| TOP STORY | Implanted Neurons, Grown in the Lab, Take Charge of Brain Circuitry Scientists report that neurons, forged in the lab from blank slate human embryonic stem cells and implanted into the brains of mice, can successfully fuse with the brain’s wiring and both send and receive signals. [Press release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison discussing online prepublication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA] Press Release | Abstract |
| PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal) | UNC-33 (CRMP) and Ankyrin Organize Microtubules and Localize Kinesin to Polarize Axon-Dendrite Sorting Investigators show here that Caenorhabditis elegans CRMP acts early in neuronal development, together with ankyrin, to organize microtubule asymmetry and axon-dendrite sorting. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract A Catalytically Silent FAAH-1 Variant Drives Anandamide Transport in Neurons Here researchers describe a partly cytosolic variant of the intracellular anandamide-degrading enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase-1 (FAAH-1) that lacked amidase activity but bound anandamide with low micromolar affinity and facilitated its translocation into cells. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract Common DISC1 Polymorphisms Disrupt Wnt/GSK3ß Signaling and Brain Development Here, researchers demonstrate using mouse, zebrafish, and human model systems that Disrupted-in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) variants are loss of function in Wnt/GSK3ß signaling and disrupt brain development. [Neuron] Abstract | Press Release Interaction between FEZ1 and DISC1 in Regulation of Neuronal Development and Risk for Schizophrenia Here, researchers show that Fasciculation and Elongation Protein Zeta-1 (FEZ1) interacts with Disrupted-in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) to synergistically regulate dendritic growth of newborn neurons in the adult mouse hippocampus, and that this pathway complements a parallel DISC1-NDEL1 interaction that regulates cell positioning and morphogenesis of newborn neurons. [Neuron] Abstract Activation of Central Orexin/Hypocretin Neurons by Dietary Amino Acids Researchers show that orexin/hypocretin cells are stimulated by nutritionally relevant mixtures of amino acids (AAs), both in brain slice patch-clamp experiments, and in c-Fos expression assays following central or peripheral administration of AAs to mice in vivo. [Neuron] Abstract Direct Reprogramming of Human Fibroblasts into Dopaminergic Neuron-Like Cells Here researchers show that a combination of five transcriptional factors Mash1, Ngn2, Sox2, Nurr1, and Pitx3 can directly and effectively reprogram human fibroblasts into dopaminergic neuron-like cells. [Cell Res] Abstract Dopamine Neurons Code Subjective Sensory Experience and Uncertainty of Perceptual Decisions Here researchers show that dopamine neurons code the uncertainty associated with a perceptual judgment about the presence or absence of a vibrotactile stimulus. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Astrocytes Mediate Non-Cell-Autonomous Neuroprotection through Endogenous and Drug-Induced Mechanisms Here, investigators describe a human embryonic stem cell-based system to assess the scope and mechanism of human astrocyte-mediated neuroprotection. [Cell Death Differ] Abstract RP58/ZNF238 Directly Modulates Proneurogenic Gene Levels and Is Required for Neuronal Differentiation and Brain Expansion Data suggests that RP58 may act to favor neuronal differentiation and brain growth by coherently repressing multiple proneurogenic genes in a timely manner. [Cell Death Differ] Abstract Elimination of Redundant Synaptic Inputs in the Absence of Synaptic Strengthening Using patch-clamp recordings in acute slices, researchers examined developmental refinement of whisker relay synapses in the thalamus in mice deficient of AMPA receptor subunits. [J Neurosci] Abstract | Press Release |
| SCIENCE NEWS | Researchers Use Stem Cells to Gain New Insight into Severe Childhood Form of Epilepsy A team of researchers investigating the fundamental cause of Dravet syndrome have reprogrammed fibroblasts from Dravet patients and generated patient-specific neurons – which could help determine new therapies or better medications for the syndrome. [Press release from the University of Michigan Health System discussing research presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s 65th Annual Meeting, Baltimore] Press Release |
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