AKT signaling displays multifaceted functions in neural crest development.

Science.gov (United States)

Sittewelle, Méghane; Monsoro-Burq, Anne H

2018-05-31

AKT signaling is an essential intracellular pathway controlling cell homeostasis, cell proliferation and survival, as well as cell migration and differentiation in adults. Alterations impacting the AKT pathway are involved in many pathological conditions in human disease. Similarly, during development, multiple transmembrane molecules, such as FGF receptors, PDGF receptors or integrins, activate AKT to control embryonic cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and also cell fate decisions. While many studies in mouse embryos have clearly implicated AKT signaling in the differentiation of several neural crest derivatives, information on AKT functions during the earliest steps of neural crest development had remained relatively scarce until recently. However, recent studies on known and novel regulators of AKT signaling demonstrate that this pathway plays critical roles throughout the development of neural crest progenitors. Non-mammalian models such as fish and frog embryos have been instrumental to our understanding of AKT functions in neural crest development, both in neural crest progenitors and in the neighboring tissues. This review combines current knowledge acquired from all these different vertebrate animal models to describe the various roles of AKT signaling related to neural crest development in vivo. We first describe the importance of AKT signaling in patterning the tissues involved in neural crest induction, namely the dorsal mesoderm and the ectoderm. We then focus on AKT signaling functions in neural crest migration and differentiation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The neural crest migrating into the 21st century

Science.gov (United States)

Bronner, Marianne E.; Simões-Costa, Marcos

2016-01-01

From the initial discovery of the neural crest over 150 years ago to the seminal studies of Le Douarin and colleagues in the latter part of the 20th century, understanding of the neural crest has moved from the descriptive to the experimental. Now, in the 21st century, neural crest research has migrated into the genomic age. Here we reflect upon the major advances in neural crest biology and the open questions that will continue to make research on this incredible vertebrate cell type an important subject in developmental biology for the century to come. PMID:26970616

Insights into neural crest development from studies of avian embryos

OpenAIRE

Gandhi, Shashank; Bronner, Marianne E.

2018-01-01

The neural crest is a multipotent and highly migratory cell type that contributes to many of the defining features of vertebrates, including the skeleton of the head and most of the peripheral nervous system. 150 years after the discovery of the neural crest, avian embryos remain one of the most important model organisms for studying neural crest development. In this review, we describe aspects of neural crest induction, migration and axial level differences, highlighting what is known about ...

Xenopus reduced folate carrier regulates neural crest development epigenetically.

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Jiejing Li

Full Text Available Folic acid deficiency during pregnancy causes birth neurocristopathic malformations resulting from aberrant development of neural crest cells. The Reduced folate carrier (RFC is a membrane-bound receptor for facilitating transfer of reduced folate into the cells. RFC knockout mice are embryonic lethal and develop multiple malformations, including neurocristopathies. Here we show that XRFC is specifically expressed in neural crest tissues in Xenopus embryos and knockdown of XRFC by specific morpholino results in severe neurocristopathies. Inhibition of RFC blocked the expression of a series of neural crest marker genes while overexpression of RFC or injection of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate expanded the neural crest territories. In animal cap assays, knockdown of RFC dramatically reduced the mono- and trimethyl-Histone3-K4 levels and co-injection of the lysine methyltransferase hMLL1 largely rescued the XRFC morpholino phenotype. Our data revealed that the RFC mediated folate metabolic pathway likely potentiates neural crest gene expression through epigenetic modifications.

Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting of EGFP-Labeled Neural Crest Cells From Murine Embryonic Craniofacial Tissue

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Saurabh Singh

2005-01-01

Full Text Available During the early stages of embryogenesis, pluripotent neural crest cells (NCC are known to migrate from the neural folds to populate multiple target sites in the embryo where they differentiate into various derivatives, including cartilage, bone, connective tissue, melanocytes, glia, and neurons of the peripheral nervous system. The ability to obtain pure NCC populations is essential to enable molecular analyses of neural crest induction, migration, and/or differentiation. Crossing Wnt1-Cre and Z/EG transgenic mouse lines resulted in offspring in which the Wnt1-Cre transgene activated permanent EGFP expression only in NCC. The present report demonstrates a flow cytometric method to sort and isolate populations of EGFP-labeled NCC. The identity of the sorted neural crest cells was confirmed by assaying expression of known marker genes by TaqMan Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (QRT-PCR. The molecular strategy described in this report provides a means to extract intact RNA from a pure population of NCC thus enabling analysis of gene expression in a defined population of embryonic precursor cells critical to development.

Regeneration of neural crest derivatives in the Xenopus tadpole tail

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Slack Jonathan MW

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background After amputation of the Xenopus tadpole tail, a functionally competent new tail is regenerated. It contains spinal cord, notochord and muscle, each of which has previously been shown to derive from the corresponding tissue in the stump. The regeneration of the neural crest derivatives has not previously been examined and is described in this paper. Results Labelling of the spinal cord by electroporation, or by orthotopic grafting of transgenic tissue expressing GFP, shows that no cells emigrate from the spinal cord in the course of regeneration. There is very limited regeneration of the spinal ganglia, but new neurons as well as fibre tracts do appear in the regenerated spinal cord and the regenerated tail also contains abundant peripheral innervation. The regenerated tail contains a normal density of melanophores. Cell labelling experiments show that melanophores do not arise from the spinal cord during regeneration, nor from the mesenchymal tissues of the skin, but they do arise by activation and proliferation of pre-existing melanophore precursors. If tails are prepared lacking melanophores, then the regenerates also lack them. Conclusion On regeneration there is no induction of a new neural crest similar to that seen in embryonic development. However there is some regeneration of neural crest derivatives. Abundant melanophores are regenerated from unpigmented precursors, and, although spinal ganglia are not regenerated, sufficient sensory systems are produced to enable essential functions to continue.

The Neural Border: Induction, Specification and Maturation of the territory that generates Neural Crest cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Pla, Patrick; Monsoro-Burq, Anne H

2018-05-28

The neural crest is induced at the edge between the neural plate and the nonneural ectoderm, in an area called the neural (plate) border, during gastrulation and neurulation. In recent years, many studies have explored how this domain is patterned, and how the neural crest is induced within this territory, that also participates to the prospective dorsal neural tube, the dorsalmost nonneural ectoderm, as well as placode derivatives in the anterior area. This review highlights the tissue interactions, the cell-cell signaling and the molecular mechanisms involved in this dynamic spatiotemporal patterning, resulting in the induction of the premigratory neural crest. Collectively, these studies allow building a complex neural border and early neural crest gene regulatory network, mostly composed by transcriptional regulations but also, more recently, including novel signaling interactions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Development of teeth in chick embryos after mouse neural crest transplantations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitsiadis, Thimios A; Chéraud, Yvonnick; Sharpe, Paul; Fontaine-Pérus, Josiane

2003-05-27

Teeth were lost in birds 70-80 million years ago. Current thinking holds that it is the avian cranial neural crest-derived mesenchyme that has lost odontogenic capacity, whereas the oral epithelium retains the signaling properties required to induce odontogenesis. To investigate the odontogenic capacity of ectomesenchyme, we have used neural tube transplantations from mice to chick embryos to replace the chick neural crest cell populations with mouse neural crest cells. The mouse/chick chimeras obtained show evidence of tooth formation showing that avian oral epithelium is able to induce a nonavian developmental program in mouse neural crest-derived mesenchymal cells.

Requirement for Foxd3 in the maintenance of neural crest progenitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Lu; Mundell, Nathan A; Frist, Audrey Y; Wang, Qiaohong; Labosky, Patricia A

2008-05-01

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of stem cell maintenance is crucial for the ultimate goal of manipulating stem cells for the treatment of disease. Foxd3 is required early in mouse embryogenesis; Foxd3(-/-) embryos fail around the time of implantation, cells of the inner cell mass cannot be maintained in vitro, and blastocyst-derived stem cell lines cannot be established. Here, we report that Foxd3 is required for maintenance of the multipotent mammalian neural crest. Using tissue-specific deletion of Foxd3 in the neural crest, we show that Foxd3(flox/-); Wnt1-Cre mice die perinatally with a catastrophic loss of neural crest-derived structures. Cranial neural crest tissues are either missing or severely reduced in size, the peripheral nervous system consists of reduced dorsal root ganglia and cranial nerves, and the entire gastrointestinal tract is devoid of neural crest derivatives. These results demonstrate a global role for this transcriptional repressor in all aspects of neural crest maintenance along the anterior-posterior axis, and establish an unprecedented molecular link between multiple divergent progenitor lineages of the mammalian embryo.

Development of teeth in chick embryos after mouse neural crest transplantations

OpenAIRE

Mitsiadis, Thimios A.; Chéraud, Yvonnick; Sharpe, Paul; Fontaine-Pérus, Josiane

2003-01-01

Teeth were lost in birds 70–80 million years ago. Current thinking holds that it is the avian cranial neural crest-derived mesenchyme that has lost odontogenic capacity, whereas the oral epithelium retains the signaling properties required to induce odontogenesis. To investigate the odontogenic capacity of ectomesenchyme, we have used neural tube transplantations from mice to chick embryos to replace the chick neural crest cell populations with mouse neural crest cells. The mouse/chick ...

Adipose stromal cells contain phenotypically distinct adipogenic progenitors derived from neural crest.

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Yoshihiro Sowa

Full Text Available Recent studies have shown that adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs contain phenotypically and functionally heterogeneous subpopulations of cells, but their developmental origin and their relative differentiation potential remain elusive. In the present study, we aimed at investigating how and to what extent the neural crest contributes to ASCs using Cre-loxP-mediated fate mapping. ASCs harvested from subcutaneous fat depots of either adult P0-Cre/or Wnt1-Cre/Floxed-reporter mice contained a few neural crest-derived ASCs (NCDASCs. This subpopulation of cells was successfully expanded in vitro under standard culture conditions and their growth rate was comparable to non-neural crest derivatives. Although NCDASCs were positive for several mesenchymal stem cell markers as non-neural crest derivatives, they exhibited a unique bipolar or multipolar morphology with higher expression of markers for both neural crest progenitors (p75NTR, Nestin, and Sox2 and preadipocytes (CD24, CD34, S100, Pref-1, GATA2, and C/EBP-delta. NCDASCs were able to differentiate into adipocytes with high efficiency but their osteogenic and chondrogenic potential was markedly attenuated, indicating their commitment to adipogenesis. In vivo, a very small proportion of adipocytes were originated from the neural crest. In addition, p75NTR-positive neural crest-derived cells were identified along the vessels within the subcutaneous adipose tissue, but they were negative for mural and endothelial markers. These results demonstrate that ASCs contain neural crest-derived adipocyte-restricted progenitors whose phenotype is distinct from that of non-neural crest derivatives.

Establishing neural crest identity: a gene regulatory recipe

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Simões-Costa, Marcos; Bronner, Marianne E.

2015-01-01

The neural crest is a stem/progenitor cell population that contributes to a wide variety of derivatives, including sensory and autonomic ganglia, cartilage and bone of the face and pigment cells of the skin. Unique to vertebrate embryos, it has served as an excellent model system for the study of cell behavior and identity owing to its multipotency, motility and ability to form a broad array of cell types. Neural crest development is thought to be controlled by a suite of transcriptional and epigenetic inputs arranged hierarchically in a gene regulatory network. Here, we examine neural crest development from a gene regulatory perspective and discuss how the underlying genetic circuitry results in the features that define this unique cell population. PMID:25564621

Modelling collective cell migration of neural crest.

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Szabó, András; Mayor, Roberto

2016-10-01

Collective cell migration has emerged in the recent decade as an important phenomenon in cell and developmental biology and can be defined as the coordinated and cooperative movement of groups of cells. Most studies concentrate on tightly connected epithelial tissues, even though collective migration does not require a constant physical contact. Movement of mesenchymal cells is more independent, making their emergent collective behaviour less intuitive and therefore lending importance to computational modelling. Here we focus on such modelling efforts that aim to understand the collective migration of neural crest cells, a mesenchymal embryonic population that migrates large distances as a group during early vertebrate development. By comparing different models of neural crest migration, we emphasize the similarity and complementary nature of these approaches and suggest a future direction for the field. The principles derived from neural crest modelling could aid understanding the collective migration of other mesenchymal cell types. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Germ layers, the neural crest and emergent organization in development and evolution.

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Hall, Brian K

2018-04-10

Discovered in chick embryos by Wilhelm His in 1868 and named the neural crest by Arthur Milnes Marshall in 1879, the neural crest cells that arise from the neural folds have since been shown to differentiate into almost two dozen vertebrate cell types and to have played major roles in the evolution of such vertebrate features as bone, jaws, teeth, visceral (pharyngeal) arches, and sense organs. I discuss the discovery that ectodermal neural crest gave rise to mesenchyme and the controversy generated by that finding; the germ layer theory maintained that only mesoderm could give rise to mesenchyme. A second topic of discussion is germ layers (including the neural crest) as emergent levels of organization in animal development and evolution that facilitated major developmental and evolutionary change. The third topic is gene networks, gene co-option, and the evolution of gene-signaling pathways as key to developmental and evolutionary transitions associated with the origin and evolution of the neural crest and neural crest cells. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Neural crest stem cell population in craniomaxillofacial development and tissue repair

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M La Noce

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Neural crest cells, delaminating from the neural tube during migration, undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transition and differentiate into several cell types strongly reinforcing the mesoderm of the craniofacial body area – giving rise to bone, cartilage and other tissues and cells of this human body area. Recent studies on craniomaxillofacial neural crest-derived cells have provided evidence for the tremendous plasticity of these cells. Actually, neural crest cells can respond and adapt to the environment in which they migrate and the cranial mesoderm plays an important role toward patterning the identity of the migrating neural crest cells. In our experience, neural crest-derived stem cells, such as dental pulp stem cells, can actively proliferate, repair bone and give rise to other tissues and cytotypes, including blood vessels, smooth muscle, adipocytes and melanocytes, highlighting that their use in tissue engineering is successful. In this review, we provide an overview of the main pathways involved in neural crest formation, delamination, migration and differentiation; and, in particular, we concentrate our attention on the translatability of the latest scientific progress. Here we try to suggest new ideas and strategies that are needed to fully develop the clinical use of these cells. This effort should involve both researchers/clinicians and improvements in good manufacturing practice procedures. It is important to address studies towards clinical application or take into consideration that studies must have an effective therapeutic prospect for humans. New approaches and ideas must be concentrated also toward stem cell recruitment and activation within the human body, overcoming the classical grafting.

Animal models for studying neural crest development: is the mouse different?

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Barriga, Elias H; Trainor, Paul A; Bronner, Marianne; Mayor, Roberto

2015-05-01

The neural crest is a uniquely vertebrate cell type and has been well studied in a number of model systems. Zebrafish, Xenopus and chick embryos largely show consistent requirements for specific genes in early steps of neural crest development. By contrast, knockouts of homologous genes in the mouse often do not exhibit comparable early neural crest phenotypes. In this Spotlight article, we discuss these species-specific differences, suggest possible explanations for the divergent phenotypes in mouse and urge the community to consider these issues and the need for further research in complementary systems. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Changes in cholinergic parameters associated with failure of conotruncal septation in embryonic chick hearts after neural crest ablation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirby, M.L.; Aronstam, R.S.; Buccafusco, J.J.

1985-01-01

Cells from the neural crest over occipital somites migrate to the heart, where they give rise to parasympathetic postganglionic neurons as well as ectomesenchymal elements which contribute to conotruncal septation. With a microcautery needle, the neural crest over occipital somites was ablated bilaterally in chicken embryos at an early stage of development. Histological examination on incubation day 15 revealed conotruncal malformations, involving malformation or absence of the conotruncal septum in all embryos. Two peaks of embryo mortality were observed. One peak (incubation days 6-8) occurred at the same time as conotruncal septal closure; the second peak (incubation days 11-13) was concurrent with the onset of functional parasympathetic innervation. A disruption of parasympathetic innervation was indicated by: (1) a decrease in acetylcholinesterase staining, (2) a decrease (27%) in the number of ganglion cells in the conotruncus, (3) decreases in the acetylcholine content of atrium (31%) and ventricle (39%), and (4) a decrease (21%) in muscarinic acetylcholine receptor density on incubation day 15. Radiolabeled ligand-binding studies revealed no change in the affinity of cardiac muscarinic receptors for [ 3 H]methylscopolamine (K/sub D/ . 0.17-0.21 nM). Agonist-binding affinity and sensitivity to guanine nucleotides were similarly unaffected. The reasons for the limited extent of the parasympathetic lesion are unclear, but may involve recruitment of precursor cells from other regions of the neural crest, partial regeneration of the neural crest following surgical removal, or an alteration in the contribution of incoming sympathetic or preganglionic parasympathetic elements. No such plasticity was associated with neural crest contributions to the structural development of the conotruncus. Malformations were observed in all lesioned embryos

Regulation of Msx genes by a Bmp gradient is essential for neural crest specification.

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Tribulo, Celeste; Aybar, Manuel J; Nguyen, Vu H; Mullins, Mary C; Mayor, Roberto

2003-12-01

There is evidence in Xenopus and zebrafish embryos that the neural crest/neural folds are specified at the border of the neural plate by a precise threshold concentration of a Bmp gradient. In order to understand the molecular mechanism by which a gradient of Bmp is able to specify the neural crest, we analyzed how the expression of Bmp targets, the Msx genes, is regulated and the role that Msx genes has in neural crest specification. As Msx genes are directly downstream of Bmp, we analyzed Msx gene expression after experimental modification in the level of Bmp activity by grafting a bead soaked with noggin into Xenopus embryos, by expressing in the ectoderm a dominant-negative Bmp4 or Bmp receptor in Xenopus and zebrafish embryos, and also through Bmp pathway component mutants in the zebrafish. All the results show that a reduction in the level of Bmp activity leads to an increase in the expression of Msx genes in the neural plate border. Interestingly, by reaching different levels of Bmp activity in animal cap ectoderm, we show that a specific concentration of Bmp induces msx1 expression to a level similar to that required to induce neural crest. Our results indicate that an intermediate level of Bmp activity specifies the expression of Msx genes in the neural fold region. In addition, we have analyzed the role that msx1 plays on neural crest specification. As msx1 has a role in dorsoventral pattering, we have carried out conditional gain- and loss-of-function experiments using different msx1 constructs fused to a glucocorticoid receptor element to avoid an early effect of this factor. We show that msx1 expression is able to induce all other early neural crest markers tested (snail, slug, foxd3) at the time of neural crest specification. Furthermore, the expression of a dominant negative of Msx genes leads to the inhibition of all the neural crest markers analyzed. It has been previously shown that snail is one of the earliest genes acting in the neural crest

Aebp2 as an epigenetic regulator for neural crest cells.

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Hana Kim

Full Text Available Aebp2 is a potential targeting protein for the mammalian Polycomb Repression Complex 2 (PRC2. We generated a mutant mouse line disrupting the transcription of Aebp2 to investigate its in vivo roles. Aebp2-mutant homozygotes were embryonic lethal while heterozygotes survived to adulthood with fertility. In developing mouse embryos, Aebp2 is expressed mainly within cells of neural crest origin. In addition, many heterozygotes display a set of phenotypes, enlarged colon and hypopigmentation, similar to those observed in human patients with Hirschsprung's disease and Waardenburg syndrome. These phenotypes are usually caused by the absence of the neural crest-derived ganglia in hindguts and melanocytes. ChIP analyses demonstrated that the majority of the genes involved in the migration and development process of neural crest cells are downstream target genes of AEBP2 and PRC2. Furthermore, expression analyses confirmed that some of these genes are indeed affected in the Aebp2 heterozygotes. Taken together, these results suggest that Aebp2 may regulate the migration and development of the neural crest cells through the PRC2-mediated epigenetic mechanism.

Anosmin-1 is essential for neural crest and cranial placodes formation in Xenopus.

