Article
Cell Biology
Bhavana Gupta, Adam C. Errington, Ana Jimenez-Pascual, Vasileios Eftychidis, Simone Brabletz, Marc P. Stemmler, Thomas Brabletz, David Petrik, Florian A. Siebzehnrubl
Summary: The study reveals that the transcription factor ZEB1 plays a crucial role in the self-renewal of active RGL cells in the adult mammalian hippocampus, with its deletion leading to a shift towards symmetric cell division and an increase in newborn neurons while decreasing newly generated astrocytes. ZEB1 is identified as a positive regulator of the ets-domain transcription factor ETV5, which is essential for asymmetric division.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Amelie A. Raz, Omri Wurtzel, Peter W. Reddien
Summary: Planarian whole-body regeneration depends on stem cells called neoblasts, which are pluripotent and can differentiate into various cell fates. Specialized neoblasts divide during the cell cycle, producing progeny with different cell fates, indicating that they may retain pluripotency. Single-cell transplantations suggest that some specialized neoblasts are likely clonogenic, supporting a model of neoblast pluripotency where specialization occurs without loss of potency.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Darya V. Telegina, Oyuna S. Kozhevnikova, Anna K. Antonenko, Nataliya G. Kolosova
Summary: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease that often leads to irreversible blindness in the elderly. The pathogenesis of AMD, particularly its dry type, is not fully understood. In recent years, AMD has been increasingly detected in younger individuals.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Eleni Petridou, Leanne Godinho
Summary: The determination of cell fate in the vertebrate retina is influenced by transcription factors and stochastic mechanisms. Different competence states of progenitor cells lead to the generation of different cell classes, with a bias in the types of fates generated during specific time windows. Deterministic mechanisms play a more prominent role in late development.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF VISION SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Boxun Li, Gary C. Hon
Summary: As we approach a comprehensive catalog of mammalian cell types, the ability to engineer specific cell types on demand would revolutionize biomedical research and regenerative medicine. Direct reprogramming of cells through specific transcription factor cocktails offers a promising strategy for cell fate engineering. Recent advancements in single-cell technologies have overcome challenges in bulk reprogramming methods, accelerating progress in the field of cellular engineering.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Brahim Chaqour
Summary: The retina, consisting of neurons, glia, and vascular and epithelial cells, transmits visual signals to the brain through a complex network. The extracellular matrix (ECM) in the retina plays a crucial role in shaping the structural environment and regulating cell function and tissue homeostasis. The ECM-derived cues and intracellular signaling pathways, such as the CCN-Hippo-YAP regulatory axis, have significant impacts on retina development, function, and diseases.
JOURNAL OF CELL COMMUNICATION AND SIGNALING
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Joana Martins-Macedo, Antonio J. Salgado, Eduardo D. Gomes, Luisa Pinto
Summary: Psychiatric disorders have a significant impact on patients' lives, with common symptoms including motivational, cognitive and emotional deficits. Current treatments are often ineffective due to adverse side effects or low efficacy rates. Understanding neuro-and gliogenesis mechanisms is crucial for defining effective treatments, as they play a key role in cognitive and emotional behavior.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Shengming Wang, Yu Fu, Takaki Miyata, Sakiko Matsumoto, Tomoyasu Shinoda, Kyoko Itoh, Akihiro Harada, Shinji Hirotsune, Mingyue Jin
Summary: This study reveals the functional cooperation between aSyn and tau during brain development. Deletion of aSyn and tau alters the balance between progenitor cell proliferation and neurogenesis, resulting in an overproduction of early born neurons. Furthermore, there is a reduction in neural progenitor cells in the aSyn-/-tau-/- cortex, leading to diminished gliogenesis. Additionally, expansion and maturation of macroglial cells are suppressed in the aSyn-/-tau-/- postnatal brain, resulting in reduced brain size and cortical thickness.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Daniela avila-Gonzalez, Italo Romero-Morales, Lizette Caro, Alejandro Martinez-Juarez, Larry J. Young, Francisco Camacho-Barrios, Omar Martinez-Alarcon, Analia E. Castro, Raul G. Paredes, Nestor F. Diaz, Wendy Portillo
Summary: This study examines the effects of social interactions and copulation on the proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in adult voles. The researchers found that social exposure and social cohabitation with mating induce changes in the properties of NPCs and lead to increased proliferation and biased differentiation potential in both male and female voles. The results suggest that neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) may play a crucial role in pair bond formation, and the response to hormonal and growth factors treatments varies depending on the sociosexual context or sex.
