| Vol. 14.46 – 9 December, 2020 |
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| Scientists used single-cell datasets and identified glioma stem cells (GSC) at the apex of the differentiation hierarchy of glioblastoma (GBM). By reconstructing the GSCs’ regulatory network, they identified the YAP/TAZ coactivators as master regulators of this cell state, irrespectively of GBM subtypes. [Nature Cancer] |
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| PUBLICATIONSRanked by the impact factor of the journal |
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| Investigators reveal an instructive role for FOS and SCG2 in establishing a network of Fos-activated neurons via the rewiring of local inhibition to form a selectively modulated state. [Nature] |
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| Researchers assembled organoids with cerebral cortical organoids in 3D cultures to form cortico-striatal assembloids. Using viral tracing and functional assays in intact or sliced assembloids, they showed that cortical neurons sent axonal projections into striatal organoids and formed synaptic connections. [Nature Biotechnology] |
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| The authors showed that in the hippocampus of adult mice, quiescent neural precursor cells maintain the highest reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. [Cell Stem Cell] |
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| Using a strategic series of increasingly complex human stem cell‐derived technologies, including human neurons, MECP2‐mosaic neurospheres to model Rett syndrome female brain mosaicism, and cortical organoids, researchers identified synaptic dysregulation downstream from knockout (KO) of MECP2 and screened select pharmacological compounds for their ability to treat the dysfunction. [EMBO Molecular Medicine] |
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| Scientists analyzed division events in an adult neural stem cell (NSC) population of the zebrafish telencephalon. Spatial statistics and mathematical modeling of over 80,000 NSCs in 36 brain hemispheres revealed weakly aggregated, nonrandom division patterns in space and time. [PLOS Biology] |
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| To define the mechanisms linking proliferation and apoptotic threshold, researchers examined the effect of conditionally deleting Bcl2l1, the gene that codes the antiapoptotic protein BCL-xL, in cerebellar granule neuron progenitors, and of co-deleting Bcl2l1 homologs, antiapoptotic Mcl-1, or pro-apoptotic Bax. [Cell Death & Differentiation] |
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| Scientists found dopaminergic neurons necessary and sufficient for activation of cell non-autonomous unfolded protein response (UPRER) to drive lipid depletion in peripheral tissues, whereas serotonergic neurons were sufficient to drive protein homeostasis in peripheral tissues. [Cell Reports] |
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| Investigators analyzed a microRNA (miR) microarray comparing with normal and plexiform neurofibroma Schwann cells (PNF-SCs) and identified differences in miR expression, which they validated in mouse PNFs versus normal mouse SCs by qRT-PCR. [Oncogene] |
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| While demonstrating the utility of human induced pluripotent stem cells derived from multiplex families to identify significant cell-specific gene network alterations in schizophrenia, the authors support a role for disruption of PI3K/GSK3 signaling as a risk factor for schizophrenia. [Neuropsychopharmacology] |
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| Scientists evaluated the role of STAT3 and IL-6 in a tumor microenvironment mediated drug resistance in human medulloblastomas. [Cell Death & Disease] |
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| Researchers identified a novel role for COG5 in maintaining endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein homeostasis and disruption of that role resulted in activation of PKR-like ER kinase (PERK) and early-onset retinal degeneration, microcephaly, and skeletal dysplasia. [Scientific Reports] |
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| Stem cell models of various organ systems—most prominently, lung, gut, heart, and brain—are at the forefront of studies aimed at understanding the role of direct infection in COVID-19 multi-organ dysfunction. [Cell Stem Cell] |
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| Scientists summarize the known ultrastructural, molecular, and functional features of direct microglia-neuron interactions and their roles in brain disease. [Neuron] |
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| Investigators introduce recent advances in microglial biology and CSF1R-related leukoencephalopathy. [Acta Neuropathologica Communications] |
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| Cortexyme, Inc announced that the independent Data Monitoring Committee conducted a pre-planned interim analysis and recommended Cortexyme continue the PhaseII/III GAIN Trial of atuzaginstat as planned to the one-year endpoint. [Cortexyme, Inc] |
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| REGENXBIO Inc. announced interim data from cohorts one and two of the ongoing Phase I/II trial of RGX-121 for the treatment of patients up to five years old diagnosed with Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II (MPS II). In addition, REGENXBIO announced plans to evaluate a higher dose of RGX-121 in a third cohort of patients at an increased dose of 2.0×1011 GC/g brain mass. [REGENXBIO Inc.] |
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| January 15 – 16, 2021 Virtual |
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| Karolinska Institutet – Solna, Sweden |
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| Karolinska Institutet – Solna, Sweden |
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| Université Libre de Bruxelles – Gosselies, Belgium |
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| University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine – San Francisco, California, United States |
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| University College London – London, England, United Kingdom |
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