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Bae, Chang-Joon; Hong, Chang-Soo; Saint-Jeannet, Jean-Pierre

2018-01-15

During embryogenesis vertebrates develop a complex craniofacial skeleton associated with sensory organs. These structures are primarily derived from two embryonic cell populations the neural crest and cranial placodes, respectively. Neural crest cells and cranial placodes are specified through the integrated action of several families of signaling molecules, and the subsequent activation of a complex network of transcription factors. Here we describe the expression and function of Anosmin-1 (Anos1), an extracellular matrix protein, during neural crest and cranial placodes development in Xenopus laevis. Anos1 was identified as a target of Pax3 and Zic1, two transcription factors necessary and sufficient to generate neural crest and cranial placodes. Anos1 is expressed in cranial neural crest progenitors at early neurula stage and in cranial placode derivatives later in development. We show that Anos1 function is required for neural crest and sensory organs development in Xenopus, consistent with the defects observed in Kallmann syndrome patients carrying a mutation in ANOS1. These findings indicate that anos1 has a conserved function in the development of craniofacial structures, and indicate that anos1-depleted Xenopus embryos represent a useful model to analyze the pathogenesis of Kallmann syndrome. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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A Human Neural Crest Stem Cell-Derived Dopaminergic Neuronal Model Recapitulates Biochemical Abnormalities in GBA1 Mutation Carriers

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Shi-Yu Yang

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Numerically the most important risk factor for the development of Parkinson's disease (PD is the presence of mutations in the glucocerebrosidase GBA1 gene. In vitro and in vivo studies show that GBA1 mutations reduce glucocerebrosidase (GCase activity and are associated with increased α-synuclein levels, reflecting similar changes seen in idiopathic PD brain. We have developed a neural crest stem cell-derived dopaminergic neuronal model that recapitulates biochemical abnormalities in GBA1 mutation-associated PD. Cells showed reduced GCase protein and activity, impaired macroautophagy, and increased α-synuclein levels. Advantages of this approach include easy access to stem cells, no requirement to reprogram, and retention of the intact host genome. Treatment with a GCase chaperone increased GCase protein levels and activity, rescued the autophagic defects, and decreased α-synuclein levels. These results provide the basis for further investigation of GCase chaperones or similar drugs to slow the progression of PD.

Neural crest does not contribute to the neck and shoulder in the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum).

Science.gov (United States)

Epperlein, Hans-Henning; Khattak, Shahryar; Knapp, Dunja; Tanaka, Elly M; Malashichev, Yegor B

2012-01-01

A major step during the evolution of tetrapods was their transition from water to land. This process involved the reduction or complete loss of the dermal bones that made up connections to the skull and a concomitant enlargement of the endochondral shoulder girdle. In the mouse the latter is derived from three separate embryonic sources: lateral plate mesoderm, somites, and neural crest. The neural crest was suggested to sustain the muscle attachments. How this complex composition of the endochondral shoulder girdle arose during evolution and whether it is shared by all tetrapods is unknown. Salamanders that lack dermal bone within their shoulder girdle were of special interest for a possible contribution of the neural crest to the endochondral elements and muscle attachment sites, and we therefore studied them in this context. We grafted neural crest from GFP+ fluorescent transgenic axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) donor embryos into white (d/d) axolotl hosts and followed the presence of neural crest cells within the cartilage of the shoulder girdle and the connective tissue of muscle attachment sites of the neck-shoulder region. Strikingly, neural crest cells did not contribute to any part of the endochondral shoulder girdle or to the connective tissue at muscle attachment sites in axolotl. Our results in axolotl suggest that neural crest does not serve a general function in vertebrate shoulder muscle attachment sites as predicted by the "muscle scaffold theory," and that it is not necessary to maintain connectivity of the endochondral shoulder girdle to the skull. Our data support the possibility that the contribution of the neural crest to the endochondral shoulder girdle, which is observed in the mouse, arose de novo in mammals as a developmental basis for their skeletal synapomorphies. This further supports the hypothesis of an increased neural crest diversification during vertebrate evolution.

Neural crest does not contribute to the neck and shoulder in the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum.

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Hans-Henning Epperlein

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A major step during the evolution of tetrapods was their transition from water to land. This process involved the reduction or complete loss of the dermal bones that made up connections to the skull and a concomitant enlargement of the endochondral shoulder girdle. In the mouse the latter is derived from three separate embryonic sources: lateral plate mesoderm, somites, and neural crest. The neural crest was suggested to sustain the muscle attachments. How this complex composition of the endochondral shoulder girdle arose during evolution and whether it is shared by all tetrapods is unknown. Salamanders that lack dermal bone within their shoulder girdle were of special interest for a possible contribution of the neural crest to the endochondral elements and muscle attachment sites, and we therefore studied them in this context. RESULTS: We grafted neural crest from GFP+ fluorescent transgenic axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum donor embryos into white (d/d axolotl hosts and followed the presence of neural crest cells within the cartilage of the shoulder girdle and the connective tissue of muscle attachment sites of the neck-shoulder region. Strikingly, neural crest cells did not contribute to any part of the endochondral shoulder girdle or to the connective tissue at muscle attachment sites in axolotl. CONCLUSIONS: Our results in axolotl suggest that neural crest does not serve a general function in vertebrate shoulder muscle attachment sites as predicted by the "muscle scaffold theory," and that it is not necessary to maintain connectivity of the endochondral shoulder girdle to the skull. Our data support the possibility that the contribution of the neural crest to the endochondral shoulder girdle, which is observed in the mouse, arose de novo in mammals as a developmental basis for their skeletal synapomorphies. This further supports the hypothesis of an increased neural crest diversification during vertebrate evolution.

Influence and timing of arrival of murine neural crest on pancreatic beta cell development and maturation.

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Plank, Jennifer L; Mundell, Nathan A; Frist, Audrey Y; LeGrone, Alison W; Kim, Thomas; Musser, Melissa A; Walter, Teagan J; Labosky, Patricia A

2011-01-15

Interactions between cells from the ectoderm and mesoderm influence development of the endodermally-derived pancreas. While much is known about how mesoderm regulates pancreatic development, relatively little is understood about how and when the ectodermally-derived neural crest regulates pancreatic development and specifically, beta cell maturation. A previous study demonstrated that signals from the neural crest regulate beta cell proliferation and ultimately, beta cell mass. Here, we expand on that work to describe timing of neural crest arrival at the developing pancreatic bud and extend our knowledge of the non-cell autonomous role for neural crest derivatives in the process of beta cell maturation. We demonstrated that murine neural crest entered the pancreatic mesenchyme between the 26 and 27 somite stages (approximately 10.0 dpc) and became intermingled with pancreatic progenitors as the epithelium branched into the surrounding mesenchyme. Using a neural crest-specific deletion of the Forkhead transcription factor Foxd3, we ablated neural crest cells that migrate to the pancreatic primordium. Consistent with previous data, in the absence of Foxd3, and therefore the absence of neural crest cells, proliferation of insulin-expressing cells and insulin-positive area are increased. Analysis of endocrine cell gene expression in the absence of neural crest demonstrated that, although the number of insulin-expressing cells was increased, beta cell maturation was significantly impaired. Decreased MafA and Pdx1 expression illustrated the defect in beta cell maturation; we discovered that without neural crest, there was a reduction in the percentage of insulin-positive cells that co-expressed Glut2 and Pdx1 compared to controls. In addition, transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed decreased numbers of characteristic insulin granules and the presence of abnormal granules in insulin-expressing cells from mutant embryos. Together, these data demonstrate that

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Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor-MET signaling in neural crest-derived melanocyte development.

Science.gov (United States)

Kos, L; Aronzon, A; Takayama, H; Maina, F; Ponzetto, C; Merlino, G; Pavan, W

1999-02-01

The mechanisms governing development of neural crest-derived melanocytes, and how alterations in these pathways lead to hypopigmentation disorders, are not completely understood. Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) signaling through the tyrosine-kinase receptor, MET, is capable of promoting the proliferation, increasing the motility, and maintaining high tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis of melanocytes in vitro. In addition, transgenic mice that ubiquitously overexpress HGF/SF demonstrate hyperpigmentation in the skin and leptomenigenes and develop melanomas. To investigate whether HGF/ SF-MET signaling is involved in the development of neural crest-derived melanocytes, transgenic embryos, ubiquitously overexpressing HGF/SF, were analyzed. In HGF/SF transgenic embryos, the distribution of melanoblasts along the characteristic migratory pathway was not affected. However, additional ectopically localized melanoblasts were also observed in the dorsal root ganglia and neural tube, as early as 11.5 days post coitus (p.c.). We utilized an in vitro neural crest culture assay to further explore the role of HGF/SF-MET signaling in neural crest development. HGF/SF added to neural crest cultures increased melanoblast number, permitted differentiation into pigmented melanocytes, promoted melanoblast survival, and could replace mast-cell growth factor/Steel factor (MGF) in explant cultures. To examine whether HGF/SF-MET signaling is required for the proper development of melanocytes, embryos with a targeted Met null mutation (Met-/-) were analysed. In Met-/- embryos, melanoblast number and location were not overtly affected up to 14 days p.c. These results demonstrate that HGF/SF-MET signaling influences, but is not required for, the initial development of neural crest-derived melanocytes in vivo and in vitro.

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File list: InP.PSC.50.AllAg.hESC_derived_neural_crests [Chip-atlas[Archive

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

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SOX10-Nano-Lantern Reporter Human iPS Cells; A Versatile Tool for Neural Crest Research.

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Tomoko Horikiri

Full Text Available The neural crest is a source to produce multipotent neural crest stem cells that have a potential to differentiate into diverse cell types. The transcription factor SOX10 is expressed through early neural crest progenitors and stem cells in vertebrates. Here we report the generation of SOX10-Nano-lantern (NL reporter human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS by using CRISPR/Cas9 systems, that are beneficial to investigate the generation and maintenance of neural crest progenitor cells. SOX10-NL positive cells are produced transiently from hiPS cells by treatment with TGFβ inhibitor SB431542 and GSK3 inhibitor CHIR99021. We found that all SOX10-NL-positive cells expressed an early neural crest marker NGFR, however SOX10-NL-positive cells purified from differentiated hiPS cells progressively attenuate their NL-expression under proliferation. We therefore attempted to maintain SOX10-NL-positive cells with additional signaling on the plane and sphere culture conditions. These SOX10-NL cells provide us to investigate mass culture with neural crest cells for stem cell research.

Characterization of Pax3 and Sox10 transgenic Xenopus laevis embryos as tools to study neural crest development.

Science.gov (United States)

Alkobtawi, Mansour; Ray, Heather; Barriga, Elias H; Moreno, Mauricio; Kerney, Ryan; Monsoro-Burq, Anne-Helene; Saint-Jeannet, Jean-Pierre; Mayor, Roberto

2018-03-06

The neural crest is a multipotent population of cells that originates a variety of cell types. Many animal models are used to study neural crest induction, migration and differentiation, with amphibians and birds being the most widely used systems. A major technological advance to study neural crest development in mouse, chick and zebrafish has been the generation of transgenic animals in which neural crest specific enhancers/promoters drive the expression of either fluorescent proteins for use as lineage tracers, or modified genes for use in functional studies. Unfortunately, no such transgenic animals currently exist for the amphibians Xenopus laevis and tropicalis, key model systems for studying neural crest development. Here we describe the generation and characterization of two transgenic Xenopus laevis lines, Pax3-GFP and Sox10-GFP, in which GFP is expressed in the pre-migratory and migratory neural crest, respectively. We show that Pax3-GFP could be a powerful tool to study neural crest induction, whereas Sox10-GFP could be used in the study of neural crest migration in living embryos. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural Crest-Derived Mesenchymal Cells Require Wnt Signaling for Their Development and Drive Invagination of the Telencephalic Midline

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Choe, Youngshik; Zarbalis, Konstantinos S.; Pleasure, Samuel J.

2014-01-01

Embryonic neural crest cells contribute to the development of the craniofacial mesenchyme, forebrain meninges and perivascular cells. In this study, we investigated the function of ß-catenin signaling in neural crest cells abutting the dorsal forebrain during development. In the absence of ß-catenin signaling, neural crest cells failed to expand in the interhemispheric region and produced ectopic smooth muscle cells instead of generating dermal and calvarial mesenchyme. In contrast, constitutive expression of stabilized ß-catenin in neural crest cells increased the number of mesenchymal lineage precursors suggesting that ß-catenin signaling is necessary for the expansion of neural crest-derived mesenchymal cells. Interestingly, the loss of neural crest-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) leads to failure of telencephalic midline invagination and causes ventricular system defects. This study shows that ß-catenin signaling is required for the switch of neural crest cells to MSCs and mediates the expansion of MSCs to drive the formation of mesenchymal structures of the head. Furthermore, loss of these structures causes striking defects in forebrain morphogenesis. PMID:24516524

Neural crest-derived mesenchymal cells require Wnt signaling for their development and drive invagination of the telencephalic midline.

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Youngshik Choe

Full Text Available Embryonic neural crest cells contribute to the development of the craniofacial mesenchyme, forebrain meninges and perivascular cells. In this study, we investigated the function of ß-catenin signaling in neural crest cells abutting the dorsal forebrain during development. In the absence of ß-catenin signaling, neural crest cells failed to expand in the interhemispheric region and produced ectopic smooth muscle cells instead of generating dermal and calvarial mesenchyme. In contrast, constitutive expression of stabilized ß-catenin in neural crest cells increased the number of mesenchymal lineage precursors suggesting that ß-catenin signaling is necessary for the expansion of neural crest-derived mesenchymal cells. Interestingly, the loss of neural crest-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs leads to failure of telencephalic midline invagination and causes ventricular system defects. This study shows that ß-catenin signaling is required for the switch of neural crest cells to MSCs and mediates the expansion of MSCs to drive the formation of mesenchymal structures of the head. Furthermore, loss of these structures causes striking defects in forebrain morphogenesis.

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Gene array analysis of neural crest cells identifies transcription factors necessary for direct conversion of embryonic fibroblasts into neural crest cells

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Tsutomu Motohashi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Neural crest cells (NC cells are multipotent cells that emerge from the edge of the neural folds and migrate throughout the developing embryo. Although the gene regulatory network for generation of NC cells has been elucidated in detail, it has not been revealed which of the factors in the network are pivotal to directing NC identity. In this study we analyzed the gene expression profile of a pure NC subpopulation isolated from Sox10-IRES-Venus mice and investigated whether these genes played a key role in the direct conversion of Sox10-IRES-Venus mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs into NC cells. The comparative molecular profiles of NC cells and neural tube cells in 9.5-day embryos revealed genes including transcription factors selectively expressed in developing trunk NC cells. Among 25 NC cell-specific transcription factor genes tested, SOX10 and SOX9 were capable of converting MEFs into SOX10-positive (SOX10+ cells. The SOX10+ cells were then shown to differentiate into neurons, glial cells, smooth muscle cells, adipocytes and osteoblasts. These SOX10+ cells also showed limited self-renewal ability, suggesting that SOX10 and SOX9 directly converted MEFs into NC cells. Conversely, the remaining transcription factors, including well-known NC cell specifiers, were unable to convert MEFs into SOX10+ NC cells. These results suggest that SOX10 and SOX9 are the key factors necessary for the direct conversion of MEFs into NC cells.

File list: Oth.PSC.05.AllAg.hESC_derived_neural_crests [Chip-atlas[Archive

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File list: Oth.PSC.50.AllAg.hESC_derived_neural_crests [Chip-atlas[Archive

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Role of cranial neural crest cells in visceral arch muscle positioning and morphogenesis in the Mexican axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum.

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Ericsson, Rolf; Cerny, Robert; Falck, Pierre; Olsson, Lennart

2004-10-01

The role of cranial neural crest cells in the formation of visceral arch musculature was investigated in the Mexican axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum. DiI (1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine, perchlorate) labeling and green fluorescent protein (GFP) mRNA injections combined with unilateral transplantations of neural folds showed that neural crest cells contribute to the connective tissues but not the myofibers of developing visceral arch muscles in the mandibular, hyoid, and branchial arches. Extirpations of individual cranial neural crest streams demonstrated that neural crest cells are necessary for correct morphogenesis of visceral arch muscles. These do, however, initially develop in their proper positions also in the absence of cranial neural crest. Visceral arch muscles forming in the absence of neural crest cells start to differentiate at their origins but fail to extend toward their insertions and may have a frayed appearance. Our data indicate that visceral arch muscle positioning is controlled by factors that do not have a neural crest origin. We suggest that the cranial neural crest-derived connective tissues provide directional guidance important for the proper extension of the cranial muscles and the subsequent attachment to the insertion on the correct cartilage. In a comparative context, our data from the Mexican axolotl support the view that the cranial neural crest plays a fundamental role in the development of not only the skeleton of the vertebrate head but also in the morphogenesis of the cranial muscles and that this might be a primitive feature of cranial development in vertebrates. 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Apoptosis in neural crest cells by functional loss of APC tumor suppressor gene

Science.gov (United States)

Hasegawa, Sumitaka; Sato, Tomoyuki; Akazawa, Hiroshi; Okada, Hitoshi; Maeno, Akiteru; Ito, Masaki; Sugitani, Yoshinobu; Shibata, Hiroyuki; Miyazaki, Jun-ichi; Katsuki, Motoya; Yamauchi, Yasutaka; Yamamura, Ken-ichi; Katamine, Shigeru; Noda, Tetsuo

2002-01-01

Apc is a gene associated with familial adenomatous polyposis coli (FAP) and its inactivation is a critical step in colorectal tumor formation. The protein product, adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), acts to down-regulate intracellular levels of β-catenin, a key signal transducer in the Wnt signaling. Conditional targeting of Apc in the neural crest of mice caused massive apoptosis of cephalic and cardiac neural crest cells at about 11.5 days post coitum, resulting in craniofacial and cardiac anomalies at birth. Notably, the apoptotic cells localized in the regions where β-catenin had accumulated. In contrast to its role in colorectal epithelial cells, inactivation of APC leads to dysregulation of β-catenin/Wnt signaling with resultant apoptosis in certain tissues including neural crest cells. PMID:11756652

Lack of beta1 integrins in enteric neural crest cells leads to a Hirschsprung-like phenotype

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breau, Marie A; Pietri, Thomas; Eder, Olivier

2006-01-01

The enteric nervous system arises mainly from vagal and sacral neural crest cells that colonise the gut between 9.5 and 14 days of development in mice. Using the Cre-LoxP system, we removed beta1 integrins in the neural crest cells when they emerge from the neural tube. beta1-null enteric neural...

Histone deacetylase 1 and 2 are essential for murine neural crest proliferation, pharyngeal arch development, and craniofacial morphogenesis.

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Milstone, Zachary J; Lawson, Grace; Trivedi, Chinmay M

2017-12-01

Craniofacial anomalies involve defective pharyngeal arch development and neural crest function. Copy number variation at 1p35, containing histone deacetylase 1 (Hdac1), or 6q21-22, containing Hdac2, are implicated in patients with craniofacial defects, suggesting an important role in guiding neural crest development. However, the roles of Hdac1 and Hdac2 within neural crest cells remain unknown. The neural crest and its derivatives express both Hdac1 and Hdac2 during early murine development. Ablation of Hdac1 and Hdac2 within murine neural crest progenitor cells cause severe hemorrhage, atrophic pharyngeal arches, defective head morphogenesis, and complete embryonic lethality. Embryos lacking Hdac1 and Hdac2 in the neural crest exhibit decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis in both the neural tube and the first pharyngeal arch. Mechanistically, loss of Hdac1 and Hdac2 upregulates cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors Cdkn1a, Cdkn1b, Cdkn1c, Cdkn2b, Cdkn2c, and Tp53 within the first pharyngeal arch. Our results show that Hdac1 and Hdac2 function redundantly within the neural crest to regulate proliferation and the development of the pharyngeal arches by means of repression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. Developmental Dynamics 246:1015-1026, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of epidermal growth factor on neural crest cells in tissue culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erickson, C.A.; Turley, E.A.

1987-01-01

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates the release of hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) from quail trunk neural crest cultures in a dose-dependent fashion. It also promotes the expression of cell-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) as detected by immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation of the 3 H-labeled proteoglycan. Furthermore, EGF stimulates [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation into total cell DNA. These results raise the possibility that EGF or an analogous growth factor is involved in regulation of neural crest cell morphogenesis

Krox20 defines a subpopulation of cardiac neural crest cells contributing to arterial valves and bicuspid aortic valve.

