Neural Cell News Volume 12.43 | Oct 31 2018

TOP STORY

Regulation of Neuroregeneration by Long Noncoding RNAs

Investigators profiled gene expression following sciatic nerve crush in mice and identified long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that act in regenerating neurons and which are typically not expressed in other contexts. They showed that two of these lncRNAs regulated the extent of neuronal outgrowth. [Mol Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

A C9orf72-CARM1 Axis Regulates Lipid Metabolism under Glucose Starvation-Induced Nutrient Stress

Scientists report that C9orf72, which is linked to the most common forms of the neurodegenerative diseases ALS and frontotemporal dementia, was a key regulator of lipid metabolism under stress. [Genes Dev] Abstract | Press Release

miR-584-5p Potentiates Vincristine and Radiation Response by Inducing Spindle Defects and DNA Damage in Medulloblastoma

miR-584-5p inhibited medulloblastoma growth and prolonged survival of mice in pre-clinical tumor models. miR-584-5p overexpression caused cell cycle arrest, DNA damage, and spindle defects in medulloblastoma cells. [Nat Commun] Full Article

A Peptide Encoded by Circular Form of LINC-PINT Suppresses Oncogenic Transcriptional Elongation in Glioblastoma

The authors identified an 87-amino-acid peptide encoded by the circular form of the long intergenic non-protein-coding RNA p53-induced transcript (LINC-PINT) that suppresses glioblastoma cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Regulatory Discrimination of mRNAs by FMRP Controls Mouse Adult Neural Stem Cell Differentiation

Researchers performed ribosome profiling and transcriptomic analysis of adult neural stem cells in parallel from wild-type and Fmr1 knockout mice. They revealed diverse gene expression changes at both mRNA and translation levels. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract

The Hippo Pathway Prevents YAP/TAZ-Driven Hypertranscription and Controls Neural Progenitor Number

By analyzing the effects of inactivating LATS1/2 kinases, the direct upstream inhibitors of YAP/TAZ, on mouse brain development and applying cell-number-normalized transcriptome analyses, scientists discovered that YAP/TAZ activation caused a global increase in transcription activity, known as hypertranscription, and upregulated many genes associated with cell growth and proliferation. [Dev Cell] Full Article | Press Release | Graphical Abstract

Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes Are Differentially Activated by Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Cytokines

Investigators developed a serum-free protocol to differentiate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into astrocytes. Gene expression and functional assays showed that their protocol consistently yielded a highly enriched population of resting mature astrocytes across the 13 hiPSC lines differentiated. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Cell Cycle Inhibitors Protect Motor Neurons in an Organoid Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

To investigate why motor neurons are more affected than other neural types, scientists developed a spinal organoid model of spinal muscular atrophy. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Development and Validation of an In Vitro Model System to Study Peripheral Sensory Neuron Development and Injury

The authors describe the derivation of peripheral sensory neurons from human embryonic stem cells using small molecule inhibitors. The differentiated neurons expressed canonical- and modality-specific peripheral sensory neuron markers with subsets exhibiting functional properties of human nociceptive neurons that included tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium currents and repetitive action potentials. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Neural Stem Cell‐Derived Factors Inhibit the Growth and Invasion of U87 Stem‐Like Cells In Vitro

Scientists focused on the inhibitory effects of the factors produced by neural stem/progenitor cells on the biological behavior of glioma stem‐like cells in vitro. The human glioma cell line U87 was selected and the U87 stem‐like cells were addressed. [J Cell Biochem] Abstract

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Building Models of Brain Disorders with Three-Dimensional Organoids

Researchers review the use of human brain organoids to investigate neurological and psychiatric disorders and how this technology may ultimately advance our biological understanding of these conditions. [Neuron] Full Article

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

Higher Delivered Dose of Tumor Treating Fields to Tumor Bed Associated with Improved Overall Survival in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma

Novocure announced results from a post-hoc analysis of Novocure’s EF-14 Phase III pivotal trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma that demonstrated that a higher dose of Tumor Treating Fields delivered to the tumor bed was associated with improved overall survival. [Press release from Novocure discussing research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2018 Annual Meeting, San Antonio] Press Release

New Penn Medicine Center Brings Immunotherapy Research to Brain Tumor Treatment

Penn Medicine announced the newest Translational Center of Excellence in the Abramson Cancer Center, focused on Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer. [Penn Medicine (EurekAlert)] Press Release

