TOP STORY
New Pathway to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Diseases Sanford-Burnham researchers uncover new clues about the cause of brain cell death in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases. [Press release from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute discussing online prepublication in Molecular Cell] | | | | | *Piccirillo et al., Nature, 2006. *Gallia et al., Mol Cancer Ther, 2009. | *McGillicuddy et al., Cancer Cell, 2009. *Zheng et al., Cancer Cell, 2010. |
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CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)Ancestry of Motor Innervation to Pectoral Fin and Forelimb In this paper, researchers present anatomical and embryological evidence showing that pectoral motoneurons also originate in the hindbrain among ray-finned fish. [Nat Commun] Transnitrosylation of XIAP Regulates Caspase-Dependent Neuronal Cell Death Here, researchers report that nitric oxide (NO) reacts with XIAP (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis) by S-nitrosylating its RING domain (forming SNO-XIAP), thereby inhibiting E3 ligase and antiapoptotic activity. [Mol Cell] Matrix Metalloproteinases Are Modifiers of Huntingtin Proteolysis and Toxicity in Huntington’s Disease Identifying critical proteases involved in huntingtin (Htt) proteolysis and toxicity using an unbiased approach has not been reported. To accomplish this, researchers designed a high-throughput western blot-based screen to examine the generation of the smallest N-terminal polyglutamine-containing Htt fragment. [Neuron] Basal GABA Regulates GABA(B)R Conformation and Release Probability at Single Hippocampal Synapses Here, researchers explored local presynaptic GABA(B) receptor [GABA(B)R] activation by integrating optical tools for monitoring receptor conformation and synaptic vesicle release at individual presynaptic boutons of hippocampal neurons. [Neuron] Efficient Reprogramming of Adult Neural Stem Cells to Monocytes by Ectopic Expression of a Single Gene Researchers report that adult neural stem cells can be reprogrammed at very high efficiency to monocytes, a differentiated fate of an unrelated somatic lineage, by ectopic expression of the Ets transcription factor PU.1. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] T-Type Channels Control the Opioidergic Descending Analgesia at the Low Threshold-Spiking GABAergic Neurons in the Periaqueductal Gray Endogenous opioids generate analgesic signals in the periaqueductal gray (PAG). However, because cell types in the PAG are difficult to identify, its neuronal mechanism has remained poorly understood. To address this issue, researchers characterized PAG neurons by their electrical properties using differentially labeled GABAergic and output neurons in the PAG. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Distinct Subclasses of Medium Spiny Neurons Differentially Regulate Striatal Motor Behaviors Here researchers present two mouse models in which the function of striatonigral or striatopallidal neurons is selectively disrupted due to cell type-specific deletion of the striatal signaling protein dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein Mr 32kDa (DARPP-32). [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] SIRT1 Promotes the Central Adaptive Response to Diet Restriction through Activation of the Dorsomedial and Lateral Nuclei of the Hypothalamus Here researchers demonstrate that diet restriction significantly increases SIRT1 protein levels and induces neural activation in the dorsomedial and lateral hypothalamic nuclei. [J Neurosci] Isolation of Locally Derived Stem/Progenitor Cells From the Peri-Infarct Area That Do Not Migrate From the Lateral Ventricle After Cortical Stroke Researchers compared stem/progenitor cell responses after focal cortical strokes produced by distal middle cerebral artery occlusion and cortical/striatal strokes produced by the intraluminal suture model. [Stroke] Histological and Functional Benefit Following Transplantation of Motor Neuron Progenitors to the Injured Rat Spinal Cord In order to investigate the amenability of the injured adult spinal cord to motor neuron differentiation, researchers transplanted spinal cord injured animals with a high purity population of human motor neuron progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells. [PLoS ONE]
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POLICY NEWSNSF Funding Request Faring Well in Congress While the 2011 budget requests of other U.S. research agencies are struggling to stay afloat in choppy fiscal seas, so far National Science Foundation’s (NSF) is sailing through Congress largely intact. [National Science Foundation, United States] Sanofi-aventis Said to Be Likely to Bid $18 Billion for Genzyme Sanofi-aventis is likely to make an unsolicited offer of up to $70 a share for Genzyme, raising the stakes for what could become one of the year’s biggest deals, people briefed on the matter said. [The New York Times] British Companies to Receive Support to Develop New Regenerative Medicine Products and Technologies The government-backed Technology Strategy Board is to invest over £5 million to support the research and development in the UK of new regenerative medicine products, tools and technologies. 16 research and development projects in the field of regenerative medicine therapeutics are to receive a total of £3.6 million of investment, while a further £1.6 million is to be invested in 12 feasibility studies in the area of regenerative medicine tools and technologies. [Technology Strategy Board, United Kingdom] Senate Spending Panel Approves $1 Billion Boost for NIH A Senate subcommittee matched President Barack Obama’s request for a $1 billion increase in 2011 for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That raise would bring the agency’s total budget to $32 billion, or 3.5% above the 2010 level, according to a statement from the Senate appropriations labor, health, and human services subcommittee. [National Institutes of Health, United States] NIH Takes on New Role in Fight Against Rare Diseases A government program focusing on rare diseases, the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program, has launched five pilot projects that are taking the National Institutes of Health in a new direction: developing drugs. TRND will work together with scientists, advocates and others to do the required research and testing on drugs before a compound can be tried in humans in a clinical trial. [National Institutes of Health, United States] National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting (Doc. 2010-18627) [National Institutes of Health, United States] National Cancer Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings [National Institutes of Health, United States] Office of the Director; Notice of Closed Meeting [National Institutes of Health, United States] National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; Notice of Meeting [National Institutes of Health, United States] Request for Proposals (RFP): NIA Intervention Testing Program Solicits Proposals for Compounds to Test for Anti-Aging Activity in Mice (NOT-AG-10-008) [National Institutes of Health, United States] Viral and Host Genetic Factors Regulating HIV-Associated CNS Disease (R01) (RFA-MH-11-020) [National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, United States] Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request [Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, United States]
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EVENTS (Listed by Date) Select Biosciences 3rd Annual Stem Cells Europe Conference August 24-25, 2010 Edinburgh, Scotland Select Biosciences Inaugural Cellular Therapy Summit August 24-25, 2010 Edinburgh, Scotland BIOSPINE 3 – 3rd World Congress on Biotechnologies for Spinal Surgery September 1-4, 2010 Amsterdam, The Netherlands EMBO/EMBL Structures and Function of Neural Circuits September 5-8, 2010 Heidelberg, Germany International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)-Europe 2nd Regional Meeting September 11-14, 2010 Belgirate, Italy 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 International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy of Cancer (ISCGT) Congress September 27-29, 2010 Doha, Qatar 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 18th Annual BioPartnering Europe October 10-12, 2010 London, United Kingdom Institute for Genomic Medicine Inaugural Symposium October 11-12, 2010 San Diego, United States 5th Annual Translational Stem Cell Research Conference October 12-13, 2010 New York City, 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 The American Society for Cell Biology 50th Annual Meeting December 11-15, 2010 Philadelphia, United States Adult Neurogenesis January 9-14, 2011 Taos, New Mexico Select Biosciences 5th Annual Stem Cells World Congress January 24-25, 2011 San Diego, United States Phacilitate 7th Annual Cell & Gene Therapy Forum 2011 January 24-26, 2011 Washington, DC, United States NEW Trends in Central Nervous System Malignancies March 25-26, 2011 Bucharest, Romania NEW Wiring the Brain: Making Connections April 12-15, 2011 Powerscourt, Ireland Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.
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