Science.gov (United States)

Odelin, Gaëlle; Faure, Emilie; Coulpier, Fanny; Di Bonito, Maria; Bajolle, Fanny; Studer, Michèle; Avierinos, Jean-François; Charnay, Patrick; Topilko, Piotr; Zaffran, Stéphane

2018-01-03

Although cardiac neural crest cells are required at early stages of arterial valve development, their contribution during valvular leaflet maturation remains poorly understood. Here, we show in mouse that neural crest cells from pre-otic and post-otic regions make distinct contributions to the arterial valve leaflets. Genetic fate-mapping analysis of Krox20-expressing neural crest cells shows a large contribution to the borders and the interleaflet triangles of the arterial valves. Loss of Krox20 function results in hyperplastic aortic valve and partially penetrant bicuspid aortic valve formation. Similar defects are observed in neural crest Krox20 -deficient embryos. Genetic lineage tracing in Krox20 -/- mutant mice shows that endothelial-derived cells are normal, whereas neural crest-derived cells are abnormally increased in number and misplaced in the valve leaflets. In contrast, genetic ablation of Krox20 -expressing cells is not sufficient to cause an aortic valve defect, suggesting that adjacent cells can compensate this depletion. Our findings demonstrate a crucial role for Krox20 in arterial valve development and reveal that an excess of neural crest cells may be associated with bicuspid aortic valve. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Expression of cardiac neural crest and heart genes isolated by modified differential display.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinsen, Brad J; Groebner, Nathan J; Frasier, Allison J; Lohr, Jamie L

2003-08-01

The invasion of the cardiac neural crest (CNC) into the outflow tract (OFT) and subsequent outflow tract septation are critical events during vertebrate heart development. We have performed four modified differential display screens in the chick embryo to identify genes that may be involved in CNC, OFT, secondary heart field, and heart development. The screens included differential display of RNA isolated from three different axial segments containing premigratory cranial neural crest cells; of RNA from distal outflow tract, proximal outflow tract, and atrioventricular tissue of embryonic chick hearts; and of RNA isolated from left and right cranial tissues, including the early heart fields. These screens have resulted in the identification of the five cDNA clones presented here, which are expressed in the cardiac neural crest, outflow tract and developing heart in patterns that are unique in heart development.

Diprosopia revisited in light of the recognized role of neural crest cells in facial development.

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Carles, D; Weichhold, W; Alberti, E M; Léger, F; Pigeau, F; Horovitz, J

1995-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare the theory of embryogenesis of the face with human diprosopia. This peculiar form of conjoined twinning is of great interest because 1) only the facial structures are duplicated and 2) almost all cases have a rather monomorphic pattern. The hypothesis is that an initial duplication of the notochord leads to two neural plates and subsequently duplicated neural crests. In those conditions, derivatives of the neural crests will be partially or totally duplicated; therefore, in diprosopia, the duplicated facial structures would be considered to be neural crest derivatives. If these structures are identical to those that are experimentally demonstrated to be neural crest derivatives in animals, these findings are an argument to apply this theory of facial embryogenesis in man. Serial horizontal sections of the face of two diprosopic fetuses (11 and 21 weeks gestation) were studied macro- and microscopically to determine the external and internal structures that are duplicated. Complete postmortem examination was performed in search for additional malformations. The face of both fetuses showed a very similar morphologic pattern with duplication of ocular, nasal, and buccal structures. The nasal fossae and the anterior part of the tongue were also duplicated, albeit the posterior part and the pharyngolaryngeal structures were unique. Additional facial clefts were present in both fetuses. Extrafacial anomalies were represented by a craniorachischisis, two fused vertebral columns and, in the older fetus, by a complex cardiac malformation morphologically identical to malformations induced by removal or grafting of additional cardiac neural crest cells in animals. These pathological findings could identify the facial structures that are neural crest derivatives in man. They are similar to those experimentally demonstrated to be neural crest derivatives in animals. In this respect, diprosopia could be considered as the end of a spectrum

Constitutively active Notch1 converts cranial neural crest-derived frontonasal mesenchyme to perivascular cells in vivo

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Sophie R. Miller

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Perivascular/mural cells originate from either the mesoderm or the cranial neural crest. Regardless of their origin, Notch signalling is necessary for their formation. Furthermore, in both chicken and mouse, constitutive Notch1 activation (via expression of the Notch1 intracellular domain is sufficient in vivo to convert trunk mesoderm-derived somite cells to perivascular cells, at the expense of skeletal muscle. In experiments originally designed to investigate the effect of premature Notch1 activation on the development of neural crest-derived olfactory ensheathing glial cells (OECs, we used in ovo electroporation to insert a tetracycline-inducible NotchΔE construct (encoding a constitutively active mutant of mouse Notch1 into the genome of chicken cranial neural crest cell precursors, and activated NotchΔE expression by doxycycline injection at embryonic day 4. NotchΔE-targeted cells formed perivascular cells within the frontonasal mesenchyme, and expressed a perivascular marker on the olfactory nerve. Hence, constitutively activating Notch1 is sufficient in vivo to drive not only somite cells, but also neural crest-derived frontonasal mesenchyme and perhaps developing OECs, to a perivascular cell fate. These results also highlight the plasticity of neural crest-derived mesenchyme and glia.

The hypoxia factor Hif-1α controls neural crest chemotaxis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition

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Barriga, Elias H.; Maxwell, Patrick H.

2013-01-01

One of the most important mechanisms that promotes metastasis is the stabilization of Hif-1 (hypoxia-inducible transcription factor 1). We decided to test whether Hif-1α also was required for early embryonic development. We focused our attention on the development of the neural crest, a highly migratory embryonic cell population whose behavior has been likened to cancer metastasis. Inhibition of Hif-1α by antisense morpholinos in Xenopus laevis or zebrafish embryos led to complete inhibition of neural crest migration. We show that Hif-1α controls the expression of Twist, which in turn represses E-cadherin during epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of neural crest cells. Thus, Hif-1α allows cells to initiate migration by promoting the release of cell–cell adhesions. Additionally, Hif-1α controls chemotaxis toward the chemokine SDF-1 by regulating expression of its receptor Cxcr4. Our results point to Hif-1α as a novel and key regulator that integrates EMT and chemotaxis during migration of neural crest cells. PMID:23712262

Neuronal regeneration in injured rat spinal cord after human dental pulp derived neural crest stem cell transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabatas, S; Demir, C S; Civelek, E; Yilmaz, I; Kircelli, A; Yilmaz, C; Akyuva, Y; Karaoz, E

2018-01-01

This study aimed to analyze the effect of human Dental Pulp-Neural Crest Stem Cells (hDP-NCSCs) delivery on lesion site after spinal cord injury (SCI), and to observe the functional recovery after transplantation. Neural Crest Stem Cells (NCSCs) were isolated from human Dental Pulp (hDP). The experimental rat population was divided into four groups (n = 6/24). Their behavioral motility was scored regularly. After 4-weeks, rats were sacrificed, and their spinal cords were examined for Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) labeled hDP-NCSCs by immunofluorescence (IF) staining. In early post-injury (p.i) period, the ultrastructure of spinal cord tissue was preserved in Group 4. The majority of cells forming the ependymal region around the central canal were found to be hDP-NCSCs. While the grey-and-white-matter around the ependymal region was composed of e.g. GFP cells, with astrocytic-like appearance. The scores showed significant motor recovery in hind limb functions in Group 4. However, no obvious change was observed in other groups. Cells e.g., mesenchymal (Vimentin+) which express GFP+ cells in the gray-and-white-matter around the ependymal region could indicate the potential to self-renewal and plasticity. Thus, transplantation of hDP-NCSCs might be an effective strategy to improve functional recovery following spinal cord trauma (Fig. 10, Ref. 32).

Targeted deletion of Sox10 by Wnt1-cre defects neuronal migration and projection in the mouse inner ear.

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YanYan Mao

Full Text Available Sensory nerves of the brainstem are mostly composed of placode-derived neurons, neural crest-derived neurons and neural crest-derived Schwann cells. This mixed origin of cells has made it difficult to dissect interdependence for fiber guidance. Inner ear-derived neurons are known to connect to the brain after delayed loss of Schwann cells in ErbB2 mutants. However, the ErbB2 mutant related alterations in the ear and the brain compound interpretation of the data. We present here a new model to evaluate exclusively the effect of Schwann cell loss on inner ear innervation. Conditional deletion of the neural crest specific transcription factor, Sox10, using the rhombic lip/neural crest specific Wnt1-cre driver spares Sox10 expression in the ear. We confirm that neural crest-derived cells provide a stop signal for migrating spiral ganglion neurons. In the absence of Schwann cells, spiral ganglion neurons migrate into the center of the cochlea and even out of the ear toward the brain. Spiral ganglion neuron afferent processes reach the organ of Corti, but many afferent fibers bypass the organ of Corti to enter the lateral wall of the cochlea. In contrast to this peripheral disorganization, the central projection to cochlear nuclei is normal. Compared to ErbB2 mutants, conditional Sox10 mutants have limited cell death in spiral ganglion neurons, indicating that the absence of Schwann cells alone contributes little to the embryonic survival of neurons. These data suggest that neural crest-derived cells are dispensable for all central and some peripheral targeting of inner ear neurons. However, Schwann cells provide a stop signal for migratory spiral ganglion neurons and facilitate proper targeting of the organ of Corti by spiral ganglion afferents.

Targeted Deletion of Sox10 by Wnt1-cre Defects Neuronal Migration and Projection in the Mouse Inner Ear

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, YanYan; Reiprich, Simone; Wegner, Michael; Fritzsch, Bernd

2014-01-01

Sensory nerves of the brainstem are mostly composed of placode-derived neurons, neural crest-derived neurons and neural crest-derived Schwann cells. This mixed origin of cells has made it difficult to dissect interdependence for fiber guidance. Inner ear-derived neurons are known to connect to the brain after delayed loss of Schwann cells in ErbB2 mutants. However, the ErbB2 mutant related alterations in the ear and the brain compound interpretation of the data. We present here a new model to evaluate exclusively the effect of Schwann cell loss on inner ear innervation. Conditional deletion of the neural crest specific transcription factor, Sox10, using the rhombic lip/neural crest specific Wnt1-cre driver spares Sox10 expression in the ear. We confirm that neural crest-derived cells provide a stop signal for migrating spiral ganglion neurons. In the absence of Schwann cells, spiral ganglion neurons migrate into the center of the cochlea and even out of the ear toward the brain. Spiral ganglion neuron afferent processes reach the organ of Corti, but many afferent fibers bypass the organ of Corti to enter the lateral wall of the cochlea. In contrast to this peripheral disorganization, the central projection to cochlear nuclei is normal. Compared to ErbB2 mutants, conditional Sox10 mutants have limited cell death in spiral ganglion neurons, indicating that the absence of Schwann cells alone contributes little to the embryonic survival of neurons. These data suggest that neural crest-derived cells are dispensable for all central and some peripheral targeting of inner ear neurons. However, Schwann cells provide a stop signal for migratory spiral ganglion neurons and facilitate proper targeting of the organ of Corti by spiral ganglion afferents. PMID:24718611

Applications of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Neural Crest Cells in Craniofacial Skeletal Research

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Satoru Morikawa

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Craniofacial skeletal tissues are composed of tooth and bone, together with nerves and blood vessels. This composite material is mainly derived from neural crest cells (NCCs. The neural crest is transient embryonic tissue present during neural tube formation whose cells have high potential for migration and differentiation. Thus, NCCs are promising candidates for craniofacial tissue regeneration; however, the clinical application of NCCs is hindered by their limited accessibility. In contrast, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs are easily accessible in adults, have similar potential for self-renewal, and can differentiate into skeletal tissues, including bones and cartilage. Therefore, MSCs may represent good sources of stem cells for clinical use. MSCs are classically identified under adherent culture conditions, leading to contamination with other cell lineages. Previous studies have identified mouse- and human-specific MSC subsets using cell surface markers. Additionally, some studies have shown that a subset of MSCs is closely related to neural crest derivatives and endothelial cells. These MSCs may be promising candidates for regeneration of craniofacial tissues from the perspective of developmental fate. Here, we review the fundamental biology of MSCs in craniofacial research.

Modeling Cerebrovascular Pathophysiology in Amyloid-β Metabolism using Neural-Crest-Derived Smooth Muscle Cells

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Christine Cheung

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Summary: There is growing recognition of cerebrovascular contributions to neurodegenerative diseases. In the walls of cerebral arteries, amyloid-beta (Aβ accumulation is evident in a majority of aged people and patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Here, we leverage human pluripotent stem cells to generate vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs from neural crest progenitors, recapitulating brain-vasculature-specific attributes of Aβ metabolism. We confirm that the lipoprotein receptor, LRP1, functions in our neural-crest-derived SMCs to mediate Aβ uptake and intracellular lysosomal degradation. Hypoxia significantly compromises the contribution of SMCs to Aβ clearance by suppressing LRP1 expression. This enabled us to develop an assay of Aβ uptake by using the neural crest-derived SMCs with hypoxia as a stress paradigm. We then tested several vascular protective compounds in a high-throughput format, demonstrating the value of stem-cell-based phenotypic screening for novel therapeutics and drug repurposing, aimed at alleviating amyloid burden. : The contribution of blood vessel pathologies to neurodegenerative disorders is relatively neglected, partly due to inadequate human tissues for research. By using human stem cells, Cheung et al. establish a method of generating vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs from neural crest progenitors, the primary precursors that give rise to brain blood vessels. These stem-cell-derived SMCs display defective amyloid processing under chronic hypoxia, a phenomenon well documented in the cerebral vasculatures of aged people and patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

The neuro-glial properties of adipose-derived adult stromal (ADAS) cells are not regulated by Notch 1 and are not derived from neural crest lineage.

Science.gov (United States)

Wrage, Philip C; Tran, Thi; To, Khai; Keefer, Edward W; Ruhn, Kelly A; Hong, John; Hattangadi, Supriya; Treviño, Isaac; Tansey, Malú G

2008-01-16

We investigated whether adipose-derived adult stromal (ADAS) are of neural crest origin and the extent to which Notch 1 regulates their growth and differentiation. Mouse ADAS cells cultured in media formulated for neural stem cells (NSC) displayed limited capacity for self-renewal, clonogenicity, and neurosphere formation compared to NSC from the subventricular zone in the hippocampus. Although ADAS cells expressed Nestin, GFAP, NSE and Tuj1 in vitro, exposure to NSC differentiation supplements did not induce mature neuronal marker expression. In contrast, in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) media, ADAS cells retained their ability to proliferate and differentiate beyond 20 passages and expressed high levels of Nestin. In neuritizing cocktails, ADAS cells extended processes, downregulated Nestin expression, and displayed depolarization-induced Ca(2+) transients but no spontaneous or evoked neural network activity on Multi-Electrode Arrays. Deletion of Notch 1 in ADAS cell cultures grown in NSC proliferation medium did not significantly alter their proliferative potential in vitro or the differentiation-induced downregulation of Nestin. Co-culture of ADAS cells with fibroblasts that stably expressed the Notch ligand Jagged 1 or overexpression of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD) did not alter ADAS cell growth, morphology, or cellular marker expression. ADAS cells did not display robust expression of neural crest transcription factors or genes (Sox, CRABP2, and TH); and lineage tracing analyses using Wnt1-Cre;Rosa26R-lacZ or -EYFP reporter mice confirmed that fewer than 2% of the ADAS cell population derived from a Wnt1-positive population during development. In summary, although media formulations optimized for MSCs or NSCs enable expansion of mouse ADAS cells in vitro, we find no evidence that these cells are of neural crest origin, that they can undergo robust terminal differentiation into functionally mature neurons, and that Notch 1 is likely to be a key

Neural Crest Cells Isolated from the Bone Marrow of Transgenic Mice Express JCV T-Antigen.

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Jennifer Gordon

Full Text Available JC virus (JCV, a common human polyomavirus, is the etiological agent of the demyelinating disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML. In addition to its role in PML, studies have demonstrated the transforming ability of the JCV early protein, T-antigen, and its association with some human cancers. JCV infection occurs in childhood and latent virus is thought to be maintained within the bone marrow, which harbors cells of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic lineages. Here we show that non-hematopoietic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs isolated from the bone marrow of JCV T-antigen transgenic mice give rise to JCV T-antigen positive cells when cultured under neural conditions. JCV T-antigen positive cells exhibited neural crest characteristics and demonstrated p75, SOX-10 and nestin positivity. When cultured in conditions typical for mesenchymal cells, a population of T-antigen negative cells, which did not express neural crest markers arose from the MSCs. JCV T-antigen positive cells could be cultured long-term while maintaining their neural crest characteristics. When these cells were induced to differentiate into neural crest derivatives, JCV T-antigen was downregulated in cells differentiating into bone and maintained in glial cells expressing GFAP and S100. We conclude that JCV T-antigen can be stably expressed within a fraction of bone marrow cells differentiating along the neural crest/glial lineage when cultured in vitro. These findings identify a cell population within the bone marrow permissible for JCV early gene expression suggesting the possibility that these cells could support persistent viral infection and thus provide clues toward understanding the role of the bone marrow in JCV latency and reactivation. Further, our data provides an excellent experimental model system for studying the cell-type specificity of JCV T-antigen expression, the role of bone marrow-derived stem cells in the pathogenesis of JCV-related diseases

The F-box protein Cdc4/Fbxw7 is a novel regulator of neural crest development in Xenopus laevis

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Hartley Rebecca S

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The neural crest is a unique population of cells that arise in the vertebrate ectoderm at the neural plate border after which they migrate extensively throughout the embryo, giving rise to a wide range of derivatives. A number of proteins involved in neural crest development have dynamic expression patterns, and it is becoming clear that ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation is partly responsible for this. Results Here we demonstrate a novel role for the F-box protein Cdc4/Fbxw7 in neural crest development. Two isoforms of Xenopus laevis Cdc4 were identified, and designated xCdc4α and xCdc4β. These are highly conserved with vertebrate Cdc4 orthologs, and the Xenopus proteins are functionally equivalent in terms of their ability to degrade Cyclin E, an established vertebrate Cdc4 target. Blocking xCdc4 function specifically inhibited neural crest development at an early stage, prior to expression of c-Myc, Snail2 and Snail. Conclusions We demonstrate that Cdc4, an ubiquitin E3 ligase subunit previously identified as targeting primarily cell cycle regulators for proteolysis, has additional roles in control of formation of the neural crest. Hence, we identify Cdc4 as a protein with separable but complementary functions in control of cell proliferation and differentiation.

A negative modulatory role for rho and rho-associated kinase signaling in delamination of neural crest cells

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Kalcheim Chaya

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Neural crest progenitors arise as epithelial cells and then undergo a process of epithelial to mesenchymal transition that precedes the generation of cellular motility and subsequent migration. We aim at understanding the underlying molecular network. Along this line, possible roles of Rho GTPases that act as molecular switches to control a variety of signal transduction pathways remain virtually unexplored, as are putative interactions between Rho proteins and additional known components of this cascade. Results We investigated the role of Rho/Rock signaling in neural crest delamination. Active RhoA and RhoB are expressed in the membrane of epithelial progenitors and are downregulated upon delamination. In vivo loss-of-function of RhoA or RhoB or of overall Rho signaling by C3 transferase enhanced and/or triggered premature crest delamination yet had no effect on cell specification. Consistently, treatment of explanted neural primordia with membrane-permeable C3 or with the Rock inhibitor Y27632 both accelerated and enhanced crest emigration without affecting cell proliferation. These treatments altered neural crest morphology by reducing stress fibers, focal adhesions and downregulating membrane-bound N-cadherin. Reciprocally, activation of endogenous Rho by lysophosphatidic acid inhibited emigration while enhancing the above. Since delamination is triggered by BMP and requires G1/S transition, we examined their relationship with Rho. Blocking Rho/Rock function rescued crest emigration upon treatment with noggin or with the G1/S inhibitor mimosine. In the latter condition, cells emigrated while arrested at G1. Conversely, BMP4 was unable to rescue cell emigration when endogenous Rho activity was enhanced by lysophosphatidic acid. Conclusion Rho-GTPases, through Rock, act downstream of BMP and of G1/S transition to negatively regulate crest delamination by modifying cytoskeleton assembly and intercellular adhesion.

SOXE neofunctionalization and elaboration of the neural crest during chordate evolution

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Tai, Andrew; Cheung, Martin; Huang, Yong-Heng; Jauch, Ralf; Bronner, Marianne E.; Cheah, Kathryn S. E.

