Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jinxing Hou, Huiru Bi, Qiting Ge, Huajian Teng, Guoqiang Wan, Bin Yu, Qing Jiang, Xiaosong Gu
Summary: Astrocytes play important roles in spinal cord injury and show heterogeneity. This study identified six distinct astrocyte subtypes following injury and characterized their distribution and dynamic evolution, providing new targets for spinal cord injury repair.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aaron M. Earley, Lena F. Burbulla, Dimitri Krainc, Rajeshwar Awatramani
Summary: Using single cell RNA sequencing, the study unraveled graded molecular identities during human neurogenesis from pluripotent stem cells. Differentiation platforms were established to model neural induction from stem cells, and the differentiated cell types were characterized by 10x single cell RNA sequencing.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Fei Liu, Yijie Zhang, Fuliang Chen, Jiacheng Yuan, Sanlan Li, Sue Han, Dengyu Lu, Junlan Geng, Zhiping Rao, Li Sun, Jianhua Xu, Yuhan Shi, Xiaojing Wang, Yueguang Liu
Summary: The study utilized the AAV(2/8) delivery system to overexpress Neurog2 into astrocytes, successfully converting them into neurons with mature electrophysiological properties, glutamatergic identity, and synapse-like configuration. Furthermore, evidence also proved that Neurog2-iNs in the intact spinal cord are capable of responding to diverse afferent inputs.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Zheng Ao, Hongwei Cai, Zhuhao Wu, Jonathan Krzesniak, Chunhui Tian, Yvonne Y. Lai, Ken Mackie, Feng Guo
Summary: The study introduces a human spinal organoid-on-a-chip device for modeling the biology and electrophysiology of human nociceptive neurons and dorsal horn interneurons. The device allows for testing nociceptive modulators and is cost-efficient, scalable, and easy to use. By integrating human sensory-spinal-cord organoids, the method shows promise for screening and validating novel therapeutics for human pain medicine discovery.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xin Liu, Yufei Zheng, Qingqing Wang, Lan Zhao, Zhaowei Zhang, Haoli Wang, Yang Yang, Nan Song, Jiajia Xiang, Youqing Shen, Shunwu Fan
Summary: This study presents a potent cell therapeutic approach for spinal cord injury (SCI) treatment by reprogramming bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and utilizing chemotaxis to deliver nanoparticles to the injured spinal cord. This approach reshapes the inflammatory microenvironment and promotes locomotor function recovery.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
N. Sumru Bayin, Dogukan Mizrak, Daniel N. Stephen, Zhimin Lao, Peter A. Sims, Alexandra L. Joyner
Summary: By analyzing cellular states and genes, different subtypes of NEPs and their lineages were identified, providing new insights into cellular plasticity and repair mechanisms in the brain.
Article
Immunology
Weiyi Zhao, Natalie Gasterich, Tim Clarner, Clara Voelz, Victoria Behrens, Cordian Beyer, Athanassios Fragoulis, Adib Zendedel
Summary: This study suggests that activation of Nrf2 in astrocytes protects against spinal cord injury by reducing oxidative damage and neuroinflammation.
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Yong-long Chen, Xiang-lan Feng, Chi-Wai Cheung, Jessica Aijia Liu
Summary: This article reviews the role of astrocytes in pain and discusses the molecular mechanisms that control their activity. Targeting detrimental astrocyte subtypes and activity is considered a promising strategy for pain management.
PROGRESS IN NEUROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Simonetta Papa, Valeria Veneruso, Emanuele Mauri, Giada Cremonesi, Xhuljana Mingaj, Alessandro Mariani, Massimiliano De Paola, Arianna Rossetti, Alessandro Sacchetti, Filippo Rossi, Gianluigi Forloni, Pietro Veglianese
Summary: Astroglial cells have a unique reaction during spinal cord damage, and there is a need for treatment targeting activated astrocytes to ensure some preservative effect during progressive damage. Functionalized nanogel-based nanovectors have shown selectivity towards astrocytes and limited uptake by macrophages, with potential therapeutic efficacy.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Sen Lin, Chang Xu, Xuechen Yin, He Tian, Xifan Mei
Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes chronic functional impairment in patients, especially older adults who often have shorter lifespans. Overexpression of p75 leads to neuroinflammation and motor dysfunction following SCI in adult mice. In this study, it was found that p75 deletion could promote motor/sensory function recovery and improve survival in both adult and aged mice.
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Orthopedics
Yiguang Zhou, Feng Yu
Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious complication that leads to severe dysfunction and significant burden. Limited therapeutic advances have been made in improving outcomes for SCI patients. Recent studies have highlighted the key role of lncRNA in SCI, suggesting a new therapeutic approach through specific regulation of lncRNA or its downstream targets.
JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jingxuan Wang, Cai Cheng, Zhongbing Liu, Yan Lin, Lingling Yang, Zijun Zhang, Xiaoduan Sun, Meiling Zhou, Pei Jing, Zhirong Zhong
Summary: Spinal cord injury is a serious injury to the central nervous system that causes significant physical and psychological trauma to the patient. The ability of the human nerve to repair itself after an injury is limited by glial scar formation. Stimulating A2 astrocytes may provide a new treatment for spinal cord injury.
NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Terese A. Garcia, Carrie R. Jonak, Devin K. Binder
Summary: Edema formation following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) worsens secondary injury and is correlated with worse neurological outcome. The aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel plays an important role in water homeostasis and has the potential to modulate edema resolution and functional recovery after SCI. Further research is needed to understand the expression and subcellular localization of AQP4 during specific phases after SCI for therapeutic optimization.
Article
Neurosciences
Siyi Liu, Ge Lin, Qiao Yang, Penghui Wang, Chao Ma, Xiaowei Qian, Xiaomei He, Zhangji Dong, Yan Liu, Mei Liu, Ronghua Wu, Liu Yang
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of SASH1 knockdown on functional recovery after SCI and investigate its mechanism in facilitating axonal growth. The results show that SASH1 downregulation improved hindlimb motor function and reduced glial activation. In cultured spinal astrocytes, SASH1 knockdown decreased interferon-gamma release and increased BDNF release, leading to increased axonal growth. Furthermore, SASH1 depletion maintained high levels of Nestin protein and increased BDNF release in differentiated NSCs.
CNS NEUROSCIENCE & THERAPEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Chen Jin, Yayu Wu, Haipeng Zhang, Bai Xu, Wenbin Liu, Chunnan Ji, Panpan Li, Zhenni Chen, Bing Chen, Jiayin Li, Xianming Wu, Peipei Jiang, Yali Hu, Zhifeng Xiao, Yannan Zhao, Jianwu Dai
Summary: This study created a linearly ordered spinal cord-like structure by placing human spinal cord neural progenitor cells and spinal cord astrocytes on a linearly ordered collagen scaffold. The structure promoted neural and vascular regeneration, inhibited inflammation and glial scar formation, and facilitated neural circuit reconstruction and motor functional recovery. Therefore, this research is of great importance in the treatment of spinal cord injury.
BIOENGINEERING & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Johanna Geuder, Lucas E. Wange, Aleksandar Janjic, Jessica Radmer, Philipp Janssen, Johannes W. Bagnoli, Stefan Mueller, Artur Kaul, Mari Ohnuki, Wolfgang Enard
Summary: A novel and efficient approach has been developed to non-invasively generate iPSCs from primate urine, expanding the range of species available for comparative molecular and cellular phenotype studies. The study demonstrates that primate iPSCs are comparable to human iPSCs, highlighting the potential for further research in understanding human evolution and biology.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Franziska Vierl, Manpreet Kaur, Magdalena Goetz
Summary: This article explores tools for stable gain-of-function expression in embryonic brain development, with a focus on the piggyBac transposon system. The study found that insert size and transposition frequency affect the phenotypes, while highlighting the potential negative effects of non-codon optimized PBase application.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Riccardo Bocchi, Giacomo Masserdotti, Magdalena Goetz
Summary: A successful experiment conducted 20 years ago opened up the field of neuronal reprogramming, which has since made significant progress. These studies are not only important for clinical applications, but also provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms of cell conversion into neurons and the maintenance of neuronal identity.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kami Pekayvaz, Alexander Leunig, Rainer Kaiser, Markus Joppich, Sophia Brambs, Aleksandar Janjic, Oliver Popp, Daniel Nixdorf, Valeria Fumagalli, Nora Schmidt, Vivien Polewka, Afra Anjum, Viktoria Knottenberg, Luke Eivers, Lucas E. Wange, Christoph Gold, Marieluise Kirchner, Maximilian Muenchhoff, Johannes C. Hellmuth, Clemens Scherer, Raquel Rubio-Acero, Tabea Eser, Flora Deak, Kerstin Puchinger, Niklas Kuhl, Andreas Linder, Kathrin Saar, Lukas Tomas, Christian Schulz, Andreas Wieser, Wolfgang Enard, Inge Kroidl, Christof Geldmacher, Michael von Bergwelt-Baildon, Oliver T. Keppler, Mathias Munschauer, Matteo Iannacone, Ralf Zimmer, Philipp Mertins, Norbert Hubner, Michael Hoelscher, Steffen Massberg, Konstantin Stark, Leo Nicolai
Summary: This study reveals protective immune signatures in patients with non-pneumonic SARS-CoV-2 infection and associates them with upper airway viral containment. The study finds a systemic immune state, reduced cytotoxic potential of immune cells, and an immune-modulatory monocyte phenotype associated with protective immunity in COVID-19.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christian Friess, Magdalena Gotz, Jacob Kjell
Summary: The subependymal neurogenic niche is composed of a paraventricular ribbon of the lateral ventricular wall, and the CSD method is a superior approach for collecting SEZ for proteome analysis with high precision and efficiency.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
David Petrik, Sara Jorgensen, Vasileios Eftychidis, Florian A. Siebzehnrubl
Summary: This study explores the heterogeneity of adult neural stem cells, including different types of short-term and long-term self-renewing aNSCs. It also investigates regional and temporal differences in aNSC function, as well as single cell transcriptomics.