BIOLOGY OF SEX DIFFERENCES
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Laura Reiche, Peter Goettle, Lydie Lane, Paula Duek, Mina Park, Kasum Azim, Jana Schuette, Anastasia Manousi, Jessica Schira-Heinen, Patrick Kuery
Summary: The research revealed that the C21orf91 gene is crucial for accurate differentiation and myelination of oligodendroglial cells, and overexpression of C21orf91 leads to the coexpression of astroglial- and oligodendroglial markers, indicating an unbalanced glial cell population in the brains of individuals with Down syndrome.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elisa Nerli, Jenny Kretzschmar, Tommaso Bianucci, Mauricio Rocha-Martins, Christoph Zechner, Caren Norden
Summary: Correct nervous system development requires the timely differentiation of progenitor cells into neurons. The fate decisions of neurogenic progenitors during development have been studied using live imaging in zebrafish retina. It was found that progenitor divisions produce one daughter cell with deterministic fate and one with probabilistic fate. Interfering with the deterministic branch affects lineage progression, while interfering with fate probabilities of the probabilistic branch results in a broader range of fate possibilities. A simple gene regulatory network can predict these fate decision probabilities during wild-type development. These findings highlight lineage flexibility in ensuring robust development of the retina and other tissues.
Article
Developmental Biology
Huanqing Zhang, Pei Zhuang, Ryan M. Welchko, Manhong Dai, Fan Meng, David L. Turner
Summary: This study reveals that miR-216b is highly expressed in postmitotic retinal amacrine cells in the mouse retina and its expression in the retina is partly regulated by the transcription factor Ptf1a. Ectopic expression of miR-216b leads to increased amacrine cell formation and decreased bipolar neuron formation in the developing retina. The researchers identify Foxn3 mRNA as a target of miR-216b and show that Foxn3 is a novel regulator of interneuron formation in the developing retina.
Article
Developmental Biology
Awais Javed, Pedro L. Santos-Franca, Pierre Mattar, Allie Cui, Fatima Kassem, Michel Cayouette
Summary: Temporal identity factors, such as Ikaros zinc-finger transcription factors Ikzf1 and Ikzf4, play important roles in regulating the production of specific cell types during neural development. Ikzf4 acts redundantly with Ikzf1 during early retinal development to promote cone photoreceptor production, while it is involved in gliogenesis and Müller glia production in the late stages. These findings highlight the combinatorial role of Ikaros family members in neural development and provide insights into the temporal regulation of cell fate output.
Article
Cell Biology
Qian Fang, Geng G. Tian, Qian Wang, Mengyao Liu, Lin He, Shengtian Li, Ji Wu
Summary: The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification controls cell fate determination through the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 1 (YTHDF1). The YTHDF1 LLPS inhibits the translation of IcBa/13 mRNA, leading to the activation of the IKB-NF-KB-CCND1 axis and promoting stem cell transdifferentiation into neural stem cell-like cells. Disrupting YTHDF1 LLPS or NF-KB activation inhibits transdifferentiation efficiency.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daisylyn Senna Tan, Yanpu Chen, Ya Gao, Anastasia Bednarz, Yuanjie Wei, Vikas Malik, Derek Hoi-Hang Ho, Mingxi Weng, Sik Yin Ho, Yogesh Srivastava, Sergiy Velychko, Xiaoxiao Yang, Ligang Fan, Johnny Kim, Johannes Graumann, Gary D. Stormo, Thomas Braun, Jian Yan, Hans R. Schoeler, Ralf Jauch
Summary: Transcription factor-driven cell fate engineering requires efficiency, speed, and maturity for clinical translation. Directed evolution led to the discovery of an artificially evolved POU factor (ePOU) that surpasses Oct4 in reprogramming efficacy. ePOU can induce pluripotency with or without Sox2, has altered DNA binding preferences, and accelerates pluripotency network establishment.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Yufeng Lu, Fion Shiau, Wenyang Yi, Suying Lu, Qian Wu, Joel D. Pearson, Alyssa Kallman, Suijuan Zhong, Thanh Hoang, Zhentao Zuo, Fangqi Zhao, Mei Zhang, Nicole Tsai, Yan Zhuo, Sheng He, Jun Zhang, Genevieve L. Stein-O'Brien, Thomas D. Sherman, Xin Duan, Elana J. Fertig, Loyal A. Goff, Donald J. Zack, James T. Handa, Tian Xue, Rod Bremner, Seth Blackshaw, Xiaoqun Wang, Brian S. Clark
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas A. Ray, Kelly Cochran, Chris Kozlowski, Jingjing Wang, Graham Alexander, Martha A. Cady, William J. Spencer, Philip A. Ruzycki, Brian S. Clark, Annelies Laeremans, Ming-Xiao He, Xiaoming Wang, Emily Park, Ying Hao, Alessandro Iannaccone, Gary Hu, Olivier Fedrigo, Nikolai P. Skiba, Vadim Y. Arshavsky, Jeremy N. Kay