2016-01-01

During chordate evolution, two genome-wide duplications facilitated acquisition of vertebrate traits, including emergence of neural crest cells (NCCs), in which neofunctionalization of the duplicated genes are thought to have facilitated development of craniofacial structures and the peripheral nervous system. How these duplicated genes evolve and acquire the ability to specify NC and their derivatives are largely unknown. Vertebrate SoxE paralogues, most notably Sox9/10, are essential for NC induction, delamination and lineage specification. In contrast, the basal chordate, amphioxus, has a single SoxE gene and lacks NC-like cells. Here, we test the hypothesis that duplication and divergence of an ancestral SoxE gene may have facilitated elaboration of NC lineages. By using an in vivo expression assay to compare effects of AmphiSoxE and vertebrate Sox9 on NC development, we demonstrate that all SOXE proteins possess similar DNA binding and homodimerization properties and can induce NCCs. However, AmphiSOXE is less efficient than SOX9 in transactivation activity and in the ability to preferentially promote glial over neuronal fate, a difference that lies within the combined properties of amino terminal and transactivation domains. We propose that acquisition of AmphiSoxE expression in the neural plate border led to NCC emergence while duplication and divergence produced advantageous mutations in vertebrate homologues, promoting elaboration of NC traits. PMID:27734831

The lamprey: a jawless vertebrate model system for examining origin of the neural crest and other vertebrate traits.

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Green, Stephen A; Bronner, Marianne E

2014-01-01

Lampreys are a group of jawless fishes that serve as an important point of comparison for studies of vertebrate evolution. Lampreys and hagfishes are agnathan fishes, the cyclostomes, which sit at a crucial phylogenetic position as the only living sister group of the jawed vertebrates. Comparisons between cyclostomes and jawed vertebrates can help identify shared derived (i.e. synapomorphic) traits that might have been inherited from ancestral early vertebrates, if unlikely to have arisen convergently by chance. One example of a uniquely vertebrate trait is the neural crest, an embryonic tissue that produces many cell types crucial to vertebrate features, such as the craniofacial skeleton, pigmentation of the skin, and much of the peripheral nervous system (Gans and Northcutt, 1983). Invertebrate chordates arguably lack unambiguous neural crest homologs, yet have cells with some similarities, making comparisons with lampreys and jawed vertebrates essential for inferring characteristics of development in early vertebrates, and how they may have evolved from nonvertebrate chordates. Here we review recent research on cyclostome neural crest development, including research on lamprey gene regulatory networks and differentiated neural crest fates. Copyright © 2014 International Society of Differentiation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cut loose and run: The complex role of ADAM proteases during neural crest cell development.

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Alfandari, Dominique; Taneyhill, Lisa A

2018-02-24

ADAM metalloproteases have been shown to play critical roles during development. In this review, we will describe functional evidence that implicates ADAM proteins during the genesis, migration and differentiation of neural crest cells. We will restrict our analysis to the transmembrane ADAMs as other reviews have addressed the role of extracellular metalloproteases (Christian et al. [2013] Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 48:544-560). This review will describe advances that have been obtained mainly through the use of two vertebrate model systems, the frog, and avian embryos. The role of the principal substrates of ADAMs, the cadherins, has been extensively described in other reviews, most recently in (Cousin [1997] Mechanisms of Development 148:79-88; Taneyhill and Schiffmacher [2017] Genesis, 55). The function of ADAMs in the migration of other cell types, including the immune system, wound healing and cancer has been described previously in (Dreymueller et al. [2017] Mediators of Inflammation 2017: 9621724). Our goal is to illustrate both the importance of ADAMs in controlling neural crest behavior and how neural crest cells have helped us understand the molecular interactions, substrates, and functions of ADAM proteins in vivo. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Stage-specific control of neural crest stem cell proliferation by the small rho GTPases Cdc42 and Rac1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fuchs, Sebastian; Herzog, Dominik; Sumara, Grzegorz

2009-01-01

-renewal and proliferation of later stage, but not early migratory NCSCs. This stage-specific requirement for small Rho GTPases is due to changes in NCSCs that, during development, acquire responsiveness to mitogenic EGF acting upstream of both Cdc42 and Rac1. Thus, our data reveal distinct mechanisms for growth control......The neural crest (NC) generates a variety of neural and non-neural tissues during vertebrate development. Both migratory NC cells and their target structures contain cells with stem cell features. Here we show that these populations of neural crest-derived stem cells (NCSCs) are differentially...

Meis2 is essential for cranial and cardiac neural crest development

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Machoň, Ondřej; Mašek, Jan; Machoňová, Olga; Krauss, S.; Kozmik, Zbyněk

2015-01-01

Roč. 15, Nov 6 (2015) ISSN 1471-213X R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP305/12/2042; GA MŠk(CZ) LK11214 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : Meis2 * Persistent truncus arteriosus * Neural crest * Craniofacial skeleton * Cranial nerves Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 2.096, year: 2015

Isolation and culture of neural crest cells from embryonic murine neural tube.

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Pfaltzgraff, Elise R; Mundell, Nathan A; Labosky, Patricia A

2012-06-02

The embryonic neural crest (NC) is a multipotent progenitor population that originates at the dorsal aspect of the neural tube, undergoes an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and migrates throughout the embryo, giving rise to diverse cell types. NC also has the unique ability to influence the differentiation and maturation of target organs. When explanted in vitro, NC progenitors undergo self-renewal, migrate and differentiate into a variety of tissue types including neurons, glia, smooth muscle cells, cartilage and bone. NC multipotency was first described from explants of the avian neural tube. In vitro isolation of NC cells facilitates the study of NC dynamics including proliferation, migration, and multipotency. Further work in the avian and rat systems demonstrated that explanted NC cells retain their NC potential when transplanted back into the embryo. Because these inherent cellular properties are preserved in explanted NC progenitors, the neural tube explant assay provides an attractive option for studying the NC in vitro. To attain a better understanding of the mammalian NC, many methods have been employed to isolate NC populations. NC-derived progenitors can be cultured from post-migratory locations in both the embryo and adult to study the dynamics of post-migratory NC progenitors, however isolation of NC progenitors as they emigrate from the neural tube provides optimal preservation of NC cell potential and migratory properties. Some protocols employ fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate a NC population enriched for particular progenitors. However, when starting with early stage embryos, cell numbers adequate for analyses are difficult to obtain with FACS, complicating the isolation of early NC populations from individual embryos. Here, we describe an approach that does not rely on FACS and results in an approximately 96% pure NC population based on a Wnt1-Cre activated lineage reporter. The method presented here is adapted from

Properties of Neural Crest-Like Cells Differentiated from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Křivánek, J.; Švandová, Eva; Králik, J.; Hajda, S.; Fedr, Radek; Vinařský, V.; Jaroš, J.; Souček, Karel

2014-01-01

Roč. 60, č. 2014 (2014), s. 30-38 ISSN 0015-5500 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP304/11/1418 Institutional support: RVO:68081707 Keywords : stem cell differentiation * neural crest * odontogenesis Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics; ED - Physiology (UZFG-Y) Impact factor: 1.000, year: 2014

Imidacloprid Exposure Suppresses Neural Crest Cells Generation during Early Chick Embryo Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao-Jie; Wang, Guang; Wang, Xiao-Yu; Liu, Meng; Chuai, Manli; Lee, Kenneth Ka Ho; He, Xiao-Song; Lu, Da-Xiang; Yang, Xuesong

2016-06-15

Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid pesticide that is widely used in the control pests found on crops and fleas on pets. However, it is still unclear whether imidacloprid exposure could affect early embryo development-despite some studies having been conducted on the gametes. In this study, we demonstrated that imidacloprid exposure could lead to abnormal craniofacial osteogenesis in the developing chick embryo. Cranial neural crest cells (NCCs) are the progenitor cells of the chick cranial skull. We found that the imidacloprid exposure retards the development of gastrulating chick embryos. HNK-1, PAX7, and Ap-2α immunohistological stainings indicated that cranial NCCs generation was inhibited after imidacloprid exposure. Double immunofluorescent staining (Ap-2α and PHIS3 or PAX7 and c-Caspase3) revealed that imidacloprid exposure inhibited both NCC proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, it inhibited NCCs production by repressing Msx1 and BMP4 expression in the developing neural tube and by altering expression of EMT-related adhesion molecules (Cad6B, E-Cadherin, and N-cadherin) in the developing neural crests. We also determined that imidacloprid exposure suppressed cranial NCCs migration and their ability to differentiate. In sum, we have provided experimental evidence that imidacloprid exposure during embryogenesis disrupts NCCs development, which in turn causes defective cranial bone development.

In Vivo Transplantation of Enteric Neural Crest Cells into Mouse Gut; Engraftment, Functional Integration and Long-Term Safety.

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Julie E Cooper

Full Text Available Enteric neuropathies are severe gastrointestinal disorders with unsatisfactory outcomes. We aimed to investigate the potential of enteric neural stem cell therapy approaches for such disorders by transplanting mouse enteric neural crest cells (ENCCs into ganglionic and aganglionic mouse gut in vivo and analysing functional integration and long-term safety.Neurospheres generated from yellow fluorescent protein (YFP expressing ENCCs selected from postnatal Wnt1-cre;R26R-YFP/YFP murine gut were transplanted into ganglionic hindgut of wild-type littermates or aganglionic hindgut of Ednrbtm1Ywa mice (lacking functional endothelin receptor type-B. Intestines were then assessed for ENCC integration and differentiation using immunohistochemistry, cell function using calcium imaging, and long-term safety using PCR to detect off-target YFP expression.YFP+ ENCCs engrafted, proliferated and differentiated into enteric neurons and glia within recipient ganglionic gut. Transplanted cells and their projections spread along the endogenous myenteric plexus to form branching networks. Electrical point stimulation of endogenous nerve fibres resulted in calcium transients (F/F0 = 1.16 ± 0.01;43 cells, n = 6 in YFP+ transplanted ENCCs (abolished with TTX. Long-term follow-up (24 months showed transplanted ENCCs did not give rise to tumours or spread to other organs (PCR negative in extraintestinal sites. In aganglionic gut ENCCs similarly spread and differentiated to form neuronal and glial networks with projections closely associated with endogenous neural networks of the transition zone.Transplanted ENCCs successfully engrafted into recipient ganglionic and aganglionic gut showing appropriate spread, localisation and, importantly, functional integration without any long-term safety issues. This study provides key support for the development and use of enteric neural stem cell therapies.

In vitro cementoblast-like differentiation of postmigratory neural crest-derived p75+ stem cells with dental follicle cell conditioned medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wen, Xiujie; Liu, Luchuan; Deng, Manjing; Liu, Rui; Zhang, Li; Nie, Xin

2015-01-01

Cranial neural crest-derived cells (CNCCs) play important role in epithelial–mesenchymal interactions during tooth morphogenesis. However, the heterogeneity of CNCCs and their tendency to spontaneously differentiate along smooth muscle or osteoblast lineages in vitro limit further understanding of their biological properties. We studied the differentiation properties of isolated rat embryonic postmigratory CNCCs, expressing p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). These p75NTR positive (p75 + ) CNCCs, isolated using fluorescence activated cell sorter, exhibited fibroblast-like morphology and characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells. Incubation of p75 + CNCCs in dental follicle cell conditioned medium (DFCCM) combined with dentin non-collagenous proteins (dNCPs), altered their morphological features to cementoblast-like appearance. These cells also showed low proliferative activity, high ALP activity and significantly increased calcified nodule formation. Markers related to mineralization or specific to cementoblast lineage were highly expressed in dNCPs/DFCCM-treated p75 + cells, suggesting their differentiation along cementoblast-like lineage. p75 + stem cells selected from postmigratory CNCCs represent a pure stem cell population and could be used as a stem cell model for in vitro studies due to their intrinsic ability to differentiate to neuronal cells and transform from neuroectoderm to ectomesenchyme. They can provide a potential stem cell resource for tooth engineering studies and help to further investigate mechanisms of epithelial–mesenchymal interactions in tooth morphogenesis. - Highlights: • Cranial neural crest-derived cells (CNCCs) take part in tooth morphogenesis. • positive (p75 + ) CNCCs are fibroblast-like and resemble mesenchymal stem cells. • p75 + CNCCs in dental follicle cell medium (DFCCM/dNCP) appear like cementoblasts. • DFCCM/dNCP-treated p75 + cells express cementoblast specific mineralization markers. • p75 + cells are pure stem

I131-meta-iodobenzylguanidine in the diagnosis and treatment of neural crest tumours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoefnagel, C.A.; Hartog Jager, F.C.A. den; Taal, B.G.; Engelsman, E.; Kraker, J. de; Voute, P.A.

1988-01-01

Iodine-131-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (I-131-MIBG) was used for scintigraphic detection and therapy of neural crest tumours. The methodology of both techniques is described. Based upon experience with I-131-MIBG-scintigraphy in 170 patients with neural crest tumours, of whom 46 received multiple therapeutic doses of I-131-MIBG, and upon the cumulative reports in the literature, the role of I-131-MIBG in diagnosis and treatment of each of these diseases is indicated. I-131-MIBG-scintigraphy is one of the most sensitive and specific techniques for the diagnosis, staging and follow-up of phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma and I-131-MIBG-therapy may induce remission in a number of these patients. In carcinoid and medullary thyroid carcinoma the diagnostic sensitivity is less; however, once the diagnosis has been made, it is useful to establish that the tumour concentrates I-131-MIBG, to see if the patients at some point in time may be amenable to I-131-MIBG-therapy

Energy-efficient neural information processing in individual neurons and neuronal networks.

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Yu, Lianchun; Yu, Yuguo

2017-11-01

Brains are composed of networks of an enormous number of neurons interconnected with synapses. Neural information is carried by the electrical signals within neurons and the chemical signals among neurons. Generating these electrical and chemical signals is metabolically expensive. The fundamental issue raised here is whether brains have evolved efficient ways of developing an energy-efficient neural code from the molecular level to the circuit level. Here, we summarize the factors and biophysical mechanisms that could contribute to the energy-efficient neural code for processing input signals. The factors range from ion channel kinetics, body temperature, axonal propagation of action potentials, low-probability release of synaptic neurotransmitters, optimal input and noise, the size of neurons and neuronal clusters, excitation/inhibition balance, coding strategy, cortical wiring, and the organization of functional connectivity. Both experimental and computational evidence suggests that neural systems may use these factors to maximize the efficiency of energy consumption in processing neural signals. Studies indicate that efficient energy utilization may be universal in neuronal systems as an evolutionary consequence of the pressure of limited energy. As a result, neuronal connections may be wired in a highly economical manner to lower energy costs and space. Individual neurons within a network may encode independent stimulus components to allow a minimal number of neurons to represent whole stimulus characteristics efficiently. This basic principle may fundamentally change our view of how billions of neurons organize themselves into complex circuits to operate and generate the most powerful intelligent cognition in nature. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In vivo transplantation of enteric neural crest cells into mouse gut; Engraftment, functional integration and long-term safety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.E. Cooper (Julie E.); C. Mccann; D. Natarajan (Dipa); S. Choudhury; W. Boesmans (Werend); J.-M. Delalande (Jean-Marie); P.V. Berghe (Pieter Vanden); A.J. Burns (Alan); N. Thapar (Nikhil)

2016-01-01

textabstractObjectives: Enteric neuropathies are severe gastrointestinal disorders with unsatisfactory outcomes. We aimed to investigate the potential of enteric neural stem cell therapy approaches for such disorders by transplanting mouse enteric neural crest cells (ENCCs) into ganglionic and

Phenothiourea sensitizes zebrafish cranial neural crest and extraocular muscle development to changes in retinoic acid and IGF signaling.

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Brenda L Bohnsack

Full Text Available 1-Phenyl 2-thiourea (PTU is a tyrosinase inhibitor commonly used to block pigmentation and aid visualization of zebrafish development. At the standard concentration of 0.003% (200 µM, PTU inhibits melanogenesis and reportedly has minimal other effects on zebrafish embryogenesis. We found that 0.003% PTU altered retinoic acid and insulin-like growth factor (IGF regulation of neural crest and mesodermal components of craniofacial development. Reduction of retinoic acid synthesis by the pan-aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor diethylbenzaldehyde, only when combined with 0.003% PTU, resulted in extraocular muscle disorganization. PTU also decreased retinoic acid-induced teratogenic effects on pharyngeal arch and jaw cartilage despite morphologically normal appearing PTU-treated controls. Furthermore, 0.003% PTU in combination with inhibition of IGF signaling through either morpholino knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition of tyrosine kinase receptor phosphorylation, disrupted jaw development and extraocular muscle organization. PTU in and of itself inhibited neural crest development at higher concentrations (0.03% and had the greatest inhibitory effect when added prior to 22 hours post fertilization (hpf. Addition of 0.003% PTU between 4 and 20 hpf decreased thyroxine (T4 in thyroid follicles in the nasopharynx of 96 hpf embryos. Treatment with exogenous triiodothyronine (T3 and T4 improved, but did not completely rescue, PTU-induced neural crest defects. Thus, PTU should be used with caution when studying zebrafish embryogenesis as it alters the threshold of different signaling pathways important during craniofacial development. The effects of PTU on neural crest development are partially caused by thyroid hormone signaling.

Tcf7l1 protects the anterior neural fold from adopting the neural crest fate

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mašek, Jan; Machoň, Ondřej; Kořínek, Vladimír; Taketo, M.M.; Kozmik, Zbyněk

2016-01-01

Roč. 143, č. 12 (2016), s. 2206-2216 ISSN 0950-1991 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP305/12/2042; GA ČR(CZ) GA14-33952S; GA MŠk(CZ) LK11214; GA MŠk LO1419; GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0109 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : Tcf/Lef * Wnt dignaling * neural crest * forebrain * mouse * zebrafish Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 5.843, year: 2016

In vitro cementoblast-like differentiation of postmigratory neural crest-derived p75{sup +} stem cells with dental follicle cell conditioned medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wen, Xiujie; Liu, Luchuan; Deng, Manjing; Liu, Rui; Zhang, Li; Nie, Xin, E-mail: dr.xinnie@gmail.com

2015-09-10

Cranial neural crest-derived cells (CNCCs) play important role in epithelial–mesenchymal interactions during tooth morphogenesis. However, the heterogeneity of CNCCs and their tendency to spontaneously differentiate along smooth muscle or osteoblast lineages in vitro limit further understanding of their biological properties. We studied the differentiation properties of isolated rat embryonic postmigratory CNCCs, expressing p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). These p75NTR positive (p75{sup +}) CNCCs, isolated using fluorescence activated cell sorter, exhibited fibroblast-like morphology and characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells. Incubation of p75{sup +} CNCCs in dental follicle cell conditioned medium (DFCCM) combined with dentin non-collagenous proteins (dNCPs), altered their morphological features to cementoblast-like appearance. These cells also showed low proliferative activity, high ALP activity and significantly increased calcified nodule formation. Markers related to mineralization or specific to cementoblast lineage were highly expressed in dNCPs/DFCCM-treated p75{sup +} cells, suggesting their differentiation along cementoblast-like lineage. p75{sup +} stem cells selected from postmigratory CNCCs represent a pure stem cell population and could be used as a stem cell model for in vitro studies due to their intrinsic ability to differentiate to neuronal cells and transform from neuroectoderm to ectomesenchyme. They can provide a potential stem cell resource for tooth engineering studies and help to further investigate mechanisms of epithelial–mesenchymal interactions in tooth morphogenesis. - Highlights: • Cranial neural crest-derived cells (CNCCs) take part in tooth morphogenesis. • positive (p75{sup +}) CNCCs are fibroblast-like and resemble mesenchymal stem cells. • p75{sup +} CNCCs in dental follicle cell medium (DFCCM/dNCP) appear like cementoblasts. • DFCCM/dNCP-treated p75{sup +} cells express cementoblast specific mineralization

Embryonic cell-cell adhesion: a key player in collective neural crest migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Barriga, Elias H; Mayor, Roberto

2015-01-01

Cell migration is essential for morphogenesis, adult tissue remodeling, wound healing, and cancer cell migration. Cells can migrate as individuals or groups. When cells migrate in groups, cell-cell interactions are crucial in order to promote the coordinated behavior, essential for collective migration. Interestingly, recent evidence has shown that cell-cell interactions are also important for establishing and maintaining the directionality of these migratory events. We focus on neural crest cells, as they possess extraordinary migratory capabilities that allow them to migrate and colonize tissues all over the embryo. Neural crest cells undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition at the same time than perform directional collective migration. Cell-cell adhesion has been shown to be an important source of planar cell polarity and cell coordination during collective movement. We also review molecular mechanisms underlying cadherin turnover, showing how the modulation and dynamics of cell-cell adhesions are crucial in order to maintain tissue integrity and collective migration in vivo. We conclude that cell-cell adhesion during embryo development cannot be considered as simple passive resistance to force, but rather participates in signaling events that determine important cell behaviors required for cell migration. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The neural crest, a multifaceted structure of the vertebrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Dupin, Elisabeth; Le Douarin, Nicole M

2014-09-01

In this review, several features of the cells originating from the lateral borders of the primitive neural anlagen, the neural crest (NC) are considered. Among them, their multipotentiality, which together with their migratory properties, leads them to colonize the developing body and to participate in the development of many tissues and organs. The in vitro analysis of the developmental capacities of single NC cells (NCC) showed that they present several analogies with the hematopoietic cells whose differentiation involves the activity of stem cells endowed with different arrays of developmental potentialities. The permanence of such NC stem cells in the adult organism raises the problem of their role at that stage of life. The NC has appeared during evolution in the vertebrate phylum and is absent in their Protocordates ancestors. The major role of the NCC in the development of the vertebrate head points to a critical role for this structure in the remarkable diversification and radiation of this group of animals. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fibronectin promotes differentiation of neural crest progenitors endowed with smooth muscle cell potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa-Silva, Bruno; Coelho da Costa, Meline; Melo, Fernanda Rosene; Neves, Cynara Mendes; Alvarez-Silva, Marcio; Calloni, Giordano Wosgrau; Trentin, Andrea Goncalves

2009-01-01

The neural crest (NC) is a model system used to investigate multipotency during vertebrate development. Environmental factors control NC cell fate decisions. Despite the well-known influence of extracellular matrix molecules in NC cell migration, the issue of whether they also influence NC cell differentiation has not been addressed at the single cell level. By analyzing mass and clonal cultures of mouse cephalic and quail trunk NC cells, we show for the first time that fibronectin (FN) promotes differentiation into the smooth muscle cell phenotype without affecting differentiation into glia, neurons, and melanocytes. Time course analysis indicated that the FN-induced effect was not related to massive cell death or proliferation of smooth muscle cells. Finally, by comparing clonal cultures of quail trunk NC cells grown on FN and collagen type IV (CLIV), we found that FN strongly increased both NC cell survival and the proportion of unipotent and oligopotent NC progenitors endowed with smooth muscle potential. In contrast, melanocytic progenitors were prominent in clonogenic NC cells grown on CLIV. Taken together, these results show that FN promotes NC cell differentiation along the smooth muscle lineage, and therefore plays an important role in fate decisions of NC progenitor cells

Zebrafish Adar2 Edits the Q/R site of AMPA receptor Subunit gria2α transcript to ensure normal development of nervous system and cranial neural crest cells.

