Neural Cell News Volume 14.21 | Jun 3 2020

TOP STORY

CD49f Is a Novel Marker of Functional and Reactive Human iPSC-Derived Astrocytes

Researchers showed that CD49f was a novel marker for human astrocytes, expressed in fetal and adult brains from healthy and diseased individuals. [Neuron] Abstract | Graphical Abstract | Press Release

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

NitroSynapsin Ameliorates Hypersynchronous Neural Network Activity in Alzheimer hiPSC Models

Scientists developed a platform of physiological assays using patch-clamp electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and multielectrode array experiments on human (h)iPSC-derived 2D cortical neuronal cultures and 3D cerebral organoids. [Mol Psychiatry] Abstract

Remote Nongenetic Optical Modulation of Neuronal Activity Using Fuzzy Graphene

Researchers modulated the electrophysiology of neuronal cells in 2D and 3D assemblies with subcellular precision via photothermal stimulation using a multiscale fuzzy graphene nanostructure. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Full Article

Dilp-2-Mediated PI3-Kinase Activation Coordinates Reactivation of Quiescent Neuroblasts with Growth of Their Glial Stem Cell Niche

The authors found that Drosophila insulin-like peptide (Dilp)-2 was required for PI3-kinase activation and growth coordination between neuroblasts and glia in the brain. [PLoS Biol] Full Article

Depletion of the AD Risk Gene SORL1 Selectively Impairs Neuronal Endosomal Traffic Independent of Amyloidogenic APP Processing

The authors validated defects in neuronal endosomal traffic by showing altered localization of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in early endosomes, a site of APP cleavage by the β-secretase. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

A Dynamic Splicing Program Ensures Proper Synaptic Connections in the Developing Cerebellum

Scientists unveiled a widespread and highly dynamic splicing program that affects synaptic genes in cerebellar neurons. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Cerebral Organoids: A Human Model for AAV Capsid Selection and Therapeutic Transgene Efficacy in the Brain

In cerebral organoids, transduction with recombinant adeno associated virus (rAAV)5 led to higher levels of vector DNA, transgenic mRNA and protein expression as compared to rAAV9. The superior transduction of rAAV5 was replicated in iPSC-derived neuronal cells. [Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev] Abstract | Graphical Abstract | Full Article

Astrocytic BDNF and TrkB Regulate Severity and Neuronal Activity in Mouse Models of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Specific genetic deletion of BDNF in astrocytes prevented the increase in the number of firing neurons and the global firing rate in an in vitro model of temporal lobe epilepsy. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Increased Tau Expression Correlates with Neuronal Maturation in the Developing Human Cerebral Cortex

Using single-cell RNA sequencing, scientists found that tau mRNA expression began in radial glia but increased dramatically as migrating neuronal precursors matured. [eNeuro] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

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Brain Organoids: An Ensemble of Bioassays to Investigate Human Neurodevelopment and Disease

The authors summarize how the diverse brain organoid methods can be utilized to enhance our understanding of brain disorders. [Cell Death Differ] Abstract

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

Nascent Biotech to Begin Phase I Human Trials for Brain Cancer Drug

Nascent Biotech, Inc. announced that the company will soon begin Phase I clinical trials for a treatment of brain cancer, including, glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. [Nascent Biotech, Inc. (GlobeNewswire, Inc.)] Press Release

Cytokinetics and The ALS Association Renew Partnership to Advance the Fight Against ALS

Cytokinetics, Incorporated and the ALS Association announced the continuation of their partnership in the fight against ALS. Cytokinetics is a sponsor of the 2020 ALS Roundtables and ALS Focus, a patient and caregiver led survey program to learn about individual experiences with ALS. [Cytokinetics, Incorporated (GlobeNewswire, Inc.)] Press Release

Europe Bets R&D Spending Will Bring Jobs to Battered Economy

The European Union wants a massive dose of research spending to lift it out of what could be the worst recession in its history. Last week, as part of a €1.85 trillion budget and pandemic recovery proposal, the European Commission, the EU executive arm, unveiled plans to pump €94.4 billion into research over seven years, nearly €11 billion more than originally planned for the program, called Horizon Europe. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

The Pandemic Is Challenging China’s Breakneck Race to the Top of Science

When COVID-19 hit, China was close to surpassing the United States as the leading science funder, two years after it took top place as the biggest producer of scientific articles. And the country has boosted science around the world by supplying other regions with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, who now number in the hundreds of thousands a year. [Nature News] Editorial

Will the Pandemic Permanently Alter Scientific Publishing?

The COVID-19 crisis has underlined just how fast and open science publishing can be – when scientists want it that way. Researchers working on the pandemic are sharing preliminary results on preprint servers and institutional websites at unprecedented rates, embracing the kind of early, public sharing that physicists and mathematicians have practised for decades. [Nature News] Editorial

In light of COVID-19, many conferences are being cancelled or postponed. As such:

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NEW Scientific Leader – Neuroscience and Technology Translation (Simon Fraser University)

NEW Tenure-Track Investigator – Computational Neuroscientist (NIH National Institute of Mental Health)

NEW Research Group Leader – Neuroscience (Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Genes in Neural Circuits (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

Postdoctoral Position – Electron Microscopy of Brain Circuits (Technical University of Munich)

Investigator Scientist – Brain Neuron Research (The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

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)

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 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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