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Developmental Biology
Yotam Menuchin-Lasowski, Bar Dagan, Andrea Conidi, Mazal Cohen-Gulkar, Ahuvit David, Marcelo Ehrlich, Pazit Oren Giladi, Brian S. Clark, Seth Blackshaw, Keren Shapira, Danny Huylebroeck, Yoav I. Henis, Ruth Ashery-Padan
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pierre Mattar, Christine Jolicoeur, Thanh Dang, Sujay Shah, Brian S. Clark, Michel Cayouette
Summary: The study reveals that Casz1 plays a crucial role in controlling the transition between neurogenesis and gliogenesis during retinal development, interacting with the NuRD complex and requiring both NuRD and polycomb repressor complexes for its function. Additional temporal identity factors interacting with the NuRD complex in other contexts suggest a common biochemical process for regulating neurogenesis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Correction
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Genevieve L. Stein-O'Brien, Brian S. Clark, Thomas Sherman, Cristina Zibetti, Qiwen Hu, Rachel Sealfon, Sheng Liu, Jiang Qian, Carlo Colantuoni, Seth Blackshaw, Loyal A. Goff, Elana J. Fertig
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Justin Brodie-Kommit, Brian S. Clark, Qing Shi, Fion Shiau, Dong Won Kim, Jennifer Langel, Catherine Sheely, Philip A. Ruzycki, Michel Fries, Awais Javed, Michel Cayouette, Tiffany Schmidt, Tudor Badea, Tom Glaser, Haiqing Zhao, Joshua Singer, Seth Blackshaw, Samer Hattar
Summary: The study highlights the essential role of Atoh7 in the survival of RGCs and the presence of Atoh7-dependent and Atoh7-independent mechanisms for RGC specification. Despite the delay in RGC differentiation in Atoh7;Bax-deficient retinas, the gene expression profile of RGC precursors remains largely normal. Eventually, Atoh7;Bax-deficient RGCs mature, fire action potentials, and integrate into retinal circuitry, albeit with severe axonal guidance defects.
Article
Cell Biology
Brian S. Clark, Joel B. Miesfeld, Michael A. Flinn, Ross F. Collery, Brian A. Link
Summary: This study focuses on the mechanisms underlying the relationships between interkinetic nuclear migration (IKNM), cell signaling, and neurogenesis. Results show that the dynamic polarization and activity of recycling endosomes within neuroepithelia modulates the subcellular localization of Crb2a, affecting multiple signaling pathways impacting neurogenesis. Moreover, the heterogeneity and asynchrony of nuclear migration among RPCs lead to differential modulation of Rab11a-affected signaling within the neuroepithelia, providing mechanistic insight into the correlation of IKNM and selection of RPCs to undergo neurogenesis.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Developmental Biology
Fion Shiau, Philip A. Ruzycki, Brian S. Clark
Summary: Recent advancements in high throughput single-cell RNA sequencing technology have allowed researchers to simultaneously study the transcriptomic profiles of thousands of individual cells in various species, including the retina. These studies have deepened our understanding of retinal development, progenitor cell competence, cell fate specification, and differentiation, while also pointing out outstanding questions in the field that could soon be addressed with advances in single-cell data generation and analysis.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Pin Lyu, Thanh Hoang, Clayton P. Santiago, Eric D. Thomas, Andrew E. Timms, Haley Appel, Megan Gimmen, Nguyet Le, Lizhi Jiang, Dong Won Kim, Siqi Chen, David F. Espinoza, Ariel E. Telger, Kurt Weir, Brian S. Clark, Timothy J. Cherry, Jiang Qian, Seth Blackshaw
Summary: In this study, integrated single-cell RNA and single-cell ATAC sequencing analysis in developing mouse and human retina identified multiple interconnected, evolutionarily conserved gene regulatory networks composed of cell-type-specific transcription factors. These networks play a critical role in controlling cell fate specification in the retina.
Review
Cell Biology
Cristina Zibetti
Summary: Retinal neurogenesis is driven by coordinated actions of transcription factors and involves epigenetic mechanisms. Understanding the epigenetic contribution to age-related macular degeneration can potentially lead to new treatments for retinal degeneration. This review presents advanced approaches to studying the retinal epigenome and discusses the challenges and limitations of current sequencing techniques.
Meeting Abstract
Ophthalmology
Joseph B. Lin, Xiaolei Shen, Chas W. Pfeifer, Fion Shiau, Andrea Santeford, Philip A. Ruzycki, Brian S. Clark, Qin Liu, Andrew J. W. Huang, Rajendra S. Apte
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)