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I-Chen Li

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Adar2 deaminates selective adenosines to inosines (A-to-I RNA editing in the double-stranded region of nuclear transcripts. Although the functions of mouse Adar2 and its biologically most important substrate gria2, encoding the GluA2 subunit of AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptor, have been extensively studied, the substrates and functions of zebrafish Adar2 remain elusive. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Expression of Adar2 was perturbed in the adar2 morphant (adar2MO, generated by antisense morpholio oligonucleotides. The Q/R editing of gria2α was reduced in the adar2MO and was enhanced by overexpression of Adar2, demonstrating an evolutionarily conserved activity between zebrafish and mammalian Adar2 in editing the Q/R site of gria2. To delineate the role of Q/R editing of gria2α in the developmental defects observed in the adar2MO, the Q/R editing of gria2α was specifically perturbed in the gria2αQRMO, generated by a morpholio oligonucleotide complementary to the exon complementary sequence (ECS required for the Q/R editing. Analogous to the adar2-deficient and Q/R-editing deficient mice displaying identical neurological defects, the gria2αQRMO and adar2MO displayed identical developmental defects in the nervous system and cranial cartilages. Knockdown p53 abolished apoptosis and partially suppressed the loss of spinal cord motor neurons in these morphants. However, reducing p53 activity neither replenished the brain neuronal populations nor rescued the developmental defects. The expressions of crestin and sox9b in the neural crest cells were reduced in the adar2MO and gria2αQRMO. Overexpressing the edited GluA2αR in the adar2MO restored normal expressions of cresting and sox9b. Moreover, overexpressing the unedited GluA2αQ in the wild type embryos resulted in reduction of crestin and sox9b expressions. These results argue that an elevated GluA2αQ level is sufficient for generating the

Differences in neural crest sensitivity to ethanol account for the infrequency of anterior segment defects in the eye compared with craniofacial anomalies in a zebrafish model of fetal alcohol syndrome.

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Eason, Jessica; Williams, Antionette L; Chawla, Bahaar; Apsey, Christian; Bohnsack, Brenda L

2017-09-01

Ethanol (ETOH) exposure during pregnancy is associated with craniofacial and neurologic abnormalities, but infrequently disrupts the anterior segment of the eye. In these studies, we used zebrafish to investigate differences in the teratogenic effect of ETOH on craniofacial, periocular, and ocular neural crest. Zebrafish eye and neural crest development was analyzed by means of live imaging, TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling) assay, immunostaining, detection of reactive oxygen species, and in situ hybridization. Our studies demonstrated that foxd3-positive neural crest cells in the periocular mesenchyme and developing eye were less sensitive to ETOH than sox10-positive craniofacial neural crest cells that form the pharyngeal arches and jaw. ETOH increased apoptosis in the retina, but did not affect survival of periocular and ocular neural crest cells. ETOH also did not increase reactive oxygen species within the eye. In contrast, ETOH increased ventral neural crest apoptosis and reactive oxygen species production in the facial mesenchyme. In the eye and craniofacial region, sod2 showed high levels of expression in the anterior segment and in the setting of Sod2 knockdown, low levels of ETOH decreased migration of foxd3-positive neural crest cells into the developing eye. However, ETOH had minimal effect on the periocular and ocular expression of transcription factors (pitx2 and foxc1) that regulate anterior segment development. Neural crest cells contributing to the anterior segment of the eye exhibit increased ability to withstand ETOH-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. These studies explain the rarity of anterior segment dysgenesis despite the frequent craniofacial abnormalities in fetal alcohol syndrome. Birth Defects Research 109:1212-1227, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Neural crest stem cell multipotency requires Foxd3 to maintain neural potential and repress mesenchymal fates.

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Mundell, Nathan A; Labosky, Patricia A

2011-02-01

Neural crest (NC) progenitors generate a wide array of cell types, yet molecules controlling NC multipotency and self-renewal and factors mediating cell-intrinsic distinctions between multipotent versus fate-restricted progenitors are poorly understood. Our earlier work demonstrated that Foxd3 is required for maintenance of NC progenitors in the embryo. Here, we show that Foxd3 mediates a fate restriction choice for multipotent NC progenitors with loss of Foxd3 biasing NC toward a mesenchymal fate. Neural derivatives of NC were lost in Foxd3 mutant mouse embryos, whereas abnormally fated NC-derived vascular smooth muscle cells were ectopically located in the aorta. Cranial NC defects were associated with precocious differentiation towards osteoblast and chondrocyte cell fates, and individual mutant NC from different anteroposterior regions underwent fate changes, losing neural and increasing myofibroblast potential. Our results demonstrate that neural potential can be separated from NC multipotency by the action of a single gene, and establish novel parallels between NC and other progenitor populations that depend on this functionally conserved stem cell protein to regulate self-renewal and multipotency.

ADAM13 Induces Cranial Neural Crest by Cleaving Class B Ephrins and Regulating Wnt Signaling

OpenAIRE

Wei, Shuo; Xu, Guofeng; Bridges, Lance C.; Williams, Phoebe; White, Judith M.; DeSimone, Douglas W.

2010-01-01

The cranial neural crest (CNC) are multipotent embryonic cells that contribute to craniofacial structures and other cells and tissues of the vertebrate head. During embryogenesis, CNC is induced at the neural plate boundary through the interplay of several major signaling pathways. Here we report that the metalloproteinase activity of ADAM13 is required for early induction of CNC in Xenopus. In both cultured cells and X. tropicalis embryos, membrane-bound Ephrins (Efns) B1 and B2 were identif...

Sonic Hedgehog promotes the survival of neural crest cells by limiting apoptosis induced by the dependence receptor CDON during branchial arch development.

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Delloye-Bourgeois, Céline; Rama, Nicolas; Brito, José; Le Douarin, Nicole; Mehlen, Patrick

2014-09-26

Cell-adhesion molecule-related/Downregulated by Oncogenes (CDO or CDON) was identified as a receptor for the classic morphogen Sonic Hedgehog (SHH). It has been shown that, in cell culture, CDO also behaves as a SHH dependence receptor: CDO actively triggers apoptosis in absence of SHH via a proteolytic cleavage in CDO intracellular domain. We present evidence that CDO is also pro-apoptotic in the developing neural tube where SHH is known to act as a survival factor. SHH, produced by the ventral foregut endoderm, was shown to promote survival of facial neural crest cells (NCCs) that colonize the first branchial arch (BA1). We show here that the survival activity of SHH on neural crest cells is due to SHH-mediated inhibition of CDO pro-apoptotic activity. Silencing of CDO rescued NCCs from apoptosis observed upon SHH inhibition in the ventral foregut endoderm. Thus, the pair SHH/dependence receptor CDO may play an important role in neural crest cell survival during the formation of the first branchial arch. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dissecting CNBP, a zinc-finger protein required for neural crest development, in its structural and functional domains.

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Armas, Pablo; Agüero, Tristán H; Borgognone, Mariana; Aybar, Manuel J; Calcaterra, Nora B

2008-10-17

Cellular nucleic-acid-binding protein (CNBP) plays an essential role in forebrain and craniofacial development by controlling cell proliferation and survival to mediate neural crest expansion. CNBP binds to single-stranded nucleic acids and displays nucleic acid chaperone activity in vitro. The CNBP family shows a conserved modular organization of seven Zn knuckles and an arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) box between the first and second Zn knuckles. The participation of these structural motifs in CNBP biochemical activities has still not been addressed. Here, we describe the generation of CNBP mutants that dissect the protein into regions with structurally and functionally distinct properties. Mutagenesis approaches were followed to generate: (i) an amino acid replacement that disrupted the fifth Zn knuckle; (ii) N-terminal deletions that removed the first Zn knuckle and the RGG box, or the RGG box alone; and (iii) a C-terminal deletion that eliminated the three last Zn knuckles. Mutant proteins were overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and used to analyze their biochemical features in vitro, or overexpressed in Xenopus laevis embryos to study their function in vivo during neural crest cell development. We found that the Zn knuckles are required, but not individually essential, for CNBP biochemical activities, whereas the RGG box is essential for RNA-protein binding and nucleic acid chaperone activity. Removal of the RGG box allowed CNBP to preserve a weak single-stranded-DNA-binding capability. A mutant mimicking the natural N-terminal proteolytic CNBP form behaved as the RGG-deleted mutant. By gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments in Xenopus embryos, we confirmed the participation of CNBP in neural crest development, and we demonstrated that the CNBP mutants lacking the N-terminal region or the RGG box alone may act as dominant negatives in vivo. Based on these data, we speculate about the existence of a specific proteolytic mechanism for the

A role for chemokine signaling in neural crest cell migration and craniofacial development

Science.gov (United States)

Killian, Eugenia C. Olesnicky; Birkholz, Denise A.; Artinger, Kristin Bruk

2009-01-01

Neural crest cells (NCCs) are a unique population of multipotent cells that migrate along defined pathways throughout the embryo and give rise to many diverse cell types including pigment cells, craniofacial cartilage and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Aberrant migration of NCCs results in a wide variety of congenital birth defects including craniofacial abnormalities. The chemokine Sdf1 and its receptors, Cxcr4 and Cxcr7, have been identified as key components in the regulation of cell migration in a variety of tissues. Here we describe a novel role for the zebrafish chemokine receptor Cxcr4a in the development and migration of cranial NCCs (CNCCs). We find that loss of Cxcr4a, but not Cxcr7b results in aberrant CNCC migration, defects in the neurocranium, as well as cranial ganglia dismorphogenesis. Moreover, overexpression of either Sdf1b or Cxcr4a causes aberrant CNCC migration and results in ectopic craniofacial cartilages. We propose a model in which Sdf1b signaling from the pharyngeal arch endoderm and optic stalk to Cxcr4a expressing CNCCs is important for both the proper condensation of the CNCCs into pharyngeal arches and the subsequent patterning and morphogenesis of the neural crest derived tissues. PMID:19576198

Inherently stochastic spiking neurons for probabilistic neural computation

KAUST Repository

Al-Shedivat, Maruan

2015-04-01

Neuromorphic engineering aims to design hardware that efficiently mimics neural circuitry and provides the means for emulating and studying neural systems. In this paper, we propose a new memristor-based neuron circuit that uniquely complements the scope of neuron implementations and follows the stochastic spike response model (SRM), which plays a cornerstone role in spike-based probabilistic algorithms. We demonstrate that the switching of the memristor is akin to the stochastic firing of the SRM. Our analysis and simulations show that the proposed neuron circuit satisfies a neural computability condition that enables probabilistic neural sampling and spike-based Bayesian learning and inference. Our findings constitute an important step towards memristive, scalable and efficient stochastic neuromorphic platforms. © 2015 IEEE.

Inductive differentiation of two neural lineages reconstituted in a microculture system from Xenopus early gastrula cells.

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Mitani, S; Okamoto, H

1991-05-01

Neural induction of ectoderm cells has been reconstituted and examined in a microculture system derived from dissociated early gastrula cells of Xenopus laevis. We have used monoclonal antibodies as specific markers to monitor cellular differentiation from three distinct ectoderm lineages in culture (N1 for CNS neurons from neural tube, Me1 for melanophores from neural crest and E3 for skin epidermal cells from epidermal lineages). CNS neurons and melanophores differentiate when deep layer cells of the ventral ectoderm (VE, prospective epidermis region; 150 cells/culture) and an appropriate region of the marginal zone (MZ, prospective mesoderm region; 5-150 cells/culture) are co-cultured, but not in cultures of either cell type on their own; VE cells cultured alone yield epidermal cells as we have previously reported. The extent of inductive neural differentiation in the co-culture system strongly depends on the origin and number of MZ cells initially added to culture wells. The potency to induce CNS neurons is highest for dorsal MZ cells and sharply decreases as more ventrally located cells are used. The same dorsoventral distribution of potency is seen in the ability of MZ cells to inhibit epidermal differentiation. In contrast, the ability of MZ cells to induce melanophores shows the reverse polarity, ventral to dorsal. These data indicate that separate developmental mechanisms are used for the induction of neural tube and neural crest lineages. Co-differentiation of CNS neurons or melanophores with epidermal cells can be obtained in a single well of co-cultures of VE cells (150) and a wide range of numbers of MZ cells (5 to 100). Further, reproducible differentiation of both neural lineages requires intimate association between cells from the two gastrula regions; virtually no differentiation is obtained when cells from the VE and MZ are separated in a culture well. These results indicate that the inducing signals from MZ cells for both neural tube and neural

ADAM10 is essential for cranial neural crest-derived maxillofacial bone development

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Tan, Yu, E-mail: tanyu2048@163.com; Fu, Runqing, E-mail: furunqing@sjtu.edu.cn; Liu, Jiaqiang, E-mail: liujqmj@163.com; Wu, Yong, E-mail: wyonger@gmail.com; Wang, Bo, E-mail: wb228@126.com; Jiang, Ning, E-mail: 179639060@qq.com; Nie, Ping, E-mail: nieping1011@sina.com; Cao, Haifeng, E-mail: 0412chf@163.com; Yang, Zhi, E-mail: wcums1981@163.com; Fang, Bing, E-mail: fangbing@sjtu.edu.cn

2016-07-08

Growth disorders of the craniofacial bones may lead to craniofacial deformities. The majority of maxillofacial bones are derived from cranial neural crest cells via intramembranous bone formation. Any interruption of the craniofacial skeleton development process might lead to craniofacial malformation. A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM)10 plays an essential role in organ development and tissue integrity in different organs. However, little is known about its function in craniofacial bone formation. Therefore, we investigated the role of ADAM10 in the developing craniofacial skeleton, particularly during typical mandibular bone development. First, we showed that ADAM10 was expressed in a specific area of the craniofacial bone and that the expression pattern dynamically changed during normal mouse craniofacial development. Then, we crossed wnt1-cre transgenic mice with adam10-flox mice to generate ADAM10 conditional knockout mice. The stereomicroscopic, radiographic, and von Kossa staining results showed that conditional knockout of ADAM10 in cranial neural crest cells led to embryonic death, craniofacial dysmorphia and bone defects. Furthermore, we demonstrated that impaired mineralization could be triggered by decreased osteoblast differentiation, increased cell death. Overall, these findings show that ADAM10 plays an essential role in craniofacial bone development. -- Highlights: •We firstly reported that ADAM10 was essentially involved in maxillofacial bone development. •ADAM10 cKO mice present craniofacial dysmorphia and bone defects. •Impaired osteoblast differentiation,proliferation and apoptosis underlie the bone deformity.

ADAM10 is essential for cranial neural crest-derived maxillofacial bone development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Yu; Fu, Runqing; Liu, Jiaqiang; Wu, Yong; Wang, Bo; Jiang, Ning; Nie, Ping; Cao, Haifeng; Yang, Zhi; Fang, Bing

2016-01-01

Growth disorders of the craniofacial bones may lead to craniofacial deformities. The majority of maxillofacial bones are derived from cranial neural crest cells via intramembranous bone formation. Any interruption of the craniofacial skeleton development process might lead to craniofacial malformation. A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM)10 plays an essential role in organ development and tissue integrity in different organs. However, little is known about its function in craniofacial bone formation. Therefore, we investigated the role of ADAM10 in the developing craniofacial skeleton, particularly during typical mandibular bone development. First, we showed that ADAM10 was expressed in a specific area of the craniofacial bone and that the expression pattern dynamically changed during normal mouse craniofacial development. Then, we crossed wnt1-cre transgenic mice with adam10-flox mice to generate ADAM10 conditional knockout mice. The stereomicroscopic, radiographic, and von Kossa staining results showed that conditional knockout of ADAM10 in cranial neural crest cells led to embryonic death, craniofacial dysmorphia and bone defects. Furthermore, we demonstrated that impaired mineralization could be triggered by decreased osteoblast differentiation, increased cell death. Overall, these findings show that ADAM10 plays an essential role in craniofacial bone development. -- Highlights: •We firstly reported that ADAM10 was essentially involved in maxillofacial bone development. •ADAM10 cKO mice present craniofacial dysmorphia and bone defects. •Impaired osteoblast differentiation,proliferation and apoptosis underlie the bone deformity.

Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transitions during Neural Crest and Somite Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaya Kalcheim

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT is a central process during embryonic development that affects selected progenitor cells of all three germ layers. In addition to driving the onset of cellular migrations and subsequent tissue morphogenesis, the dynamic conversions of epithelium into mesenchyme and vice-versa are intimately associated with the segregation of homogeneous precursors into distinct fates. The neural crest and somites, progenitors of the peripheral nervous system and of skeletal tissues, respectively, beautifully illustrate the significance of EMT to the above processes. Ongoing studies progressively elucidate the gene networks underlying EMT in each system, highlighting the similarities and differences between them. Knowledge of the mechanistic logic of this normal ontogenetic process should provide important insights to the understanding of pathological conditions such as cancer metastasis, which shares some common molecular themes.

Zebrafish msxB, msxC and msxE function together to refine the neural-nonneural border and regulate cranial placodes and neural crest development.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Bryan T; Kwon, Hye-Joo; Melton, Colt; Houghtaling, Paul; Fritz, Andreas; Riley, Bruce B

2006-06-15

The zebrafish muscle segment homeobox genes msxB, msxC and msxE are expressed in partially overlapping domains in the neural crest and preplacodal ectoderm. We examined the roles of these msx genes in early development. Disrupting individual msx genes causes modest variable defects, whereas disrupting all three produces a reproducible severe phenotype, suggesting functional redundancy. Neural crest differentiation is blocked at an early stage. Preplacodal development begins normally, but placodes arising from the msx expression domain later show elevated apoptosis and are reduced in size. Cell proliferation is normal in these tissues. Unexpectedly, Msx-deficient embryos become ventralized by late gastrulation whereas misexpression of msxB dorsalizes the embryo. These effects appear to involve Distal-less (Dlx) protein activity, as loss of dlx3b and dlx4b suppresses ventralization in Msx-depleted embryos. At the same time, Msx-depletion restores normal preplacodal gene expression to dlx3b-dlx4b mutants. These data suggest that mutual antagonism between Msx and Dlx proteins achieves a balance of function required for normal preplacodal differentiation and placement of the neural-nonneural border.