Article
Cell Biology
Rosario Sanchez-Gonzalez, Christina Koupourtidou, Tjasa Lepko, Alessandro Zambusi, Klara Tereza Novoselc, Tamara Durovic, Sven Aschenbroich, Veronika Schwarz, Christopher T. Breunig, Hans Straka, Hagen B. Huttner, Martin Irmler, Johannes Beckers, Wolfgang Wurst, Andreas Zwergal, Tamas Schauer, Tobias Straub, Tim Czopka, Dietrich Truembach, Magdalena Goetz, Stefan H. Stricker, Jovica Ninkovic
Summary: The influx of cerebrospinal fluid after brain injury simultaneously activates toll-like receptor 2 (Tlr2) and chemokine receptor 3 (Cxcr3) pathways, leading to increased OPC proliferation and exacerbated glial reactivity. Interference with these pathways alleviated reactive gliosis, increased new neuron recruitment, and improved tissue restoration after injury.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Jessica Giehrl-Schwab, Florian Giesert, Benedict Rauser, Chu Lan Lao, Sina Hembach, Sandrine Lefort, Ignacio L. Ibarra, Christina Koupourtidou, Malte Daniel Luecken, Dong-Jiunn Jeffery Truong, Judith Fischer-Sternjak, Giacomo Masserdotti, Nilima Prakash, Jovica Ninkovic, Sabine M. Hoelter, Daniela M. Vogt Weisenhorn, Fabian J. Theis, Magdalena Goetz, Wolfgang Wurst
Summary: Direct reprogramming based on genetic factors is a promising strategy for replacing lost cells in degenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. In this study, the researchers successfully reprogrammed striatal astrocytes into induced GABAergic neurons and integrated them into striatal circuits, improving motor behavior in a Parkinson's disease model. This approach may provide an alternative route for clinical therapies of Parkinson's disease.
EMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bob A. Hersbach, Tatiana Simon, Giacomo Masserdotti
Summary: Direct neuronal reprogramming is a powerful technique that can generate functional neurons from different starter cell populations without the need for multipotent intermediates. This has great potential in disease modeling and as an alternative for cell-based replacement therapies. The conversion of differentiated non-neural cells, such as astrocytes, into functional neurons in vitro has provided important insights into the molecular mechanisms and challenges of efficient reprogramming. However, comparing results from different labs is difficult due to variations in isolation, culture, and reprogramming methods. This article provides a detailed protocol for reliably isolating and culturing astrocytes with high purity, as well as protocols for reprogramming them into neurons.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Tania Chavarria-Pizarro, Philipp Resl, Theresa Kuhl-Nagel, Aleksandar Janjic, Fernando Fernandez Mendoza, Silke Werth
Summary: Antibiotics primarily result from human activity and can influence the structure of biotic communities and the ecological functions of soil and water ecosystems. However, their effects in other terrestrial ecosystems have not been well-studied. In this study, we found that antibiotic treatments had significant effects on gene expression and viability of the lung lichen Lobaria pulmonaria and its associated bacteria. The observed stress responses in the symbiotic partners are likely a reaction to reduce cell damage caused by genotoxicity due to antibiotic exposure. This research is important for understanding gene expression and dynamics in symbiotic organisms in response to toxic environments.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bob A. Hersbach, David S. Fischer, Giacomo Masserdotti, Deeksha, Karolina Mojzisova, Thomas Waltzhoeni, Diego Rodriguez-Terrones, Matthias Heinig, Fabian J. Theis, Magdalena Goetz, Stefan H. Stricker
Summary: Collide-seq, a single-cell protocol, has shed light on the basic principles of fate erasure and cell identity conflict resolution in direct reprogramming. It revealed the lack of a common mechanism for the loss of fibroblast-specific gene expression and showed that the abrupt transcriptional changes in converting cells occur when critical levels of reprogramming factors are reached. The study also demonstrated that reprogramming factors can disturb cell identity programs independent of their ability to bind their target genes.
MOLECULAR SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
(2022)