Selective Conversion of Fibroblasts into Peripheral Sensory Neurons Researchers found that transiently coexpressing Brn3a with either Ngn1 or Ngn2 selectively reprogrammed human and mouse fibroblasts to acquire key properties of three classes of sensory neurons. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract | Press Release Human Glial Chimeric Mice Reveal Astrocytic Dependence of JC Virus Infection Engraftment of human glial progenitor cells (GPCs) in normally myelinated and immunodeficient mice resulted in humanized white matter that was chimeric for human astrocytes and GPCs. JC virus (JCV) effectively propagated in these mice, which indicates that astroglial infection is sufficient for JCV spread. [J Clin Invest] Full Article | Press Release | Video ​PKM2 Phosphorylates ​MLC2 and Regulates Cytokinesis of Tumor Cells ​Pyruvate kinase M2 (​PKM2)-regulated ​myosin light chain 2 (​MLC2) phosphorylation, which is greatly enhanced by EGF stimulation or ​EGFRvIII, ​K-Ras G12V and ​B-Raf V600E mutant expression, plays a pivotal role in cytokinesis, cell proliferation and brain tumor development. [Nat Commun] Abstract | Press Release Reduced Synaptic Vesicle Protein Degradation at Lysosomes Curbs TBC1D24/sky-Induced Neurodegeneration Researchers studied Drosophila melanogaster lacking active TBC1D24/Skywalker, a protein that in humans causes severe neurodegeneration, epilepsy, and DOOR (deafness, onychdystrophy, osteodystrophy, and mental retardation) syndrome, and identified endosome-to-lysosome trafficking as a mechanism for degradation of synaptic vesicle-associated proteins. [J Cell Biol] Abstract | Press Release NOS1AP, a Protein Implicated in Schizophrenia, Controls Radial Migration of Cortical Neurons To determine whether nitric oxide synthase 1 adaptor protein (NOS1AP) plays a role in cortical patterning, scientists knocked down or co-overexpressed NOS1AP and a GFP or TagRFP reporter in neuronal progenitor cells of the embryonic rat neocortex using in utero electroporation. [Biol Psychiatry] Abstract | Press Release Suppression of Histone Deacetylation Promotes the Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells towards Neural Progenitor Cells Researchers demonstrate that suppression of histone deacetylases (HDACs) promoted the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells towards neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Application of HDAC inhibitors increased the expression of neuroectodermal markers and enhanced the neuroectodermal specification once neural differentiation was initiated, thereby leading to more NPC generation. [BMC Biol] Abstract | Full Article Human Neural Stem Cells Rapidly Ameliorate Symptomatic Inflammation in Early-Stage Ischemic-Reperfusion Cerebral Injury Scientists tested whether exogenously engrafted human neural stem cells could migrate rapidly and extensively to damaged regions, following transplantation into a neurogenic site where migration cues are already underway during stroke onset, then counteract a number of these pathological processes. [Stem Cell Res] Abstract | Full Article Sox2-Mediated Conversion of NG2 Glia into Induced Neurons in the Injured Adult Cerebral Cortex Investigators show that retrovirus-mediated expression of the transcription factors Sox2 and Ascl1, but strikingly also Sox2 alone, can induce the conversion of genetically fate-mapped NG2 glia into induced doublecortin (DCX)+ neurons in the adult mouse cerebral cortex following stab wound injury in vivo. [Stem Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract | Editorial |