Lack of the central nervous system- and neural crest-expressed forkhead gene Foxs1 affects motor function and body weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Heglind, Mikael; Cederberg, Anna; Aquino, Jorge; Lucas, Guilherme; Ernfors, Patrik; Enerbäck, Sven

2005-07-01

To gain insight into the expression pattern and functional importance of the forkhead transcription factor Foxs1, we constructed a Foxs1-beta-galactosidase reporter gene "knock-in" (Foxs1beta-gal/beta-gal) mouse, in which the wild-type (wt) Foxs1 allele has been inactivated and replaced by a beta-galactosidase reporter gene. Staining for beta-galactosidase activity reveals an expression pattern encompassing neural crest-derived cells, e.g., cranial and dorsal root ganglia as well as several other cell populations in the central nervous system (CNS), most prominently the internal granule layer of cerebellum. Other sites of expression include the lachrymal gland, outer nuclear layer of retina, enteric ganglion neurons, and a subset of thalamic and hypothalamic nuclei. In the CNS, blood vessel-associated smooth muscle cells and pericytes stain positive for Foxs1. Foxs1beta-gal/beta-gal mice perform significantly better (P fat diet, and we speculate that dorsomedial hypothalamic neurons, expressing Foxs1, could play a role in regulating body weight via regulation of sympathetic outflow. In support of this, we observed increased levels of uncoupling protein 1 mRNA in Foxs1beta-gal/beta-gal mice. This points toward a role for Foxs1 in the integration and processing of neuronal signals of importance for energy turnover and motor function.

Expression of the capacity to release [3H]norepinephrine by neural crest cultures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maxwell, G.D.; Sietz, P.D.

1983-01-01

Cultures of trunk neural crest cells from quail embryos were tested for their ability to release [ 3 H]norepinephrine [( 3 H]NE) in response to depolarization. After 7 days in vitro, exposure of the cultures to either the alkaloid veratridine or 40 mM K+ results in the evoked release of [ 3 H]NE. The release evoked by veratridine is blocked in the presence of tetrodotoxin. The release evoked by increased K+ is blocked by the calcium antagonist cobalt. Release in response to the nicotinic cholinergic agonist 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazine was also observed. The amount of evoked release is highly correlated with the number of histochemically demonstrable catecholamine-containing cells in a given culture. Autoradiography reveals that the radioactivity taken up by these cultures is located in a subpopulation of cells whose morphology resembles that of the histochemically detectable catecholamine-containing cell population. Whereas capacity for the release of [ 3 H] NE is readily detectable after 7 days in vitro, it is detectable only with difficulty after 4 days in vitro. There is a greater than 6-fold increase in uptake capacity over the period of 4 to 7 days in vitro. These results demonstrate that neural crest cultures grown without their normal synaptic inputs or targets can exhibit the capacity for stimulus secretion coupling characteristic of synaptic neurotransmitter release

The neural crest is a source of mesenchymal stem cells with specialized hematopoietic stem cell niche function.

Science.gov (United States)

Isern, Joan; García-García, Andrés; Martín, Ana M; Arranz, Lorena; Martín-Pérez, Daniel; Torroja, Carlos; Sánchez-Cabo, Fátima; Méndez-Ferrer, Simón

2014-09-25

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and osteolineage cells contribute to the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche in the bone marrow of long bones. However, their developmental relationships remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that different MSC populations in the developing marrow of long bones have distinct functions. Proliferative mesoderm-derived nestin(-) MSCs participate in fetal skeletogenesis and lose MSC activity soon after birth. In contrast, quiescent neural crest-derived nestin(+) cells preserve MSC activity, but do not generate fetal chondrocytes. Instead, they differentiate into HSC niche-forming MSCs, helping to establish the HSC niche by secreting Cxcl12. Perineural migration of these cells to the bone marrow requires the ErbB3 receptor. The neonatal Nestin-GFP(+) Pdgfrα(-) cell population also contains Schwann cell precursors, but does not comprise mature Schwann cells. Thus, in the developing bone marrow HSC niche-forming MSCs share a common origin with sympathetic peripheral neurons and glial cells, and ontogenically distinct MSCs have non-overlapping functions in endochondrogenesis and HSC niche formation.

Inca: a novel p21-activated kinase-associated protein required for cranial neural crest development.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Ting; Xu, Yanhua; Hoffman, Trevor L; Zhang, Tailin; Schilling, Thomas; Sargent, Thomas D

2007-04-01

Inca (induced in neural crest by AP2) is a novel protein discovered in a microarray screen for genes that are upregulated in Xenopus embryos by the transcriptional activator protein Tfap2a. It has no significant similarity to any known protein, but is conserved among vertebrates. In Xenopus, zebrafish and mouse embryos, Inca is expressed predominantly in the premigratory and migrating neural crest (NC). Knockdown experiments in frog and fish using antisense morpholinos reveal essential functions for Inca in a subset of NC cells that form craniofacial cartilage. Cells lacking Inca migrate successfully but fail to condense into skeletal primordia. Overexpression of Inca disrupts cortical actin and prevents formation of actin "purse strings", which are required for wound healing in Xenopus embryos. We show that Inca physically interacts with p21-activated kinase 5 (PAK5), a known regulator of the actin cytoskeleton that is co-expressed with Inca in embryonic ectoderm, including in the NC. These results suggest that Inca and PAK5 cooperate in restructuring cytoskeletal organization and in the regulation of cell adhesion in the early embryo and in NC cells during craniofacial development.

Enteric Neuron Imbalance and Proximal Dysmotility in Ganglionated Intestine of the Sox10Dom/+ Hirschsprung Mouse ModelSummary

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Melissa A. Musser

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims: In Hirschsprung disease (HSCR, neural crest-derived progenitors (NCPs fail to completely colonize the intestine so that the enteric nervous system is absent from distal bowel. Despite removal of the aganglionic region, many HSCR patients suffer from residual intestinal dysmotility. To test the hypothesis that inappropriate lineage segregation of NCPs in proximal ganglionated regions of the bowel could contribute to such postoperative disease, we investigated neural crest (NC-derived lineages and motility in ganglionated, postnatal intestine of the Sox10Dom/+ HSCR mouse model. Methods: Cre-mediated fate-mapping was applied to evaluate relative proportions of NC-derived cell types. Motility assays were performed to assess gastric emptying and small intestine motility while colonic inflammation was assessed by histopathology for Sox10Dom/+ mutants relative to wild-type controls. Results: Sox10Dom/+ mice showed regional alterations in neuron and glia proportions as well as calretinin+ and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS+ neuronal subtypes. In the colon, imbalance of enteric NC derivatives correlated with the extent of aganglionosis. All Sox10Dom/+ mice exhibited reduced small intestinal transit at 4 weeks of age; at 6 weeks of age, Sox10Dom/+ males had increased gastric emptying rates. Sox10Dom/+ mice surviving to 6 weeks of age had little or no colonic inflammation when compared with wild-type littermates, suggesting that these changes in gastrointestinal motility are neurally mediated. Conclusions: The Sox10Dom mutation disrupts the balance of NC-derived lineages and affects gastrointestinal motility in the proximal, ganglionated intestine of adult animals. This is the first report identifying alterations in enteric neuronal classes in Sox10Dom/+ mutants, which suggests a previously unrecognized role for Sox10 in neuronal subtype specification. Keywords: Aganglionosis, Enteric Nervous System, Neural Crest

Pulsed neural networks consisting of single-flux-quantum spiking neurons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, T.; Asai, T.; Amemiya, Y.

2007-01-01

An inhibitory pulsed neural network was developed for brain-like information processing, by using single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuits. It consists of spiking neuron devices that are coupled to each other through all-to-all inhibitory connections. The network selects neural activity. The operation of the neural network was confirmed by computer simulation. SFQ neuron devices can imitate the operation of the inhibition phenomenon of neural networks

Dental anomalies in different cleft groups related to neural crest developmental fields contributes to the understanding of cleft aetiology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riis, Louise Claudius; Kjær, Inger; Mølsted, Kirsten

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To analyze dental deviations in three cleft groups and relate findings to embryological neural crest fields (frontonasal, maxillary, and palatal). The overall purpose was to evaluate how fields are involved in different cleft types. DESIGN: Retrospective audit of clinical photographs...

Interaction of adult human neural crest-derived stem cells with a nanoporous titanium surface is sufficient to induce their osteogenic differentiation

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Matthias Schürmann

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Osteogenic differentiation of various adult stem cell populations such as neural crest-derived stem cells is of great interest in the context of bone regeneration. Ideally, exogenous differentiation should mimic an endogenous differentiation process, which is partly mediated by topological cues. To elucidate the osteoinductive potential of porous substrates with different pore diameters (30 nm, 100 nm, human neural crest-derived stem cells isolated from the inferior nasal turbinate were cultivated on the surface of nanoporous titanium covered membranes without additional chemical or biological osteoinductive cues. As controls, flat titanium without any topological features and osteogenic medium was used. Cultivation of human neural crest-derived stem cells on 30 nm pores resulted in osteogenic differentiation as demonstrated by alkaline phosphatase activity after seven days as well as by calcium deposition after 3 weeks of cultivation. In contrast, cultivation on flat titanium and on membranes equipped with 100 nm pores was not sufficient to induce osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, we demonstrate an increase of osteogenic transcripts including Osterix, Osteocalcin and up-regulation of Integrin β1 and α2 in the 30 nm pore approach only. Thus, transplantation of stem cells pre-cultivated on nanostructured implants might improve the clinical outcome by support of the graft adherence and acceleration of the regeneration process.

The Melanocyte Fate in Neural Crest is Triggered by Myb Proteins through Activation of c-kit

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Karafiát, Vít; Dvořáková, Marta; Pajer, Petr; Čermák, Vladimír; Dvořák, Michal

2007-01-01

Roč. 64, č. 21 (2007), s. 2975-2984 ISSN 1420-682X R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06061; GA ČR GA204/06/1728 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514 Keywords : c-myb proto-oncogene * v-mybAMV oncogene * neural crest * cell fate determination * melanocytes * c-kit signal Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 5.239, year: 2007

PSA-NCAM-Negative Neural Crest Cells Emerging during Neural Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells Cause Mesodermal Tumors and Unwanted Grafts

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Dongjin R.; Yoo, Jeong-Eun; Lee, Jae Souk; Park, Sanghyun; Lee, Junwon; Park, Chul-Yong; Ji, Eunhyun; Kim, Han-Soo; Hwang, Dong-Youn; Kim, Dae-Sung; Kim, Dong-Wook

2015-01-01

Summary Tumorigenic potential of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is an important issue in clinical applications. Despite many efforts, PSC-derived neural precursor cells (NPCs) have repeatedly induced tumors in animal models even though pluripotent cells were not detected. We found that polysialic acid-neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM)− cells among the early NPCs caused tumors, whereas PSA-NCAM+ cells were nontumorigenic. Molecular profiling, global gene analysis, and multilineage differentiation of PSA-NCAM− cells confirm that they are multipotent neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) that could differentiate into both ectodermal and mesodermal lineages. Transplantation of PSA-NCAM− cells in a gradient manner mixed with PSA-NCAM+ cells proportionally increased mesodermal tumor formation and unwanted grafts such as PERIPHERIN+ cells or pigmented cells in the rat brain. Therefore, we suggest that NCSCs are a critical target for tumor prevention in hPSC-derived NPCs, and removal of PSA-NCAM− cells eliminates the tumorigenic potential originating from NCSCs after transplantation. PMID:25937368

Pa2G4 is a novel Six1 co-factor that is required for neural crest and otic development☆

Science.gov (United States)

Neilson, Karen M.; Abbruzzesse, Genevieve; Kenyon, Kristy; Bartolo, Vanessa; Krohn, Patrick; Alfandari, Dominique; Moody, Sally A.

2016-01-01

Mutations in SIX1 and in its co-factor, EYA1, underlie Branchiootorenal Spectrum disorder (BOS), which is characterized by variable branchial arch, otic and kidney malformations. However, mutations in these two genes are identified in only half of patients. We screened for other potential co-factors, and herein characterize one of them, Pa2G4 (aka Ebp1/Plfap). In human embryonic kidney cells, Pa2G4 binds to Six1 and interferes with the Six1-Eya1 complex. In Xenopus embryos, knock-down of Pa2G4 leads to down-regulation of neural border zone, neural crest and cranial placode genes, and concomitant expansion of neural plate genes. Gain-of-function leads to a broader neural border zone, expanded neural crest and altered cranial placode domains. In loss-of-function assays, the later developing otocyst is reduced in size, which impacts gene expression. In contrast, the size of the otocyst in gain-of-function assays is not changed but the expression domains of several otocyst genes are reduced. Together these findings establish an interaction between Pa2G4 and Six1, and demonstrate that it has an important role in the development of tissues affected in BOS. Thereby, we suggest that pa2g4 is a potential candidate gene for BOS. PMID:27940157

Stem cell property of postmigratory cranial neural crest cells and their utility in alveolar bone regeneration and tooth development.

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Chung, Il-Hyuk; Yamaza, Takayoshi; Zhao, Hu; Choung, Pill-Hoon; Shi, Songtao; Chai, Yang

2009-04-01

The vertebrate neural crest is a multipotent cell population that gives rise to a variety of different cell types. We have discovered that postmigratory cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs) maintain mesenchymal stem cell characteristics and show potential utility for the regeneration of craniofacial structures. We are able to induce the osteogenic differentiation of postmigratory CNCCs, and this differentiation is regulated by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and transforming growth factor-beta signaling pathways. After transplantation into a host animal, postmigratory CNCCs form bone matrix. CNCC-formed bones are distinct from bones regenerated by bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. In addition, CNCCs support tooth germ survival via BMP signaling in our CNCC-tooth germ cotransplantation system. Thus, we conclude that postmigratory CNCCs preserve stem cell features, contribute to craniofacial bone formation, and play a fundamental role in supporting tooth organ development. These findings reveal a novel function for postmigratory CNCCs in organ development, and demonstrate the utility of these CNCCs in regenerating craniofacial structures.

Inherently stochastic spiking neurons for probabilistic neural computation

KAUST Repository

Al-Shedivat, Maruan; Naous, Rawan; Neftci, Emre; Cauwenberghs, Gert; Salama, Khaled N.

2015-01-01

. Our analysis and simulations show that the proposed neuron circuit satisfies a neural computability condition that enables probabilistic neural sampling and spike-based Bayesian learning and inference. Our findings constitute an important step towards

Postotic and preotic cranial neural crest cells differently contribute to thyroid development.

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Maeda, Kazuhiro; Asai, Rieko; Maruyama, Kazuaki; Kurihara, Yukiko; Nakanishi, Toshio; Kurihara, Hiroki; Miyagawa-Tomita, Sachiko

2016-01-01

Thyroid development and formation vary among species, but in most species the thyroid morphogenesis consists of five stages: specification, budding, descent, bilobation and folliculogenesis. The detailed mechanisms of these stages have not been fully clarified. During early development, the cranial neural crest (CNC) contributes to the thyroid gland. The removal of the postotic CNC (corresponding to rhombomeres 6, 7 and 8, also known as the cardiac neural crest) results in abnormalities of the cardiovascular system, thymus, parathyroid glands, and thyroid gland. To investigate the influence of the CNC on thyroid bilobation process, we divided the CNC into two regions, the postotic CNC and the preotic CNC (from the mesencephalon to rhombomere 5) regions and examined. We found that preotic CNC-ablated embryos had a unilateral thyroid lobe, and confirmed the presence of a single lobe or the absence of lobes in postotic CNC-ablated chick embryos. The thyroid anlage in each region-ablated embryos was of a normal size at the descent stage, but at a later stage, the thyroid in preotic CNC-ablated embryos was of a normal size, conflicting with a previous report in which the thyroid was reduced in size in the postotic CNC-ablated embryos. The postotic CNC cells differentiated into connective tissues of the thyroid in quail-to-chick chimeras. In contrast, the preotic CNC cells did not differentiate into connective tissues of the thyroid. We found that preotic CNC cells encompassed the thyroid anlage from the specification stage to the descent stage. Finally, we found that endothelin-1 and endothelin type A receptor-knockout mice and bosentan (endothelin receptor antagonist)-treated chick embryos showed bilobation anomalies that included single-lobe formation. Therefore, not only the postotic CNC, but also the preotic CNC plays an important role in thyroid morphogenesis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Niche-dependent development of functional neuronal networks from embryonic stem cell-derived neural populations

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Siebler Mario

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The present work was performed to investigate the ability of two different embryonic stem (ES cell-derived neural precursor populations to generate functional neuronal networks in vitro. The first ES cell-derived neural precursor population was cultivated as free-floating neural aggregates which are known to form a developmental niche comprising different types of neural cells, including neural precursor cells (NPCs, progenitor cells and even further matured cells. This niche provides by itself a variety of different growth factors and extracellular matrix proteins that influence the proliferation and differentiation of neural precursor and progenitor cells. The second population was cultivated adherently in monolayer cultures to control most stringently the extracellular environment. This population comprises highly homogeneous NPCs which are supposed to represent an attractive way to provide well-defined neuronal progeny. However, the ability of these different ES cell-derived immature neural cell populations to generate functional neuronal networks has not been assessed so far. Results While both precursor populations were shown to differentiate into sufficient quantities of mature NeuN+ neurons that also express GABA or vesicular-glutamate-transporter-2 (vGlut2, only aggregate-derived neuronal populations exhibited a synchronously oscillating network activity 2–4 weeks after initiating the differentiation as detected by the microelectrode array technology. Neurons derived from homogeneous NPCs within monolayer cultures did merely show uncorrelated spiking activity even when differentiated for up to 12 weeks. We demonstrated that these neurons exhibited sparsely ramified neurites and an embryonic vGlut2 distribution suggesting an inhibited terminal neuronal maturation. In comparison, neurons derived from heterogeneous populations within neural aggregates appeared as fully mature with a dense neurite network and punctuated

Long-term culture and differentiation of CNS precursors derived from anterior human neural rosettes following exposure to ventralizing factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colleoni, Silvia; Galli, Cesare; Giannelli, Serena G.; Armentero, Marie-Therese; Blandini, Fabio; Broccoli, Vania; Lazzari, Giovanna

2010-01-01

In this study we demonstrated that neural rosettes derived from human ES cells can give rise either to neural crest precursors, following expansion in presence of bFGF and EGF, or to dopaminergic precursors after exposure to ventralizing factors Shh and FGF8. Both regionalised precursors are capable of extensive proliferation and differentiation towards the corresponding terminally differentiated cell types. In particular, peripheral neurons, cartilage, bone, smooth muscle cells and also pigmented cells were obtained from neural crest precursors while tyrosine hydroxylase and Nurr1 positive dopaminergic neurons were derived from FGF8 and Shh primed rosette cells. Gene expression and immunocytochemistry analyses confirmed the expression of dorsal and neural crest genes such as Sox10, Slug, p75, FoxD3, Pax7 in neural precursors from bFGF-EGF exposed rosettes. By contrast, priming of rosettes with FGF8 and Shh induced the expression of dopaminergic markers Engrailed1, Pax2, Pitx3, floor plate marker FoxA2 and radial glia markers Blbp and Glast, the latter in agreement with the origin of dopaminergic precursors from floor plate radial glia. Moreover, in vivo transplant of proliferating Shh/FGF8 primed precursors in parkinsonian rats demonstrated engraftment and terminal dopaminergic differentiation. In conclusion, we demonstrated the derivation of long-term self-renewing precursors of selected regional identity as potential cell reservoirs for cell therapy applications, such as CNS degenerative diseases, or for the development of toxicological tests.

