Article
Neurosciences
Moritz Armbruster, Saptarnab Naskar, Jacqueline Garcia, Mary Sommer, Elliot Kim, Yoav Adam, Philip G. Haydon, Edward S. Boyden, Adam E. Cohen, Chris G. Dulla
Summary: This study reveals a novel form of communication between astrocytes and neurons, where neuronal activity induces significant depolarizations in astrocyte processes. These depolarizations are driven by presynaptic potassium efflux and glutamate transporters, and they inhibit astrocyte glutamate clearance, enhancing neuronal activation by glutamate.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Luca Franchini, Jennifer Stanic, Marta Barzasi, Elisa Zianni, Daniela Mauceri, Monica Diluca, Fabrizio Gardoni
Summary: This study demonstrates a key role for Rph3A in the modulation of structural synaptic plasticity at hippocampal synapses, which correlates with its interactions with both NMDARs and AMPARs.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dennis Pauls, Mareike Selcho, Johanna Raederscheidt, Kelechi M. Amatobi, Agnes Fekete, Markus Krischke, Christiane Hermann-Luibl, Ayten Gizem Ozbek-Unal, Nadine Ehmann, Pavel M. Itskov, Robert J. Kittel, Charlotte Helfrich-Foerster, Ronald P. Kuehnlein, Martin J. Mueller, Christian Wegener
Summary: Animals need to balance competitive behaviors to maintain internal homeostasis, which typically involves neuroendocrine signaling. In this study using Drosophila, it was found that AKH signals via two divergent pathways to balance activity levels under ad libitum access to food, with one pathway increasing activity during the day through the octopaminergic system, and the other preventing high activity levels during the night by signaling to the fat body. This regulation also involves feedback signaling from octopaminergic neurons to AKH-producing cells.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Italia, Elena Ferrari, Monica Diluca, Fabrizio Gardoni
Summary: A prominent feature of neurodegenerative diseases is synaptic dysfunction and spine loss. Misfolded proteins, such as tau and alpha-synuclein, play a critical role in driving synaptic toxicity at excitatory glutamatergic synapses. Understanding the role of these proteins in impairing the function of glutamate receptors can provide insights into the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Brisa Palikuqi, Jeremie Rispal, Efren A. Reyes, Dedeepya Vaka, Dario Boffelli, Ophir Klein
Summary: The intestinal epithelium can continuously renew and regenerate, and the proliferation and maintenance of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) are regulated by their surrounding niche cells. In this study, lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) were found to play an essential role in supporting epithelial renewal and repair by secreting molecules in close proximity to crypt epithelial cells. LECs were identified as a crucial source of Wnt signaling in the small intestine, and their loss hindered recovery after cytotoxic injury.
Review
Neurosciences
Ares Orlando Cuellar-Santoyo, Victor Manuel Ruiz-Rodriguez, Teresa Belem Mares-Barbosa, Araceli Patron-Soberano, Andrew G. Howe, Diana Patricia Portales-Perez, Amaya Miquelajauregui Graf, Ana Maria Estrada-Sanchez
Summary: Previous research mainly focused on the function of presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, relegating astrocytes to a secondary role of ensuring neurotransmission. Recent evidence suggests that astrocytes actively contribute to and regulate neuronal transmission. This review compares glutamatergic components in neurons and astrocytes to explore how astrocytes modulate or influence neuronal transmission. Despite knowing their role in synaptic modulation, the specific contributions of astrocytes to physiological and pathological conditions remain unclear. Understanding the role of astrocytes in neuronal processing could lead to new therapeutic applications.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eyal Rozenfeld, Merav Tauber, Yair Ben-Chaim, Moshe Parnas
Summary: This study demonstrates that muscarinic receptors are regulated by membrane potential in vivo, impacting behavior, indicating the significant role of GPCR voltage dependence in neuronal coding and behavioral output.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rostislav A. Sokolov, Irina V. Mukhina
Summary: Calcium is a crucial intracellular messenger in the brain that regulates various cell processes. In this study, the researchers used a fluorescent probe to investigate spontaneous Ca2+ events (SCEs) in neurons during culture maturation. They found that SCEs exhibited three different amplitude distributions and were dependent on extracellular Ca2+, neuronal network activity, and specific receptors and channels.
ARCHIVES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gabriel N. Aughey, Elhana Forsberg, Krista Grimes, Shen Zhang, Tony D. Southall
Summary: During neuronal development, chromatin states change extensively to regulate gene expression. The molecular factors involved in repressing non-neuronal genes in differentiated neurons are not well understood. The Mi2/NuRD complex is a multiprotein complex that can remodel nucleosomes and remove acetyl groups from histones. In this study, we found that Mi-2 activity is essential for preventing the abnormal expression of germline genes in neurons, and components of NuRD, including Mi-2, regulate neural gene expression for proper development of the larval nervous system. We also observed that Mi-2 binding in the genome is dynamic during neuronal maturation, and its repression of ectopic gene expression is limited to the early stages of neuronal development, suggesting its role in establishing stable neuronal transcriptomes.
Article
Neurosciences
Dany Khamsing, Solene Lebrun, Isabelle Fanget, Nathanael Larochette, Christophe Tourain, Vincent de Sars, Maia Brunstein, Martin Oheim, Damien Carrel, Francois Darchen, Claire Desnos
Summary: Memory and long term potentiation rely on de novo protein synthesis, with mTORC1 playing a key role in this process. In neuronal cells, NMDA receptor activation triggers mTOR translocation to lysosomes, with a possible contribution from BDNF through the TrkB receptor. Optogenetic tools can provide spatial and temporal control over mTOR localization, revealing a functional link between NMDA receptors and mTORC1 activation.
