Neural Cell News Volume 4.24 | Jun 23 2010

Migration of Engrafted Neural Stem Cells is Mediated by CXCL12 Signaling Through CXCR4 in a Viral Model of Multiple Sclerosis
The data highlight the importance of the CXCL12:CXCR4 pathway in regulating homing of engrafted stem cells to sites of tissue damage within the central nervous system of mice persistently infected with a neurotropic virus undergoing immune-mediated demyelination. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

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Over-Abundant Protein Prompts Neurodegenerative Cascade: Shuts Down Cell Communications, Helps Cause Dementia
In diverse neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s, researchers have long noted accumulations of a little-understood neuronal protein called alpha-synuclein. Pathological and genetic evidence strongly suggested that excessive alpha-synuclein played a role in the evolution of these diseases, but it was unclear how too much a-synuclein culminated in synaptic damage and neurodegeneration. [Press release from the University of Southern California discussing online prepublication in The Journal of Neuroscience]

Human Embryonic-Like Extracellular Matrix Significantly Inhibits Tumor Growth and Cancer Cell Proliferation
Studies of the human extracellular matrix produced under proprietary conditions of hypoxia and suspension have demonstrated its ability to diminish or eliminate tumor load in melanoma, breast cancer, colon cancer and glioma, both in vitro and in vivo . [Press release from Histogen, Inc. discussing research presented at the 8th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research]

Nature Versus Nurture
Using a newly applied scientific technique, researchers have reached surprising findings about the role of nature versus nurture in the development of the neural circuits in the auditory cortex, the area of the brain responsible for processing information about sound. [Press release from the Keck School of Medicine of USC discussing online prepublication in Nature]

Crayfish Brain May Offer Rare Insight into Human Decision Making
Crayfish make surprisingly complex, cost-benefit calculations, finds a University of Maryland study – opening the door to a new line of research that may help unravel the cellular brain activity involved in human decisions. [Press release from the University of Maryland discussing online prepublication in Proceedings of the Royal Society B]

When Do Newborns First Feel Cold?
Cold sensing neural circuits in newborn mice take around two weeks to become fully active, according to a new study. [Press release from the University of Southern California discussing online prepublication in Pain]

Researchers Find Gender Differences in Stress Response at Cellular Level
There may be a biological reason why depression and other stress-related psychiatric disorders are more common among women compared to men. Studying stress signaling systems in animal brains, neuroscience researchers found that females are more sensitive to low levels of an important stress hormone and less able to adapt to high levels than males. [Press release from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia discussing online prepublication in Molecular Psychiatry]

Scientists Discover that Sense of Direction is Innate
Sense of direction is represented in the brains of newborn rats before they have explored their environment, according to new research. [Press release from University College London discussing online prepublication in Science]

Growing Brain Is Particularly Flexible
Using a combination of experiments, mathematical models and computer simulations, researchers showed that neuronal connections in the visual cortex of cats are restructured during the growth phase and that this restructuring can be explained by self-organisational processes. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA]

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Developmental Sensory Experience Balances Cortical Excitation and Inhibition
Here, researchers use whole-cell recording to determine the processes underlying the development of synaptic receptive fields in rat primary auditory complex. [Nature]

Development of the Hippocampal Cognitive Map in Preweanling Rats
Here, researchers show how cognitive representations emerge and develop as rat pups first begin to explore their environment. [Science]

Sex Differences in Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor Signaling and Trafficking: Potential Role in Female Vulnerability to Stress-Related Psychopathology
Here, researchers show that the receptor for corticotropin-releasing factor signals and is trafficked differently in female rats in a manner that could result in a greater response and decreased adaptation to stressors. [Mol Psychiatry]

Reorganization of Columnar Architecture in the Growing Visual Cortex
At present, little is known about how cortical growth affects the development of neuronal circuits. Here, in acute and chronic experiments, researchers study the layout of ocular dominance columns in cat primary visual cortex during a period of substantial postnatal growth. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

A Pathologic Cascade Leading to Synaptic Dysfunction in Alpha-Synuclein-Induced Neurodegeneration
The data suggest a previously unknown cascade of events where pathologic alpha-synuclein leads to a loss of a number of critical presynaptic proteins, thereby inducing functional synaptic deficits. [J Neurosci]

TRPM8, but Not TRPA1, is Required for Neural and Behavioral Responses to Acute Noxious Cold Temperatures and Cold-Mimetics In Vivo
Results show that noxious cold signaling is exclusive to TRPM8, mediating neural and behavioral responses to cold and cold-mimetics, and that TRPA1 is not required for acute cold pain in mammals. [Pain]

Neural Control of Behavioural Choice in Juvenile Crayfish
Results suggest that crayfish make value-based decisions by weighing the costs and benefits of different behavioural options, and they select adaptive behavioural output based on the activation patterns of identifiable neural circuits. [ Proc R Soc London, Ser B] 

