Neural Cell News Volume 8.12 | Apr 2 2014

Pemetrexed and Gemcitabine as Combination Therapy for the Treatment of Group3 Medulloblastoma
Researchers found that pemetrexed and gemcitabine preferentially inhibited Group3 medulloblastoma (G3 MB) proliferation in vitro compared to control neurospheres and substantially inhibited G3 MB proliferation in vivo. When combined, these two drugs significantly increased survival of mice bearing cortical implants of mouse and human G3 MBs that overexpress MYC compared to each agent alone, while having little effect on mouse MBs of the sonic hedgehog subgroup. [Cancer Cell] Abstract | Press Release

Astrocyte Kir4.1 Ion Channel Deficits Contribute to Neuronal Dysfunction in Huntington’s Disease Model Mice
Researchers found that symptom onset in R6/2 and Q175 Huntington’s disease mouse models was not associated with classical astrogliosis, but was associated with decreased Kir4.1 K⁺ channel functional expression, leading to elevated in vivo striatal extracellular K⁺, which increased striatal medium spiny neuron excitability in vitro. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract | Press Release

Phenotypic Differences in hiPSC NPCs Derived from Patients with Schizophrenia
Researchers report that a significant fraction of the gene signature of schizophrenia (SZ) human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons is conserved in SZ hiPSC neural progenitor cells (NPCs). [Mol Psychiatry] Full Article

PCAF-Dependent Epigenetic Changes Promote Axonal Regeneration in the Central Nervous System
Researchers showed through systematic epigenetic studies that the histone acetyltransferase p300/CBP-associated factor (PCAF) promotes acetylation of histone 3 Lys 9 at the promoters of established key regeneration-associated genes following a peripheral but not a central axonal injury. PCAF is necessary for conditioning-dependent axonal regeneration and also singularly promotes regeneration after spinal cord injury. [Nat Commun] Abstract | Press Release

Intracellular mGluR5 Can Mediate Synaptic Plasticity in the Hippocampus
To determine whether metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) signals from intracellular membranes of other cell types, such as excitatory pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus, researchers used dissociated rat CA1 hippocampal cultures and slice preparations to localize and characterize endogenous receptors. [J Neurosci] Abstract | Press Release

L-Serine Treatment May Improve Neurorestoration of Rats after Permanent Focal Cerebral Ischemia Potentially through Improvement of Neurorepair
The authors found that L-serine treatment in permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion rats can reduce brain injury and facilitate neurorestoration which is partly associated with the improvement of proliferation of neural stem cells and microvessels, reconstruction of neurovascular units and resultant neurorepair. [PLoS One]
Full Article

Human Fetal Striatum-Derived Neural Stem (NS) Cells Differentiate to Mature Neurons In Vitro and In Vivo
Scientists described the isolation of a new cell line from human fetal striatum. These cells showed properties of NS cells in vitro such as monolayer growth, high proliferation rate and expression of radial glia markers. [Curr Stem Cell Res Ther] Abstract

GABA and 5-HT Chitosan Nanoparticles Decrease Striatal Neuronal Degeneration and Motor Deficits during Liver Injury
GABA and 5-HT chitosan nanoparticles mediated liver cell proliferation influenced by growth factor and cytokines and neuronal survival in corpus striatum of partially hepatectomised rats was evaluated. [J Mater Sci Mater Med] Abstract

In Vivo Tracking of Human Neural Progenitor Cells in the Rat Brain Using Bioluminescence Imaging
Researchers employed bioluminescence imaging to track luciferase-expressing human neural progenitor cells in the rat striatum long-term. [J Neurosci Methods] Abstract

Reelin, Neuronal Polarity and Process Orientation of Cortical Neurons
This review summarizes and discusses recent findings on the role of reelin in modulating polarization and process orientation of neurons in the neocortex and hippocampus. [Neuroscience] Abstract

Exploring the Brain for Keys to Solving Parkinson’s Disease
James M. Tepper’s territory is the striatum, the largest portion of the basal ganglia, a set of structures below the cerebral cortex involved in voluntary motor behavior as well as cognition, learning and memory, emotion and motivation. Parkinson’s disease can progressively degrade many of those functions, a primary reason why the National Institutes of Health awarded Tepper a five-year, $3.4 million grant to delve ever more deeply into the circuitry and function of the striatum. [Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey] Press Release

$2.5 Million Defense Department Grant Funds Gene Therapy Study for Lou Gehrig’s Disease
The Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute has received a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Defense to conduct animal studies that, if successful, could provide the basis for a clinical trial of a gene therapy product for patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. [Cedars-Sinai] Press Release

NIH Celebrates Grand Opening of John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host a scientific symposium and a dedication ceremony to celebrate the completion of the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center. This state of the art facility brings together neuroscientists from 10 institutes and centers across the NIH in an effort to spur new advances in our understanding of the nervous system in health and disease. [National Institutes of Health] Press Release

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