Neural Cell News Volume 14.18 | May 13 2020

TOP STORY

FASN-Dependent Lipid Metabolism Links Neurogenic Stem/Progenitor Cell Activity to Learning and Memory Deficits

Homozygous FASN R1819W human ESC-derived neural stem/progenitor cells showed reduced rates of proliferation in embryonic 2D cultures and 3D forebrain regionalized organoids, consistent with a developmental phenotype. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

The Claustrum Coordinates Cortical Slow-Wave Activity

In vitro optogenetic stimulation of the claustrum induced excitatory postsynaptic responses in most neocortical neurons, but elicited action potentials primarily in inhibitory interneurons. [Nat Neurosci] Full Article | Press Release

Brainstem Neurons That Command Mammalian Locomotor Asymmetries

Investigators report that Chx10-lineage reticulospinal neurons acted to control the direction of locomotor movements in mammals. [Nat Neurosci] Full Article

Extraction of Distinct Neuronal Cell Types from within a Genetically Continuous Population

The authors used projection-dependent single-cell transcriptomic analyses and monosynaptic rabies tracing to compare mouse primary visual cortex cortico-cortical projection neurons projecting to different higher visual areas. [Neuron] Abstract

Brain-Specific Wt1 Deletion Leads to Depressive-Like Behaviors in Mice via the Recruitment of Tet2 to Modulate Epo Expression

Researchers demonstrated that the brain-specific deletion of Wt1 resulted in abnormal cell distribution during embryonic neurogenesis, which was accompanied by enhanced proliferation of neural progenitors and reduced neuronal differentiation. [Mol Psychiatry] Abstract

A 3D Human Brain-Like Tissue Model of Herpes-Induced Alzheimer’s Disease

Scientists describe a multidisciplinary approach to produce physiologically relevant human tissues to study Alzheimer’s disease using human-induced neural stem cells and HSV-1 infection in a 3D bioengineered brain model. [Sci Adv] Full Article

MECP2 Mutations Affect Ciliogenesis: A Novel Perspective for Rett Syndrome and Related Disorders

The authors demonstrated that MeCP2 deficiency affected ciliogenesis in cultured cells, including neurons and RTT fibroblasts, and in the mouse brain. The cilium-related Sonic Hedgehog pathway, which was essential for brain development and functioning, was impaired. [EMBO Mol Med] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Cerebellospinal Neurons Regulate Motor Performance and Motor Learning

Investigators found that cerebellospinal neurons constituted a small minority of excitatory neurons in the fastigial and interpositus deep cerebellar nuclei, targeted pre-motor circuits in the ventral spinal cord and the brain, and controlled distinct aspects of movement. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

NF-Kappa B Interacting Long Noncoding RNA Enhances the Warburg Effect and Angiogenesis and Is Associated with Decreased Survival of Patients with Gliomas

NF-kappa B interacting long noncoding RNA (NKILA) increased the expression level of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, and the activity of the hypoxia pathway in gliomas. The authors demonstrated that NKILA enhanced the Warburg effect and angiogenesis in gliomas both in vitro and in vivo. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Tumor-Derived CSF2/Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor Controls Myeloid Cell Accumulation and Progression of Gliomas

The expression of colony stimulating factor (CSF)2 was determined in TCGA datasets and five human glioma cell lines. [Br J Cancer] Abstract

Modeling Hypoxia-Induced Neuropathies Using a Fast and Scalable Human Motor Neuron Differentiation System

Investigators translated recent findings that mRNA mis-localization played a role in disease development to the human context by establishing a membrane-based system that allowed efficient fractionation of motor neuron cell soma and neurites. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

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The Emerging Roles of Vacuolar-Type ATPase-Dependent Lysosomal Acidification in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of multiple neurodegenerative diseases, further understanding the mechanisms that regulate the canonical and non-canonical functions of V-ATPase will reveal molecular details of disease process. [Transl Neurodegener] Full Article

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Headsafe Announces FDA Clearance and US Launch of its NUROCHEK^™ Portable Brain Assessment System

HeadsafeIP Pty Ltd announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its NUROCHEK system for brain assessment and will immediately begin commercialization activities in the United States. [HeadsafeIP Pty Ltd (GlobeNewswire, Inc.)] Press Release

Interdisciplinary Research Team Awarded $3.8M to Study Molecular Changes in the Brain Caused by Alzheimer’s Disease

A team of researchers from the University of California, Irvine and San Diego have been awarded $3.8 million by the National Institute on Aging to conduct an epigenomic analysis of neural circuits in the brain. [University of California] Press Release

Coronavirus Shut-Downs Pose Huge Threat to Australian Research Jobs

Research in Australia will face drastic cuts in funding and jobs as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shut-downs, according to a report by organizations representing the country’s researchers and academia. [Nature News] Editorial

Secretive Jasons to Offer Advice on How to Reopen Academic Labs Shut by Pandemic

A group of prominent academic scientists that has been advising the US government on security matters since the Cold War is conducting a quick-turnaround, pro bono study of a new threat to national security-the impact of COVID-19 on academic research. And this time it’s personal. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

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NEW Postdoctoral Position – Ferroptosis Research in Neuroblastoma (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)

Postdoctoral Associate – Neurobiology Research (Cornell University)

Postdoctoral Position – Neuroscience (Linköping University)

Associate Professor – Molecular Neurobiology (Aarhus University)

Professorship – Molecular Neuropathology (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

Researcher Position – Transcriptional Activity in Brain Diseases (Italian Institute of Technology)

Postdoctoral Position – Brain and Disease Research (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neurogenerative Disease (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Program – Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research (Huntington Medical Research Institutes)

Scientist – Oligonucleotide Therapies for Neurological Disorders (Deep Genomics Inc.)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Developmental Neuroscience (Children’s National 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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