Alpha2,3-Sialylation Regulates the Stability of Stem Cell Marker CD133
Here, researchers found that CD133 could be sialylated in neural stem cells and glioma-initiating cells, and the sialyl residues attach to CD133 N-glycan terminal via alpha2,3-linkage. [J Biochem]

Interferon-Gamma Produced by Microglia and the Neuropeptide PACAP Have Opposite Effects on the Viability of Neural Progenitor Cells
Researchers show here that neuronal progenitor cells express receptors for interferon-gamma (IFNgamma), and IFNgamma activates the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) protein-1. [PLoS ONE]

University of California, San Diego, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Life Technologies Team to Conduct Cell Transplant Research for ALS
The University of California, San Diego, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Life Technologies Corporation announced the initiation of studies which may lead to the future development of cell transplant therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). [Life Technologies Corporation Press Release]

SanBio Receives FDA Clearance to Initiate Cell Therapy Clinical Studies for Stroke Recovery
SanBio Inc. announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the clinical testing of their SB623 regenerative medicine product in patients suffering from disability caused by cerebral stroke. [PR Newswire]

Gladstone and Institute for Systems Biology Collaborate to Discover New Genes Associated with the Onset of Huntington’s Disease
The Institute for Systems Biology is collaborating with the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and its Taube-Koret Center for Huntington’s Disease Research to use whole-genome sequencing to identify genes and novel drug targets related to the onset and progression of Huntington’s disease. [The Institute for Systems Biology Press Release]

University of Utah Makes Progress Against SMA with Support of Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
With the generous support of Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), researchers in the University of Utah Department of Neurology are making significant headway in the fight against the disease.

Chelsea Therapeutics Presents Data at 14th International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders
Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. announced that data from its pivotal studies of Northera™ (droxidopa) in symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension was presented during a poster session and featured in a symposium highlighting the role of norepinephrine deficiency in Parkinson’s disease at the 14th International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. Press Release]

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and California’s State Stem Cell Agency Sign Declaration Of Cooperation to Advance Stem Cell Research Toward Cures
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the state of Wisconsin, coordinated through and led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, expect to identify opportunities to further the advancement, promotion and funding of stem cell research and the development of stem cell therapies. [The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Press Release]

MJFF Awards $4.6 Million to Help Advance Neurotrophic Factors Research
The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for Parkinson’s Research announced $4.6 million in awards to support two promising studies of neurotrophic factor therapies for Parkinson’s disease. [The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Press Release]

CIMIT Announces $3 Million in Medical Research Grants
A wide variety of early-stage, healthcare technology innovation projects in NeuroHealth, Traumatic Stress Disorders, and integrated clinical environments were among those chosen to receive more than $3 million in Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology (CIMIT) seed grants for FY11. [Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology Press Release]

The Path to Personalized Medicine
The leaders of the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have a shared vision of personalized medicine and the scientific and regulatory structure needed to support its growth. Together, they have been focusing on the best ways to develop new therapies and optimize prescribing by steering patients to the right drug at the right dose at the right time. [Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, United States]

New Videos Reveal How NIH Identifies the Most Promising Research Applications
The National Institutes of Health’s Center for Scientific Review released a new video to show new applicants and others how NIH assesses over 80,000 grant applications each year to help find those with the most merit. [The National Institutes of Health, United States]

Request for Information: Updating the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research (NOT-MH-10-025) [The National Institutes of Health, United States]

Novel NeuroAIDS Therapeutics: Integrated Preclinical/Clinical Program (P01) (PAR-10-216) [The National Institutes of Health, United States]

Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Centers Program for Research on HIV/AIDS and Mental Health (P30) (NOT-MH-10-022) [The National Institutes of Health, United States]

BIT’s 1st World Congress of NeuroTalk 2010
June 25-28, 2010
Singapore City, Singapore

7th Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum of European Neuroscience
July 3-7, 2010
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Translational Cancer Medicine 2010 – USA
July 11-14, 2010
San Francisco, United States

United Kingdom National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) Annual Scientific Conference
July 12-14, 2010
Nottingham, United Kingdom

Select Biosciences 3rd Annual Stem Cells Europe Conference
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

Joint Metastasis Research Society – American Association of Cancer Research Conference on Metastasis and the Tumor Microenvironment
September 12-15, 2010
Philadelphia, United States

Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2010
September 13-15, 2010
Philadelphia, United States

4th American Association of Cancer Research International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development
September 27-30, 2010
Denver, United States

6th International Symposium on Neuroprotection and Neurorepair
October 1-4, 2010
Rostock, Germany

2010 World Stem Cell Summit
October 4-6, 2010
Detroit, United States

Translational Cancer Research for Basic Scientists
October 17-22, 2010
Boston, United States

Fraunhofer Life Science Symposium 2010
October 29-30, 2010
Leipzig, Germany

Stem Cell Society Singapore Symposium 2010: Translating Science to Therapy
November 2-3, 2010
Singapore City, Singapore

40th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience 2010
November 13-17, 2010
San Diego, United States

Stem Cell Network 10th Annual Scientific Meeting
November 22-24, 2010
Calgary, Canada

Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.

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