Review
Neurosciences
Bruno Cauli, Isabelle Dusart, Dongdong Li
Summary: In the past few decades, lactate has been recognized as an important energy substrate for the brain and a signaling molecule that modulates neuronal excitability and brain functions. This review provides a brief summary of how different cell types produce and release lactate, discusses the signaling mechanisms that allow lactate to fine-tune neuronal excitability and activity, and explores how these mechanisms cooperate to regulate neuroenergetics and higher order brain functions in both physiological and pathological conditions.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Joohyung Kim, Sungdae Kim, Minyeop Nahm, Tsai-Ning Li, Hsin-Chieh Lin, Yeongjin David Kim, Jihye Lee, Chi-Kuang Yao, Seungbok Lee
Summary: Research has shown that the Drosophila homologue of ALS2 plays crucial roles in endosomal trafficking, synaptic development, and neuronal survival. Loss of dALS2 results in age-dependent progressive defects resembling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, independently of the FNI pathway.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Binod Aryal, Subash Dhakal, Bhanu Shrestha, Youngseok Lee
Summary: This study reveals the mechanism of amino acid sensing in Drosophila, which involves the activation of sweet and bitter taste receptors as well as ion receptors in different types of sensilla to stimulate sensory neurons and mediate attraction or aversion behaviors.
Article
Neurosciences
Johansen B. Amin, Aaron Gochman, Miaomiao He, Noele Certain, Lonnie P. Wollmuth
Summary: NMDA receptors play a critical role in fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the nervous system. The transition of agonist-bound receptors into two conformations is driven by specific protein structures within GluN1 and GluN2A. This study highlights the importance of outer structures in priming the channel for rapid opening and facilitating fast synaptic transmission.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Denis P. Laryushkin, Sergei A. Maiorov, Valery P. Zinchenko, Valentina N. Mal'tseva, Sergei G. Gaidin, Artem M. Kosenkov
Summary: This study investigates the role of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) in the generation of paroxysmal depolarization shift (PDS) and the dependence of PDS pattern on neuronal membrane potential. The results show that external stimuli play a crucial role in PDS induction. AMPA receptors are necessary for PDS generation, while NMDA and kainate receptors modulate paroxysmal activity. Agonists of G(i)-coupled receptors suppress PDS generation, suggesting a potential approach for epilepsy pharmacotherapy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ajeet Pratap Singh, Christiane Nuesslein-Volhard
Article
Cell Biology
Ajeet Pratap Singh, Ursula Schach, Christiane Nuesslein-Volhard
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY
(2014)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Prateek Mahalwar, Brigitte Walderich, Ajeet Pratap Singh, Christiane Nuesslein-Volhard
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Ajeet Pratap Singh, Rudra Nayan Das, Gururaj Rao, Aman Aggarwal, Soeren Diegelmann, Jan Felix Evers, Hrishikesh Karandikar, Matthias Landgraf, Veronica Rodrigues, K. VijayRaghavan
Editorial Material
Genetics & Heredity
Alexis Hubaud, Ajeet Pratap Singh
Summary: Drug discovery is a complex process with high attrition rate, mainly due to our lack of understanding of human biology and difficulties in translating preclinical knowledge into cures. Genetics can play a key role in leveraging drug discovery to understand and alter human biology.
TRENDS IN GENETICS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Dmitrii Kamenev, Kazunori Sunadome, Maxim Shirokov, Andrey S. Chagin, Ajeet Singh, Uwe Irion, Igor Adameyko, Kaj Fried, Vyacheslav Dyachuk
Summary: Using genetic tracing, it was discovered that a significant proportion of sympathetic neurons and most chromaffin cells in zebrafish originate from Schwann cell precursors during a specific embryonic development period. The conversion of SCPs into neurons and chromaffin cells is ErbB receptor dependent, and these cells migrate along spinal motor axons to reach appropriate target locations. This study highlights the evolutionary conservation of SCP-to-neuron and SCP-to-chromaffin cell transitions in fish and suggests the presence of multipotent SCPs in postnatal vertebrate tissues for regeneration of autonomic neurons and chromaffin cells.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Developmental Biology
Marco Podobnik, Ajeet P. Singh, Zhenqiang Fu, Christopher M. Dooley, Hans Georg Frohnhofer, Magdalena Firlej, Sarah J. Stednitz, Hadeer Elhabashy, Simone Weyand, John R. Weir, Jianguo Lu, Christiane Nuesslein-Volhard, Uwe Irion
Summary: Teleost fish of the genus Danio, specifically Danio rerio and Danio aesculapii, provide valuable insights into the genetic and cellular mechanisms underlying pigment pattern variation in vertebrates. The divergence of the potassium channel gene kcnj13 is responsible for the divergent patterns of horizontal stripes and vertical bars in these sister species. The study demonstrates that kcnj13 is specifically required in melanophores for interactions with xanthophores and iridophores, affecting pigment cell shapes and consequently influencing color pattern and contrast. The divergence of kcnj13 between the two species is attributed to cis-regulatory changes rather than protein coding changes. These findings suggest that changes in kcnj13 expression play a role in the diversification of pigment patterns through homotypic and heterotypic interactions between pigment cells and their shapes.
Article
Developmental Biology
Bidisha Roy, Ajeet P. Singh, Chetak Shetty, Varun Chaudhary, Annemarie North, Matthias Landgraf, K. VijayRaghavan, Veronica Rodrigues
NEURAL DEVELOPMENT
(2007)