Long-term culture and differentiation of CNS precursors derived from anterior human neural rosettes following exposure to ventralizing factors

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Colleoni, Silvia, E-mail: silviacolleoni@avantea.it [Laboratorio di Tecnologie della Riproduzione, Avantea, Via Porcellasco 7/f, 26100 Cremona (Italy); Galli, Cesare [Laboratorio di Tecnologie della Riproduzione, Avantea, Via Porcellasco 7/f, 26100 Cremona (Italy); Dipartimento Clinico Veterinario, Universita di Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia (Italy); Giannelli, Serena G. [Stem Cells and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132 Milan (Italy); Armentero, Marie-Therese; Blandini, Fabio [Laboratory of Functional Neurochemistry, Interdepartmental Research Center for Parkinson' s Disease, Neurological Institute C. Mondino, Via Mondino 2, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Broccoli, Vania, E-mail: broccoli.vania@hsr.it [Stem Cells and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132 Milan (Italy); Lazzari, Giovanna, E-mail: giovannalazzari@avantea.it [Laboratorio di Tecnologie della Riproduzione, Avantea, Via Porcellasco 7/f, 26100 Cremona (Italy)

2010-04-15

In this study we demonstrated that neural rosettes derived from human ES cells can give rise either to neural crest precursors, following expansion in presence of bFGF and EGF, or to dopaminergic precursors after exposure to ventralizing factors Shh and FGF8. Both regionalised precursors are capable of extensive proliferation and differentiation towards the corresponding terminally differentiated cell types. In particular, peripheral neurons, cartilage, bone, smooth muscle cells and also pigmented cells were obtained from neural crest precursors while tyrosine hydroxylase and Nurr1 positive dopaminergic neurons were derived from FGF8 and Shh primed rosette cells. Gene expression and immunocytochemistry analyses confirmed the expression of dorsal and neural crest genes such as Sox10, Slug, p75, FoxD3, Pax7 in neural precursors from bFGF-EGF exposed rosettes. By contrast, priming of rosettes with FGF8 and Shh induced the expression of dopaminergic markers Engrailed1, Pax2, Pitx3, floor plate marker FoxA2 and radial glia markers Blbp and Glast, the latter in agreement with the origin of dopaminergic precursors from floor plate radial glia. Moreover, in vivo transplant of proliferating Shh/FGF8 primed precursors in parkinsonian rats demonstrated engraftment and terminal dopaminergic differentiation. In conclusion, we demonstrated the derivation of long-term self-renewing precursors of selected regional identity as potential cell reservoirs for cell therapy applications, such as CNS degenerative diseases, or for the development of toxicological tests.

Neurons from the adult human dentate nucleus: neural networks in the neuron classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Grbatinić, Ivan; Marić, Dušica L; Milošević, Nebojša T

2015-04-07

Topological (central vs. border neuron type) and morphological classification of adult human dentate nucleus neurons according to their quantified histomorphological properties using neural networks on real and virtual neuron samples. In the real sample 53.1% and 14.1% of central and border neurons, respectively, are classified correctly with total of 32.8% of misclassified neurons. The most important result present 62.2% of misclassified neurons in border neurons group which is even greater than number of correctly classified neurons (37.8%) in that group, showing obvious failure of network to classify neurons correctly based on computational parameters used in our study. On the virtual sample 97.3% of misclassified neurons in border neurons group which is much greater than number of correctly classified neurons (2.7%) in that group, again confirms obvious failure of network to classify neurons correctly. Statistical analysis shows that there is no statistically significant difference in between central and border neurons for each measured parameter (p>0.05). Total of 96.74% neurons are morphologically classified correctly by neural networks and each one belongs to one of the four histomorphological types: (a) neurons with small soma and short dendrites, (b) neurons with small soma and long dendrites, (c) neuron with large soma and short dendrites, (d) neurons with large soma and long dendrites. Statistical analysis supports these results (pneurons can be classified in four neuron types according to their quantitative histomorphological properties. These neuron types consist of two neuron sets, small and large ones with respect to their perykarions with subtypes differing in dendrite length i.e. neurons with short vs. long dendrites. Besides confirmation of neuron classification on small and large ones, already shown in literature, we found two new subtypes i.e. neurons with small soma and long dendrites and with large soma and short dendrites. These neurons are

Gene expression profiling analysis of the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural crest stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Bin; Zou, Yang; Xu, Zhiling; Lv, Yonggang

2017-11-01

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is a noninvasive technique that has been shown to affect cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation and promote the regeneration of damaged peripheral nerve. Our previous studies had proved that LIPUS can significantly promote the neural differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural crest stem cells (iPSCs-NCSCs) and enhance the repair of rat-transected sciatic nerve. To further explore the underlying mechanisms of LIPUS treatment of iPSCs-NCSCs, this study reported the gene expression profiling analysis of iPSCs-NCSCs before and after LIPUS treatment using the RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) method. It was found that expression of 76 genes of iPSCs-NCSCs cultured in a serum-free neural induction medium and expression of 21 genes of iPSCs-NCSCs cultured in a neuronal differentiation medium were significantly changed by LIPUS treatment. The differentially expressed genes are related to angiogenesis, nervous system activity and functions, cell activities, and so on. The RNA-seq results were further verified by a quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). High correlation was observed between the results obtained from qRT-PCR and RNA-Seq. This study presented new information on the global gene expression patterns of iPSCs-NCSCs after LIPUS treatment and may expand the understanding of the complex molecular mechanism of LIPUS treatment of iPSCs-NCSCs. © 2017 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

In vivo impact of Dlx3 conditional inactivation in Neural Crest-Derived Craniofacial Bones

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Duverger, Olivier; Isaac, Juliane; Zah, Angela; Hwang, Joonsung; Berdal, Ariane; Lian, Jane B.; Morasso, Maria I.

2012-01-01

Mutations in DLX3 in humans lead to defects in craniofacial and appendicular bones, yet the in vivo activity related to Dlx3 function during normal skeletal development have not been fully elucidated. Here we used a conditional knockout approach to analyze the effects of neural crest deletion of Dlx3 on craniofacial bones development. At birth, mutant mice exhibit a normal overall positioning of the skull bones, but a change in the shape of the calvaria was observed. Molecular analysis of the genes affected in the frontal bones and mandibles from these mice identified several bone markers known to affect bone development, with a strong prediction for increased bone formation and mineralization in vivo. Interestingly, while a subset of these genes were similarly affected in frontal bones and mandibles (Sost, Mepe, Bglap, Alp, Ibsp, Agt), several genes, including Lect1 and Calca, were specifically affected in frontal bones. Consistent with these molecular alterations, cells isolated from the frontal bone of mutant mice exhibited increased differentiation and mineralization capacities ex vivo, supporting cell autonomous defects in neural crest cells. However, adult mutant animals exhibited decreased bone mineral density in both mandibles and calvaria, as well as a significant increase in bone porosity. Together, these observations suggest that mature osteoblasts in the adult respond to signals that regulate adult bone mass and remodeling. This study provides new downstream targets for Dlx3 in craniofacial bone, and gives additional evidence of the complex regulation of bone formation and homeostasis in the adult skeleton. PMID:22886599

ADAM13 Induces Cranial Neural Crest by Cleaving Class B Ephrins and Regulating Wnt Signaling

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Shuo; Xu, Guofeng; Bridges, Lance C.; Williams, Phoebe; White, Judith M.; DeSimone, Douglas W.

2010-01-01

SUMMARY The cranial neural crest (CNC) are multipotent embryonic cells that contribute to craniofacial structures and other cells and tissues of the vertebrate head. During embryogenesis, CNC is induced at the neural plate boundary through the interplay of several major signaling pathways. Here we report that the metalloproteinase activity of ADAM13 is required for early induction of CNC in Xenopus. In both cultured cells and X. tropicalis embryos, membrane-bound Ephrins (Efns) B1 and B2 were identified as substrates for ADAM13. ADAM13 upregulates canonical Wnt signaling and early expression of the transcription factor snail2, whereas EfnB1 inhibits the canonical Wnt pathway and snail2 expression. We propose that by cleaving class B Efns, ADAM13 promotes canonical Wnt signaling and early CNC induction. PMID:20708595

Search for the Missing lncs: Gene Regulatory Networks in Neural Crest Development and Long Non-coding RNA Biomarkers of Hirschsprung's Disease

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Hirschsprung’s disease (HSCR), a birth defect characterized by variable aganglionosis of the gut, affects about 1 in 5000 births, and is a consequence of abnormal development of neural crest cells, from which enteric ganglia derive. In the companion article in this issue (Shen et...

Differentiation defect in neural crest-derived smooth muscle cells in patients with aortopathy associated with bicuspid aortic valves

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Jiao Jiao

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Individuals with bicuspid aortic valves (BAV are at a higher risk of developing thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA than patients with trileaflet aortic valves (TAV. The aneurysms associated with BAV most commonly involve the ascending aorta and spare the descending aorta. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs in the ascending and descending aorta arise from neural crest (NC and paraxial mesoderm (PM, respectively. We hypothesized defective differentiation of the neural crest stem cells (NCSCs-derived SMCs but not paraxial mesoderm cells (PMCs-derived SMCs contributes to the aortopathy associated with BAV. When induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs from BAV/TAA patients were differentiated into NCSC-derived SMCs, these cells demonstrated significantly decreased expression of marker of SMC differentiation (MYH11 and impaired contraction compared to normal control. In contrast, the PMC-derived SMCs were similar to control cells in these aspects. The NCSC-SMCs from the BAV/TAA also showed decreased TGF-β signaling based on phosphorylation of SMAD2, and increased mTOR signaling. Inhibition of mTOR pathway using rapamycin rescued the aberrant differentiation. Our data demonstrates that decreased differentiation and contraction of patient's NCSC-derived SMCs may contribute to that aortopathy associated with BAV.

Transcrition factor c-Myb is involved in the regulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the avian neural crest

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Karafiát, Vít; Dvořáková, Marta; Krejčí, E.; Králová, Jarmila; Pajer, Petr; Šnajdr, P.; Mandíková, Sonja; Bartůněk, Petr; Grim, M.; Dvořák, Michal

2005-01-01

Roč. 62, č. 21 (2005), s. 2516-2525 ISSN 1420-682X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA304/03/0463; GA AV ČR IAA5052309 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514 Keywords : c-myb gene * epithelial-mesenchymal transition * neural crest Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 4.582, year: 2005

Dlx proteins position the neural plate border and determine adjacent cell fates.

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Woda, Juliana M; Pastagia, Julie; Mercola, Mark; Artinger, Kristin Bruk

2003-01-01

The lateral border of the neural plate is a major source of signals that induce primary neurons, neural crest cells and cranial placodes as well as provide patterning cues to mesodermal structures such as somites and heart. Whereas secreted BMP, FGF and Wnt proteins influence the differentiation of neural and non-neural ectoderm, we show here that members of the Dlx family of transcription factors position the border between neural and non-neural ectoderm and are required for the specification of adjacent cell fates. Inhibition of endogenous Dlx activity in Xenopus embryos with an EnR-Dlx homeodomain fusion protein expands the neural plate into non-neural ectoderm tissue whereas ectopic activation of Dlx target genes inhibits neural plate differentiation. Importantly, the stereotypic pattern of border cell fates in the adjacent ectoderm is re-established only under conditions where the expanded neural plate abuts Dlx-positive non-neural ectoderm. Experiments in which presumptive neural plate was grafted to ventral ectoderm reiterate induction of neural crest and placodal lineages and also demonstrate that Dlx activity is required in non-neural ectoderm for the production of signals needed for induction of these cells. We propose that Dlx proteins regulate intercellular signaling across the interface between neural and non-neural ectoderm that is critical for inducing and patterning adjacent cell fates.

Endogenous retinal neural stem cell reprogramming for neuronal regeneration

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Romain Madelaine

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In humans, optic nerve injuries and associated neurodegenerative diseases are often followed by permanent vision loss. Consequently, an important challenge is to develop safe and effective methods to replace retinal neurons and thereby restore neuronal functions and vision. Identifying cellular and molecular mechanisms allowing to replace damaged neurons is a major goal for basic and translational research in regenerative medicine. Contrary to mammals, the zebrafish has the capacity to fully regenerate entire parts of the nervous system, including retina. This regenerative process depends on endogenous retinal neural stem cells, the Müller glial cells. Following injury, zebrafish Müller cells go back into cell cycle to proliferate and generate new neurons, while mammalian Müller cells undergo reactive gliosis. Recently, transcription factors and microRNAs have been identified to control the formation of new neurons derived from zebrafish and mammalian Müller cells, indicating that cellular reprogramming can be an efficient strategy to regenerate human retinal neurons. Here we discuss recent insights into the use of endogenous neural stem cell reprogramming for neuronal regeneration, differences between zebrafish and mammalian Müller cells, and the need to pursue the identification and characterization of new molecular factors with an instructive and potent function in order to develop theurapeutic strategies for eye diseases.

Expression of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecules on adult stem cells after neuronal differentiation of inner ear spiral ganglion neurons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Kyoung Ho; Yeo, Sang Won; Troy, Frederic A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • PolySia expressed on neurons primarily during early stages of neuronal development. • PolySia–NCAM is expressed on neural stem cells from adult guinea pig spiral ganglion. • PolySia is a biomarker that modulates neuronal differentiation in inner ear stem cells. - Abstract: During brain development, polysialylated (polySia) neural cell adhesion molecules (polySia–NCAMs) modulate cell–cell adhesive interactions involved in synaptogenesis, neural plasticity, myelination, and neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and differentiation. Our findings show that polySia–NCAM is expressed on NSC isolated from adult guinea pig spiral ganglion (GPSG), and in neurons and Schwann cells after differentiation of the NSC with epidermal, glia, fibroblast growth factors (GFs) and neurotrophins. These differentiated cells were immunoreactive with mAb’s to polySia, NCAM, β-III tubulin, nestin, S-100 and stained with BrdU. NSC could regenerate and be differentiated into neurons and Schwann cells. We conclude: (1) polySia is expressed on NSC isolated from adult GPSG and on neurons and Schwann cells differentiated from these NSC; (2) polySia is expressed on neurons primarily during the early stage of neuronal development and is expressed on Schwann cells at points of cell–cell contact; (3) polySia is a functional biomarker that modulates neuronal differentiation in inner ear stem cells. These new findings suggest that replacement of defective cells in the inner ear of hearing impaired patients using adult spiral ganglion neurons may offer potential hope to improve the quality of life for patients with auditory dysfunction and impaired hearing disorders

Expression of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecules on adult stem cells after neuronal differentiation of inner ear spiral ganglion neurons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Kyoung Ho [Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Catholic University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yeo, Sang Won, E-mail: swyeo@catholic.ac.kr [Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Catholic University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Troy, Frederic A., E-mail: fatroy@ucdavis.edu [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, School of Medicine, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen City (China)

2014-10-17

Highlights: • PolySia expressed on neurons primarily during early stages of neuronal development. • PolySia–NCAM is expressed on neural stem cells from adult guinea pig spiral ganglion. • PolySia is a biomarker that modulates neuronal differentiation in inner ear stem cells. - Abstract: During brain development, polysialylated (polySia) neural cell adhesion molecules (polySia–NCAMs) modulate cell–cell adhesive interactions involved in synaptogenesis, neural plasticity, myelination, and neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and differentiation. Our findings show that polySia–NCAM is expressed on NSC isolated from adult guinea pig spiral ganglion (GPSG), and in neurons and Schwann cells after differentiation of the NSC with epidermal, glia, fibroblast growth factors (GFs) and neurotrophins. These differentiated cells were immunoreactive with mAb’s to polySia, NCAM, β-III tubulin, nestin, S-100 and stained with BrdU. NSC could regenerate and be differentiated into neurons and Schwann cells. We conclude: (1) polySia is expressed on NSC isolated from adult GPSG and on neurons and Schwann cells differentiated from these NSC; (2) polySia is expressed on neurons primarily during the early stage of neuronal development and is expressed on Schwann cells at points of cell–cell contact; (3) polySia is a functional biomarker that modulates neuronal differentiation in inner ear stem cells. These new findings suggest that replacement of defective cells in the inner ear of hearing impaired patients using adult spiral ganglion neurons may offer potential hope to improve the quality of life for patients with auditory dysfunction and impaired hearing disorders.

Combination of exogenous cell transplantation and 5-HT4 receptor agonism induce endogenous enteric neural crest-derived cells in a rat hypoganglionosis model.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Hui; Zheng, Bai-Jun; Pan, Wei-Kang; Wang, Huai-Jie; Xie, Chong; Zhao, Yu-Ying; Chen, Xin-Lin; Liu, Yong; Gao, Ya

2017-02-01

Enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs) can migrate into endogenous ganglia and differentiate into progeny cells, and have even partially rescued bowel function; however, poor reliability and limited functional recovery after ENCC transplantation have yet to be addressed. Here, we investigated the induction of endogenous ENCCs by combining exogenous ENCC transplantation with a 5-HT 4 receptor agonist mosapride in a rat model of hypoganglionosis, established by benzalkonium chloride treatment. ENCCs, isolated from the gut of newborn rats, were labeled with a lentiviral eGFP reporter. ENCCs and rats were treated with the 5-HT 4 receptor agonist/antagonist. The labeled ENCCs were then transplanted into the muscular layer of benzalkonium chloride-treated colons. At given days post-intervention, colonic tissue samples were removed for histological analysis. ENCCs and neurons were detected by eGFP expression and immunoreactivity to p75 NTR and peripherin, respectively. eGFP-positive ENCCs and neurons could survive and maintain levels of fluorescence after transplantation. With longer times post-intervention, the number of peripherin-positive cells gradually increased in all groups. Significantly more peripherin-positive cells were found following ENCCs plus mosapride treatment, compared with the other groups. These results show that exogenous ENCCs combined with the 5-HT 4 receptor agonist effectively induced endogenous ENCCs proliferation and differentiation in a rat hypoganglionosis model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neuron's eye view: Inferring features of complex stimuli from neural responses.

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Xin Chen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Experiments that study neural encoding of stimuli at the level of individual neurons typically choose a small set of features present in the world-contrast and luminance for vision, pitch and intensity for sound-and assemble a stimulus set that systematically varies along these dimensions. Subsequent analysis of neural responses to these stimuli typically focuses on regression models, with experimenter-controlled features as predictors and spike counts or firing rates as responses. Unfortunately, this approach requires knowledge in advance about the relevant features coded by a given population of neurons. For domains as complex as social interaction or natural movement, however, the relevant feature space is poorly understood, and an arbitrary a priori choice of features may give rise to confirmation bias. Here, we present a Bayesian model for exploratory data analysis that is capable of automatically identifying the features present in unstructured stimuli based solely on neuronal responses. Our approach is unique within the class of latent state space models of neural activity in that it assumes that firing rates of neurons are sensitive to multiple discrete time-varying features tied to the stimulus, each of which has Markov (or semi-Markov dynamics. That is, we are modeling neural activity as driven by multiple simultaneous stimulus features rather than intrinsic neural dynamics. We derive a fast variational Bayesian inference algorithm and show that it correctly recovers hidden features in synthetic data, as well as ground-truth stimulus features in a prototypical neural dataset. To demonstrate the utility of the algorithm, we also apply it to cluster neural responses and demonstrate successful recovery of features corresponding to monkeys and faces in the image set.

Modification of surface/neuron interfaces for neural cell-type specific responses: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Cen; Kong, Xiangdong; Lee, In-Seop

2016-01-01

Surface/neuron interfaces have played an important role in neural repair including neural prostheses and tissue engineered scaffolds. This comprehensive literature review covers recent studies on the modification of surface/neuron interfaces. These interfaces are identified in cases both where the surfaces of substrates or scaffolds were in direct contact with cells and where the surfaces were modified to facilitate cell adhesion and controlling cell-type specific responses. Different sources of cells for neural repair are described, such as pheochromocytoma neuronal-like cell, neural stem cell (NSC), embryonic stem cell (ESC), mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS). Commonly modified methods are discussed including patterned surfaces at micro- or nano-scale, surface modification with conducting coatings, and functionalized surfaces with immobilized bioactive molecules. These approaches to control cell-type specific responses have enormous potential implications in neural repair. (paper)

Direct reprogramming of somatic cells into neural stem cells or neurons for neurological disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Shaoping; Lu, Paul

2016-01-01

Direct reprogramming of somatic cells into neurons or neural stem cells is one of the most important frontier fields in current neuroscience research. Without undergoing the pluripotency stage, induced neurons or induced neural stem cells are a safer and timelier manner resource in comparison to those derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. In this prospective, we review the recent advances in generation of induced neurons and induced neural stem cells in vitro and in vivo and their potential treatments of neurological disorders.

