggesting a mechanism for mitigating pathogenesis. [Cell Syst] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Local and Global Influences on Protein Turnover in Neurons and Glia

Scientists used dynamic SILAC to determine half-lives of over 5100 proteins in rat primary hippocampal cultures as well as in neuron-enriched and glia-enriched cultures ranging from <1 to >20 days. In contrast to synaptic proteins, membrane proteins were relatively shorter-lived and mitochondrial proteins were longer-lived compared to the population. [eLife] Full Article | Press Release

Human Clinical-Grade Parthenogenetic ESC-Derived Dopaminergic Neurons Recover Locomotive Defects of Nonhuman Primate Models of Parkinson’s Disease

Researchers compared the function of clinical-grade human parthenogenetic embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived midbrain dopaminergic neurons in two canonical protocols in a primate Parkinson’s disease model. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Impact of miRNA-mRNA Profiling and Their Correlation on Medulloblastoma Tumorigenesis

To identify the signatures of miRNA-mRNA interactions essential for medulloblastoma (MB) pathogenesis, miRNA profiling, RNA-sequencing, and ingenuity pathway analysis were performed in the same primary human MB samples. [Mol Ther Nucleic Acids] Abstract

Differential Antiviral Immunity to Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Developing Cortical Organoids

The authors found Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infection caused significant decline of cell proliferation and increase of cell death in brain organoids, resulting in smaller organoid spheres. JEV tended to infect astrocytes and neural progenitors, especially the population representing outer radial glial cells of developing human brain. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

miR-129 Controls Axonal Regeneration via Regulating Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in Peripheral Nerve Injury

An increased expression of miR-129 inhibited proliferation and migration of Schwann cells, and axonal outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion neurons, which was inversely promoted by silencing of the miR-129 expression. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

AKT Signaling Selectively Regulates PINK1 Mitophagy in SHSY5Y Cells and Human iPSC-Derived Neurons

Scientists demonstrated that inhibition of AKT signaling decreases endogenous PINK1 accumulation in response to mitochondria depolarization, subsequent parkin recruitment, phosphorylation of ubiquitin, and ultimately mitophagy. [Sci Rep] Full Article

The Thrombin Receptor Restricts Subventricular Zone Neural Stem Cell Expansion and Differentiation

The authors showed that the subventricular zone (SVZ) of adult mice lacking the high affinity receptor for thrombin, proteinase activated receptor 1, showed increased numbers of Sox2⁺ and Ki-67⁺ self-renewing neural stem cells and Olig2⁺ oligodendrocyte progenitors. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Neural Stem Cell Heterogeneity in the Mammalian Forebrain

The authors present current knowledge about the diversity of neural stem cells in vitro and in vivo, and highlight distinctions between neural stem cell populations, throughout development, and within the niche. [Prog Neurobiol] Abstract

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

Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center and Axial Biotherapeutics Announce Collaboration to Target Gastrointestinal Metabolites That May Contribute to Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center (PICC) and Axial Biotherapeutics announced a collaboration to investigate interventions targeting gastrointestinal (GI) metabolites that may cause Parkinson’s disease (PD). As part of the collaboration, Axial and the PICC have formed a joint preclinical research collaboration, studying Axial’s microbiome-inspired interventions in the PICC’s unique cellular and animal models for PD and its effects over the GI system. [Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center (Business Wire Inc.)] Press Release

Karuna Receives $8 Million Wellcome Trust Award to Advance First-in-Class Phase II Clinical Program in Schizophrenia

Karuna Pharmaceuticals announced that it has been awarded approximately $8 million by the Wellcome Trust. The funding will be used to further advance clinical development of Karuna’s lead program, KarXT, through a Phase II study in people with schizophrenia. [Karuna Pharmaceuticals (Business Wire Inc.)] Press Release

AcuraStem Receives Fast-Track SBIR Grant for the Development of a Novel Small Molecule Therapy to Treat ALS

AcuraStem has been awarded a 3.7 million dollar Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Fast-Track grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to continue research for the development of a small molecule therapeutic, “AS2015”, focused on treating patients with the genetic form of ALS and frontotemporal dementia caused by expansion repeats in the gene C9ORF72. [AcuraStem] Press Release

AIVITA Biomedical Announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration Clearance of IND for Phase II Glioblastoma Multiforme Trial

AIVITA Biomedical announced the FDA has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase II clinical trial investigating the company’s ROOT OF CANCER technology in patients with glioblastoma multiforme. [AIVITA Biomedical] Press Release

Seattle Children’s Opens Immunotherapy Trial for Children with Relapsed Central Nervous System Tumors That Delivers CAR T Cells Directly into the Brain

Seattle Children’s has opened a pioneering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy trial for children and young adults with relapsed or refractory HER2-positive central nervous system tumors where CAR T cells will be delivered directly into the brain. [Seattle Children’s] Press Release

House Bill Gives NIH a 3% Boost in 2019, to $38.3 Billion

A draft bill released by a House of Representatives spending panel would give the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, a $1.25 billion raise in 2019, to $38.3 billion. That is 3% more than this year’s level and $4.1 billion more than President Donald Trump’s administration had requested. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

U.S. Legislators Back Larger Facilities Budget for NSF

The National Science Foundation (NSF) in Alexandria, Virginia, is in line for a budget increase of 4% to 5% next year. That assessment is based on bills approved recently by the spending committees in both chambers of Congress. Lawmakers have also signaled support for growing the account that NSF uses to build major new scientific facilities. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Why the Medical Research Grant System Could Be Costing Us Great Ideas

The medical research grant system in the United States, run through the National Institutes of Health, is intended to fund work that spurs innovation and fosters research careers. In many ways, it may be failing. [The New York Times] Editorial

NEW 25^th Biennial Congress of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
June 30-July 3, 2018
Amsterdam, Netherlands

NEW MPFI’s Biennial Neural Circuits Research Conference
March 4-6, 2019
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States

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

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Spinal Cord Development (The Francis Crick Institute)

Research Associate – Neural Research (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Postdoctoral Positions – Neurodevelopmental Disorders (University of Copenhagen)

Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Psychiatric Disorders (Columbia University)

Project Leader/Director – Neurodegenerative Research (Servier Group)

Postdoctoral Fellows – Neuroscience (Louisiana State University)

Research Associate/Postdoctoral Position – Neurodegenerative Diseases (TU Dresden)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Glioma Genetics/Epigenetics (Heidelberg University)

Postdoctoral Position – Bacterial Virulence Factors (University of California, Irvine)

Postdoctoral Position – Cancer, Immunotherapy, and Fibrosis (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Postdoctoral Associate – hiPSC-Based Brain Organoids (Rutgers University)

Postdoctoral Position – Pain in Mouse Models of Spinal Cord Injury (Indiana University)

Multiple Faculty Positions – Neuroscience and Neuroengineering (Tsinghua University)

Faculty Members – Neuroscience (Mercer University)

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