Neural Cell News Volume 9.08 | Mar 4 2015

GLUT1 Reductions Exacerbate Alzheimer’s Disease Vasculo-Neuronal Dysfunction and Degeneration
Scientists showed that GLUT1 deficiency in mice overexpressing amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) precursor protein leads to early cerebral microvascular degeneration, blood flow reductions and dysregulation and blood-brain barrier breakdown, and to accelerated Aβ pathology, reduced Aβ clearance, diminished neuronal activity, behavioral deficits, and progressive neuronal loss and neurodegeneration that develop after initial cerebrovascular degenerative changes. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract | Press Release

Fast Clonal Expansion and Limited Neural Stem Cell Self-Renewal in the Adult Subependymal Zone
Investigators analyzed the progeny of individual neural stem cells (NSCs) of the mouse adult subependymal zone in vivo and found a markedly fast lineage amplification, as well as limited NSC self-renewal and exhaustion in a few weeks. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract

TREM2 Deficiency Eliminates TREM2⁺ Inflammatory Macrophages and Ameliorates Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Models
Scientists report that triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is up-regulated on myeloid cells surrounding amyloid deposits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse models and human AD tissue. TREM2 was detected on CD45^hiLy6C⁺ myeloid cells, but not on P2RY12⁺ parenchymal microglia. [J Exp Med]
Abstract | Press Release

Cerebrospinal Fluid-Derived ​Semaphorin3B Orients Neuroepithelial Cell Divisions in the Apicobasal Axis
Researchers report that ​Semaphorin3B (​Sema3B) released from the floor plate and the nascent choroid plexus in the cerebrospinal fluid controls progenitor division orientation. Delivery of exogenous ​Sema3B to neural progenitors after neural tube opening in living embryos promotes planar orientation of their division. [Nat Commun] Abstract

Neuronal Amyloid-β Accumulation within Cholinergic Basal Forebrain in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease
Researchers explored the extent and characteristics of intraneuronal amyloid-β accumulation, particularly of the fibrillogenic 42-amino acid isoform, within basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in normal young, normal aged and Alzheimer’s disease brains as a potential contributor to the selective vulnerability of these neurons using immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. [Brain] Abstract | Press Release

The RNA Helicase DDX6 Regulates Cell-Fate Specification in Neural Stem Cells via miRNAs
Scientists used a mass spectrometry approach to identify novel protein–protein interaction partners of TRIM32 during neuronal differentiation. They demonstrated, that DDX6 colocalizes with TRIM32 in neural stem cells and neurons and that it increases the activity of Let-7a. [Nucleic Acids Res] Full Article

Protective Effects of Human iPS-Derived Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cells in Comparison with Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells and Human Neural Stem Cells on the Degenerating Retina in rd1 Mice
Researchers demonstrated that human induced pluripotent stem (iPS)-retinal pigmented epithelium cells significantly attenuated photoreceptor degeneration on postoperative days 14 and 21 and survived longer up to at least 12 weeks after operation than the other two types of graft cells with less immune responses and apoptosis. [Stem Cells] Abstract

Anti-Muscarinic Adjunct Therapy Accelerates Functional Human Oligodendrocyte Repair
Muscarinic agonist treatment of human oligodendrocyte progenitors (hOPCs) resulted in a specific and dose-dependent blockade of oligodendrocyte commitment. Conversely, when hOPCs were cocultured with human neurons, M₃R antagonist treatment stimulated oligodendrocytic differentiation. [J Neurosci]
Abstract | Press Release

Regulation of the p19^Arf/p53 Pathway by Histone Acetylation Underlies Neural Stem Cell Behavior in Senescence-Prone SAMP8 Mice
Scientists found that the B1/neural stem cells (B1-NSC) compartment is transiently expanded in young senescence-accelerated-prone (SAMP8) relative to senescence-accelerated-resistant mice, resulting in disturbed cytoarchitecture of the subependymal zone, B1-NSC hyperproliferation, and higher yields of primary neurospheres. [Aging Cell] Full Article

Taurine Enhances Excitability of Mouse Cochlear Neural Stem Cells by Selectively Promoting Differentiation of Glutamatergic Neurons Over GABAergic Neurons
Investigators report that taurine enhanced the viability and proliferation of in vitro mouse cochlear neural stem cell culture, as well as improved neurite outgrowth. [Neurochem Res] Abstract

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Researchers Share $200K in Pilot Grants to Study Brain Cancers
The research and development of improved therapy for metastatic brain tumors and high-grade gliomas is the focus of $200,000 in pilot grants awarded by the University of Cincinnati Brain Tumor Center’s Molecular Therapeutics Program. [University of Cincinnati] Press Release

Cure SMA Announces Additional $315,000 for SMA Drug Program at the California Institute of Biomedical Research
Cure SMA announced that they have extended their spinal muscular atrophy research program with the California Institute of Biomedical Research (CALIBR) with an additional $315,000 drug discovery grant. This partnership first began in 2012, when they awarded $700,000 to Dr. Peter G. Schultz and his team for their drug discovery program, “Optimization of Small Molecules that Increase SMN2 Levels for the Treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.” [Cure SMA] Press Release

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NEW Postdoctoral Position – Neural Circuitry in Drosophila (HHMI Janelia Research Campus)

NEW Research Fellow/Research Associate – Neural Circuits (Nanyang Technological University)

Scientist – Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Neural Differentiation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Scientist – Pluripotent Stem Cell Media Development, High Throughput Screening (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Scientist – Cell Culture Support Products (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Associate – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Assistant Professor – Neuroscience (Georgia State University)

Director – Vector Production (Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.)

Senior Process Development Engineer (Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.)

Assistant/Associate Professor – Gastroenterology (North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Epigenetic Mechanisms and Behavioral Outcomes of Developmental Neurotoxicity (Thomas Jefferson University)

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