Medicenna Provides Positive Interim Update from Phase IIb Trial of MDNA55 in Recurrent Glioblastoma

Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. announced promising interim efficacy and safety results from patients treated at low doses in the on-going Phase IIb clinical trial of MDNA55 in recurrent glioblastoma. [Medicenna Therapeutics Corp.] Press Release

First Patient Enrolled in Anavex Life Sciences Phase II Clinical Trial of ANAVEX^®2-73 for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease Dementia (PDD)

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its Phase II double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 14-week safety and efficacy trial of ANAVEX^®2-73 for the treatment of PDD. [Anavex Life Sciences Corp.] Press Release

Axovant Announces Dosing of First Patient in Clinical Study of AXO-Lenti-PD, a Novel Gene Therapy for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Axovant Sciences announced dosing of the first patient in a clinical study of AXO-Lenti-PD, an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. [Axovant Sciences] Press Release

NeoImmuneTech Announces Initiation of Clinical Trial for HyLeukin-7 Treatment in Combination with Standard Therapy for Newly Diagnosed Brain Cancer Patients

NeoImmuneTech, Inc. announced the FDA approved its Investigational New Drug application for a clinical trial for the treatment of newly diagnosed high grade glioma patients with a combination of HYLEUKIN-7^® and standard therapy. [NeoImmuneTech, Inc.] Press Release

Cellectricon Announces New Opportunity for the Discovery of Highly Differentiated Therapeutics for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Cellectricon AB announced the launch of a novel assay platform for in vitro neurodegenerative disease research. [Cellectricon AB] Press Release

Neuroene Therapeutics Awarded $1.5 Million to Develop Anti-Seizure Compound for Epilepsy

Neuroene Therapeutics has received a $1.5 million NIH Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant to optimize vitamin K analogues that could improve seizure control in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. [Neuroene Therapeutics (EurekAlert)] Press Release

How an Outsider in Alzheimer’s Research Bucked the Prevailing Theory — and Clawed for Validation

Robert Moir was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. The Massachusetts General Hospital neurobiologist had applied for government funding for his Alzheimer’s disease research and received wildly disparate comments from the scientists tapped to assess his proposal’s merits. [STAT News] Editorial

Do Authors Comply When Funders Enforce Open Access to Research?

The first large-scale analysis of compliance with open-access rules reveals that up to one-third of articles are not free to read, report Vincent Larivière and Cassidy R. Sugimoto. [Nature News] Editorial

Australia Plans ‘National-Interest’ Test for Research Grants

Australia’s government is set to introduce a ‘national-interest test’ for research projects seeking grant funding from next year. The policy will require that researchers outline how their project will advance the country’s interests, said education minister Dan Tehan in a statement. [Nature News] Editorial

Research Is Often Unpaid in Sub-Saharan Africa

Unpaid research stints are the norm for scientists in sub-Saharan Africa, according to an online survey of 412 academics that spanned six countries. Eighty-five per cent of respondents report having had research positions with no pay. Of those, 33% had spent between one and five years doing research for free, and 4% had spent more than five years doing so. [Nature News] Editorial

Hungarian Association Wins Prize for Promoting Participation of Women in Science

Last April, Eszti Varga was one of 2,400 young women to converge on 120 universities and companies across Hungary as part of Girls’ Day, a campaign aimed at drawing high-school students into science and technology careers. Sponsored by the Association of Hungarian Women in Science, the campaign has attracted some 10,000 participants across the seven years that it has run. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Annual Meeting 2018
December 8-12, 2018
San Diego, California, United States

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

NEW Faculty Positions – Translational Neurosciences (Wayne State University)

Postdoctoral Scholar – Medulloblastoma (University of California, San Francisco)

Postdoctoral Position – Neuroscience/Neuropharmacology (The University of Texas at Austin)

Assistant Professor – Neural Network Plasticity & Integrative Neuroscience (University of Montréal)

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Neural and Cancer Biology (French National Institute for Health and Biomedical Research)

PhD Positions – Neuroscience (International Max Planck Research School for Neural Circuits)

Assistant Professor – Department of Neuroscience (Columbia University)

Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Brain Tumors (Columbia University)

PhD Student – Aging and Neurodegeneration (DZNE Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenratie Erkrankungen)

Multiple Faculty Positions – Neuroscience and Neuroengineering (Tsinghua University)

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