Neural Cell News Volume 14.10 | Mar 18 2020

TOP STORY

Oxygen Tension and the VHL-Hif1α Pathway Determine Onset of Neuronal Polarization and Cerebellar Germinal Zone Exit

Scientists report that oxygen tension, which rose at birth, and the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)-hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (Hif1α) pathway regulated polarization and maturation of post-mitotic cerebellar granule neurons. [Neuron] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

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AAV Capsid-Promoter Interactions Determine CNS Cell Selective Gene Expression In Vivo

Scientists discovered that the capsid of AAV9 exerted a differential influence on constitutive promoters of sufficient magnitude to alter cell type gene expression in rat CNS. [Mol Ther] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

β-Amyloid Clustering around ASC Fibrils Boosts Its Toxicity in Microglia

Researchers investigated the propagation of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) between primary microglia and the effects of ASC-β-amyloid composites on microglial inflammasomes and function. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Morphine and Naloxone Facilitate Neural Stem Cell Proliferation via a TET1-Dependent and Receptor-Independent Pathway

Two opioids, morphine and naloxone, were demonstrated to facilitate neural stem cell proliferation via a receptor-independent and ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenase 1 (TET1)-dependent pathway. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Organoid Cultures of MELAS Neural Cells Reveal Hyperactive Notch Signaling That Impacts Neurodevelopment

Researchers investigated the contribution of motor neuron pathology to mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). Using a spinal cord organoid system derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of a MELAS patient. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Serine-Dependent Redox Homeostasis Regulates Glioblastoma Cell Survival

Serine availability in glioblastoma cells was modulated pharmacologically, genetically and by adjusting serine and glycine concentrations in the culture medium. Cells were investigated for regulation of serine metabolism, proliferation, sensitivity to hypoxia-induced cell death and redox homeostasis. [Br J Cancer] Abstract

The Expression Level of Alpha-Synuclein in Different Neuronal Populations Is the Primary Determinant of Its Prion-Like Seeding

Investigators generated primary neuronal cultures from various brain regions of wild-type mice and mice expressing a reduced level of alpha-synuclein (aSyn), and exposed them to fibrillar aSyn. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Large-Scale Acoustic-Driven Neuronal Patterning and Directed Outgrowth

The authors examined the effects of acoustic arrangement on cells atop 3D hydrogels for up to six days and showed that assembled cells spontaneously grew branches in a directed manner towards adjacent clusters, infiltrating the matrix. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Cycloastragenol Upregulates SIRT1 Expression, Attenuates Apoptosis and Suppresses Neuroinflammation after Brain Ischemia

Scientists investigated whether cycloastragenol protected against ischemic brain injury and whether the beneficial effects were associated with the regulation of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) in the ischemic brain. [Acta Pharmacol Sin] Abstract

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Presynaptic Calcium Channels: Specialized Control of Synaptic Neurotransmitter Release

Advances in optical and electron microscopic imaging, structural biology and molecular techniques have facilitated recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the properties of voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels that support their presynaptic functions. [Nat Rev Neurosci] Abstract

Potential Therapeutic Target for Aging and Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases: The Role of Acid Sphingomyelinase

The authors describe the pathophysiological processes that are regulated by acid sphingomyelinase, focusing on the age-related neurodegenerative environment. [Exp Mol Med] Full Article

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

Cortexyme Announces GAIN Trial in Alzheimer’s Disease Has Reached Enrollment Milestone of 300 Patients

Cortexyme, Inc. announced that enrollment in its GAIN Trial for Alzheimer’s disease has reached 300 patients toward the study’s previously announced enrollment target of 570 subjects. GAIN is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II/III trial of COR388, Cortexyme’s lead investigational medicine, in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. [Cortexyme, Inc.] Press Release

Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston Announce Collaborative Grant Awardees

Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston (UH) are teaming up for new research collaborations. The two Texas Medical Center member institutions have awarded grant funding for nine research projects, each with investigators from both schools, as part of a pilot program resulting from a 2019 Memorandum of Understanding between Baylor College of Medicine and UH to foster new partnerships and research collaborations. [Baylor College of Medicine] Press Release

Respirators, Quarantines, and Worst-Case Scenarios: Lab Animal Facilities Grapple with the Pandemic

Many universities are currently grappling with the best way to care for the millions of mice, monkeys, and other research animals they care for across the country, in addition to protecting the health of their own employees. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Journals, Peer Reviewers Cope with Surge in COVID-19 Publications

Academic journals have already taken steps to accelerate the flow of peer-reviewed information by expediting editorial and peer review for coronavirus-related manuscripts and granting them open-access status upon publication. [The Scientist] Editorial

Near-Lockdown in the Bay Area ‘Ratchets Up’ Challenges for Local Biotechs and Labs

At the stroke of midnight on Tuesday morning, seven counties in the San Francisco Bay Area went into near-lockdown – ushering in a new reality for biopharma companies and biomedical labs. The “shelter in place” order offers significant leeway for medical research. [STAT News] Editorial

NEW International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR): Advances in Stem Cell Research: From Single Cells to Organs
October 12-14, 2020
Paris, France

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

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Developmental Neuroscience (Children’s National Hospital)

Research Assistant – Cerebral Organoids (Weill Cornell Medicine College)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuroscience Research (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

Associate Professor – Visual Neuroscience (Dalhousie University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Translational Brain Tumor Research (Northwestern University)

Branch Chief – Neuroscience Research (National Institutes of Health)

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship – Neuroscience and Stem Cells (Black Family Stem Cell Institute)

Faculty Position – Neuroimmunology (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)

Postdoctoral Associate – Neuron Diversity Mechanisms in Brain Development (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Faculty Positions – Brain Disorders (IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research)

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