Memristor-based neural networks: Synaptic versus neuronal stochasticity

KAUST Repository

Naous, Rawan

2016-11-02

In neuromorphic circuits, stochasticity in the cortex can be mapped into the synaptic or neuronal components. The hardware emulation of these stochastic neural networks are currently being extensively studied using resistive memories or memristors. The ionic process involved in the underlying switching behavior of the memristive elements is considered as the main source of stochasticity of its operation. Building on its inherent variability, the memristor is incorporated into abstract models of stochastic neurons and synapses. Two approaches of stochastic neural networks are investigated. Aside from the size and area perspective, the impact on the system performance, in terms of accuracy, recognition rates, and learning, among these two approaches and where the memristor would fall into place are the main comparison points to be considered.

Differentiation of neurons from neural precursors generated in floating spheres from embryonic stem cells

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Forrester Jeff

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Neural differentiation of embryonic stem (ES cells is usually achieved by induction of ectoderm in embryoid bodies followed by the enrichment of neuronal progenitors using a variety of factors. Obtaining reproducible percentages of neural cells is difficult and the methods are time consuming. Results Neural progenitors were produced from murine ES cells by a combination of nonadherent conditions and serum starvation. Conversion to neural progenitors was accompanied by downregulation of Oct4 and NANOG and increased expression of nestin. ES cells containing a GFP gene under the control of the Sox1 regulatory regions became fluorescent upon differentiation to neural progenitors, and ES cells with a tau-GFP fusion protein became fluorescent upon further differentiation to neurons. Neurons produced from these cells upregulated mature neuronal markers, or differentiated to glial and oligodendrocyte fates. The neurons gave rise to action potentials that could be recorded after application of fixed currents. Conclusion Neural progenitors were produced from murine ES cells by a novel method that induced neuroectoderm cells by a combination of nonadherent conditions and serum starvation, in contrast to the embryoid body method in which neuroectoderm cells must be selected after formation of all three germ layers.

A Neuron- and a Synapse Chip for Artificial Neural Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lansner, John; Lehmann, Torsten

1992-01-01

A cascadable, analog, CMOS chip set has been developed for hardware implementations of artificial neural networks (ANN's):I) a neuron chip containing an array of neurons with hyperbolic tangent activation functions and adjustable gains, and II) a synapse chip (or a matrix-vector multiplier) where...

Memristor-based neural networks: Synaptic versus neuronal stochasticity

KAUST Repository

Naous, Rawan; Alshedivat, Maruan; Neftci, Emre; Cauwenberghs, Gert; Salama, Khaled N.

2016-01-01

In neuromorphic circuits, stochasticity in the cortex can be mapped into the synaptic or neuronal components. The hardware emulation of these stochastic neural networks are currently being extensively studied using resistive memories or memristors

Neural regeneration protein is a novel chemoattractive and neuronal survival-promoting factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorba, Thorsten; Bradoo, Privahini; Antonic, Ana; Marvin, Keith; Liu, Dong-Xu; Lobie, Peter E.; Reymann, Klaus G.; Gluckman, Peter D.; Sieg, Frank

2006-01-01

Neurogenesis and neuronal migration are the prerequisites for the development of the central nervous system. We have identified a novel rodent gene encoding for a neural regeneration protein (NRP) with an activity spectrum similar to the chemokine stromal-derived factor (SDF)-1, but with much greater potency. The Nrp gene is encoded as a forward frameshift to the hypothetical alkylated DNA repair protein AlkB. The predicted protein sequence of NRP contains domains with homology to survival-promoting peptide (SPP) and the trefoil protein TFF-1. The Nrp gene is first expressed in neural stem cells and expression continues in glial lineages. Recombinant NRP and NRP-derived peptides possess biological activities including induction of neural migration and proliferation, promotion of neuronal survival, enhancement of neurite outgrowth and promotion of neuronal differentiation from neural stem cells. NRP exerts its effect on neuronal survival by phosphorylation of the ERK1/2 and Akt kinases, whereas NRP stimulation of neural migration depends solely on p44/42 MAP kinase activity. Taken together, the expression profile of Nrp, the existence in its predicted protein structure of domains with similarities to known neuroprotective and migration-inducing factors and the high potency of NRP-derived synthetic peptides acting in femtomolar concentrations suggest it to be a novel gene of relevance in cellular and developmental neurobiology

Bmps and id2a act upstream of Twist1 to restrict ectomesenchyme potential of the cranial neural crest.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ankita Das

Full Text Available Cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs have the remarkable capacity to generate both the non-ectomesenchyme derivatives of the peripheral nervous system and the ectomesenchyme precursors of the vertebrate head skeleton, yet how these divergent lineages are specified is not well understood. Whereas studies in mouse have indicated that the Twist1 transcription factor is important for ectomesenchyme development, its role and regulation during CNCC lineage decisions have remained unclear. Here we show that two Twist1 genes play an essential role in promoting ectomesenchyme at the expense of non-ectomesenchyme gene expression in zebrafish. Twist1 does so by promoting Fgf signaling, as well as potentially directly activating fli1a expression through a conserved ectomesenchyme-specific enhancer. We also show that Id2a restricts Twist1 activity to the ectomesenchyme lineage, with Bmp activity preferentially inducing id2a expression in non-ectomesenchyme precursors. We therefore propose that the ventral migration of CNCCs away from a source of Bmps in the dorsal ectoderm promotes ectomesenchyme development by relieving Id2a-dependent repression of Twist1 function. Together our model shows how the integration of Bmp inhibition at its origin and Fgf activation along its migratory route would confer temporal and spatial specificity to the generation of ectomesenchyme from the neural crest.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived neurons adopt and regulate the activity of an established neural network

Science.gov (United States)

Weick, Jason P.; Liu, Yan; Zhang, Su-Chun

2011-01-01

Whether hESC-derived neurons can fully integrate with and functionally regulate an existing neural network remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that hESC-derived neurons receive unitary postsynaptic currents both in vitro and in vivo and adopt the rhythmic firing behavior of mouse cortical networks via synaptic integration. Optical stimulation of hESC-derived neurons expressing Channelrhodopsin-2 elicited both inhibitory and excitatory postsynaptic currents and triggered network bursting in mouse neurons. Furthermore, light stimulation of hESC-derived neurons transplanted to the hippocampus of adult mice triggered postsynaptic currents in host pyramidal neurons in acute slice preparations. Thus, hESC-derived neurons can participate in and modulate neural network activity through functional synaptic integration, suggesting they are capable of contributing to neural network information processing both in vitro and in vivo. PMID:22106298

Study of GABAergic extra-synaptic tonic inhibition in single neurons and neural populations by traversing neural scales: application to propofol-induced anaesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutt, Axel; Buhry, Laure

2014-12-01

Anaesthetic agents are known to affect extra-synaptic GABAergic receptors, which induce tonic inhibitory currents. Since these receptors are very sensitive to small concentrations of agents, they are supposed to play an important role in the underlying neural mechanism of general anaesthesia. Moreover anaesthetic agents modulate the encephalographic activity (EEG) of subjects and hence show an effect on neural populations. To understand better the tonic inhibition effect in single neurons on neural populations and hence how it affects the EEG, the work considers single neurons and neural populations in a steady-state and studies numerically and analytically the modulation of their firing rate and nonlinear gain with respect to different levels of tonic inhibition. We consider populations of both type-I (Leaky Integrate-and-Fire model) and type-II (Morris-Lecar model) neurons. To bridge the single neuron description to the population description analytically, a recently proposed statistical approach is employed which allows to derive new analytical expressions for the population firing rate for type-I neurons. In addition, the work shows the derivation of a novel transfer function for type-I neurons as considered in neural mass models and studies briefly the interaction of synaptic and extra-synaptic inhibition. We reveal a strong subtractive and divisive effect of tonic inhibition in type-I neurons, i.e. a shift of the firing rate to higher excitation levels accompanied by a change of the nonlinear gain. Tonic inhibition shortens the excitation window of type-II neurons and their populations while maintaining the nonlinear gain. The gained results are interpreted in the context of recent experimental findings under propofol-induced anaesthesia.

Stephen L. Gans Distinguished Overseas Lecture. The neural crest in pediatric surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Tovar, Juan A

2007-06-01

This review highlights the relevance of the neural crest (NC) as a developmental control mechanism involved in several pediatric surgical conditions and the investigative interest of following some of its known signaling pathways. The participation of the NC in facial clefts, ear defects, branchial fistulae and cysts, heart outflow tract and aortic arch anomalies, pigmentary disorders, abnormal enteric innervation, neural tumors, hemangiomas, and vascular anomalies is briefly reviewed. Then, the literature on clinical and experimental esophageal atresia-tracheoesophageal fistula (EA-TEF) and congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is reviewed for the presence of associated NC defects. Finally, some of the molecular signaling pathways involved in both conditions (sonic hedgehog, Hox genes, and retinoids) are summarized. The association of facial, cardiovascular, thymic, parathyroid, and C-cell defects together with anomalies of extrinsic and intrinsic esophageal innervation in babies and/or animals with both EA-TEF and CDH strongly supports the hypothesis that NC is involved in the pathogenesis of these malformative clusters. On the other hand, both EA-TEF and CDH are observed in mice mutant for genes involved in the previously mentioned signaling pathways. The investigation of NC-related molecular pathogenic pathways involved in malformative associations like EA-TEF and CDH that are induced by chromosomal anomalies, chemical teratogens, and engineered mutations is a promising way of clarifying why and how some pediatric surgical conditions occur. Pediatric surgeons should be actively involved in these investigations.

Arctigenin protects against neuronal hearing loss by promoting neural stem cell survival and differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xinghua; Chen, Mo; Ding, Yan; Wang, Qin

2017-03-01

Neuronal hearing loss has become a prevalent health problem. This study focused on the function of arctigenin (ARC) in promoting survival and neuronal differentiation of mouse cochlear neural stem cells (NSCs), and its protection against gentamicin (GMC) induced neuronal hearing loss. Mouse cochlea was used to isolate NSCs, which were subsequently cultured in vitro. The effects of ARC on NSC survival, neurosphere formation, differentiation of NSCs, neurite outgrowth, and neural excitability in neuronal network in vitro were examined. Mechanotransduction ability demonstrated by intact cochlea, auditory brainstem response (ABR), and distortion product optoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) amplitude in mice were measured to evaluate effects of ARC on GMC-induced neuronal hearing loss. ARC increased survival, neurosphere formation, neuron differentiation of NSCs in mouse cochlear in vitro. ARC also promoted the outgrowth of neurites, as well as neural excitability of the NSC-differentiated neuron culture. Additionally, ARC rescued mechanotransduction capacity, restored the threshold shifts of ABR and DPOAE in our GMC ototoxicity murine model. This study supports the potential therapeutic role of ARC in promoting both NSCs proliferation and differentiation in vitro to functional neurons, thus supporting its protective function in the therapeutic treatment of neuropathic hearing loss in vivo. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

E-cigarette aerosol exposure can cause craniofacial defects in Xenopus laevis embryos and mammalian neural crest cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Allyson E; Kandalam, Suraj; Olivares-Navarrete, Rene; Dickinson, Amanda J G

2017-01-01

Since electronic cigarette (ECIG) introduction to American markets in 2007, vaping has surged in popularity. Many, including women of reproductive age, also believe that ECIG use is safer than traditional tobacco cigarettes and is not hazardous when pregnant. However, there are few studies investigating the effects of ECIG exposure on the developing embryo and nothing is known about potential effects on craniofacial development. Therefore, we have tested the effects of several aerosolized e-cigarette liquids (e-cigAM) in an in vivo craniofacial model, Xenopus laevis, as well as a mammalian neural crest cell line. Results demonstrate that e-cigAM exposure during embryonic development induces a variety of defects, including median facial clefts and midface hypoplasia in two of e-cigAMs tested e-cigAMs. Detailed quantitative analyses of the facial morphology revealed that nicotine is not the main factor in inducing craniofacial defects, but can exacerbate the effects of the other e-liquid components. Additionally, while two different e-cigAMs can have very similar consequences on facial appearances, there are subtle differences that could be due to the differences in e-cigAM components. Further assessment of embryos exposed to these particular e-cigAMs revealed cranial cartilage and muscle defects and a reduction in the blood supply to the face. Finally, the expression of markers for vascular and cartilage differentiation was reduced in a mammalian neural crest cell line corroborating the in vivo effects. Our work is the first to show that ECIG use could pose a potential hazard to the developing embryo and cause craniofacial birth defects. This emphasizes the need for more testing and regulation of this new popular product.

Leader Cells Define Directionality of Trunk, but Not Cranial, Neural Crest Cell Migration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jo Richardson

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Collective cell migration is fundamental for life and a hallmark of cancer. Neural crest (NC cells migrate collectively, but the mechanisms governing this process remain controversial. Previous analyses in Xenopus indicate that cranial NC (CNC cells are a homogeneous population relying on cell-cell interactions for directional migration, while chick embryo analyses suggest a heterogeneous population with leader cells instructing directionality. Our data in chick and zebrafish embryos show that CNC cells do not require leader cells for migration and all cells present similar migratory capacities. In contrast, laser ablation of trunk NC (TNC cells shows that leader cells direct movement and cell-cell contacts are required for migration. Moreover, leader and follower identities are acquired before the initiation of migration and remain fixed thereafter. Thus, two distinct mechanisms establish the directionality of CNC cells and TNC cells. This implies the existence of multiple molecular mechanisms for collective cell migration.

E-cigarette aerosol exposure can cause craniofacial defects in Xenopus laevis embryos and mammalian neural crest cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allyson E Kennedy

Full Text Available Since electronic cigarette (ECIG introduction to American markets in 2007, vaping has surged in popularity. Many, including women of reproductive age, also believe that ECIG use is safer than traditional tobacco cigarettes and is not hazardous when pregnant. However, there are few studies investigating the effects of ECIG exposure on the developing embryo and nothing is known about potential effects on craniofacial development. Therefore, we have tested the effects of several aerosolized e-cigarette liquids (e-cigAM in an in vivo craniofacial model, Xenopus laevis, as well as a mammalian neural crest cell line. Results demonstrate that e-cigAM exposure during embryonic development induces a variety of defects, including median facial clefts and midface hypoplasia in two of e-cigAMs tested e-cigAMs. Detailed quantitative analyses of the facial morphology revealed that nicotine is not the main factor in inducing craniofacial defects, but can exacerbate the effects of the other e-liquid components. Additionally, while two different e-cigAMs can have very similar consequences on facial appearances, there are subtle differences that could be due to the differences in e-cigAM components. Further assessment of embryos exposed to these particular e-cigAMs revealed cranial cartilage and muscle defects and a reduction in the blood supply to the face. Finally, the expression of markers for vascular and cartilage differentiation was reduced in a mammalian neural crest cell line corroborating the in vivo effects. Our work is the first to show that ECIG use could pose a potential hazard to the developing embryo and cause craniofacial birth defects. This emphasizes the need for more testing and regulation of this new popular product.

Towards a theory of cortical columns: From spiking neurons to interacting neural populations of finite size.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwalger, Tilo; Deger, Moritz; Gerstner, Wulfram

2017-04-01

Neural population equations such as neural mass or field models are widely used to study brain activity on a large scale. However, the relation of these models to the properties of single neurons is unclear. Here we derive an equation for several interacting populations at the mesoscopic scale starting from a microscopic model of randomly connected generalized integrate-and-fire neuron models. Each population consists of 50-2000 neurons of the same type but different populations account for different neuron types. The stochastic population equations that we find reveal how spike-history effects in single-neuron dynamics such as refractoriness and adaptation interact with finite-size fluctuations on the population level. Efficient integration of the stochastic mesoscopic equations reproduces the statistical behavior of the population activities obtained from microscopic simulations of a full spiking neural network model. The theory describes nonlinear emergent dynamics such as finite-size-induced stochastic transitions in multistable networks and synchronization in balanced networks of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The mesoscopic equations are employed to rapidly integrate a model of a cortical microcircuit consisting of eight neuron types, which allows us to predict spontaneous population activities as well as evoked responses to thalamic input. Our theory establishes a general framework for modeling finite-size neural population dynamics based on single cell and synapse parameters and offers an efficient approach to analyzing cortical circuits and computations.

Hopf bifurcation of an (n + 1) -neuron bidirectional associative memory neural network model with delays.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Min; Zheng, Wei Xing; Cao, Jinde

2013-01-01

Recent studies on Hopf bifurcations of neural networks with delays are confined to simplified neural network models consisting of only two, three, four, five, or six neurons. It is well known that neural networks are complex and large-scale nonlinear dynamical systems, so the dynamics of the delayed neural networks are very rich and complicated. Although discussing the dynamics of networks with a few neurons may help us to understand large-scale networks, there are inevitably some complicated problems that may be overlooked if simplified networks are carried over to large-scale networks. In this paper, a general delayed bidirectional associative memory neural network model with n + 1 neurons is considered. By analyzing the associated characteristic equation, the local stability of the trivial steady state is examined, and then the existence of the Hopf bifurcation at the trivial steady state is established. By applying the normal form theory and the center manifold reduction, explicit formulae are derived to determine the direction and stability of the bifurcating periodic solution. Furthermore, the paper highlights situations where the Hopf bifurcations are particularly critical, in the sense that the amplitude and the period of oscillations are very sensitive to errors due to tolerances in the implementation of neuron interconnections. It is shown that the sensitivity is crucially dependent on the delay and also significantly influenced by the feature of the number of neurons. Numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the main results.

Selective neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells induced by nanosecond microplasma agitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Z; Zhao, S; Mao, X; Lu, X; He, G; Yang, G; Chen, M; Ishaq, M; Ostrikov, K

2014-03-01

An essential step for therapeutic and research applications of stem cells is their ability to differentiate into specific cell types. Neuronal cells are of great interest for medical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic injuries of central nervous system (CNS), but efforts to produce these cells have been met with only modest success. In an attempt of finding new approaches, atmospheric-pressure room-temperature microplasma jets (MPJs) are shown to effectively direct in vitro differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) predominantly into neuronal lineage. Murine neural stem cells (C17.2-NSCs) treated with MPJs exhibit rapid proliferation and differentiation with longer neurites and cell bodies eventually forming neuronal networks. MPJs regulate ~75% of NSCs to differentiate into neurons, which is a higher efficiency compared to common protein- and growth factors-based differentiation. NSCs exposure to quantized and transient (~150 ns) micro-plasma bullets up-regulates expression of different cell lineage markers as β-Tubulin III (for neurons) and O4 (for oligodendrocytes), while the expression of GFAP (for astrocytes) remains unchanged, as evidenced by quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence microscopy and Western Blot assay. It is shown that the plasma-increased nitric oxide (NO) production is a factor in the fate choice and differentiation of NSCs followed by axonal growth. The differentiated NSC cells matured and produced mostly cholinergic and motor neuronal progeny. It is also demonstrated that exposure of primary rat NSCs to the microplasma leads to quite similar differentiation effects. This suggests that the observed effect may potentially be generic and applicable to other types of neural progenitor cells. The application of this new in vitro strategy to selectively differentiate NSCs into neurons represents a step towards reproducible and efficient production of the desired NSC derivatives. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Selective neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells induced by nanosecond microplasma agitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Xiong

2014-03-01

Full Text Available An essential step for therapeutic and research applications of stem cells is their ability to differentiate into specific cell types. Neuronal cells are of great interest for medical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic injuries of central nervous system (CNS, but efforts to produce these cells have been met with only modest success. In an attempt of finding new approaches, atmospheric-pressure room-temperature microplasma jets (MPJs are shown to effectively direct in vitro differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs predominantly into neuronal lineage. Murine neural stem cells (C17.2-NSCs treated with MPJs exhibit rapid proliferation and differentiation with longer neurites and cell bodies eventually forming neuronal networks. MPJs regulate ~75% of NSCs to differentiate into neurons, which is a higher efficiency compared to common protein- and growth factors-based differentiation. NSCs exposure to quantized and transient (~150 ns micro-plasma bullets up-regulates expression of different cell lineage markers as β-Tubulin III (for neurons and O4 (for oligodendrocytes, while the expression of GFAP (for astrocytes remains unchanged, as evidenced by quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence microscopy and Western Blot assay. It is shown that the plasma-increased nitric oxide (NO production is a factor in the fate choice and differentiation of NSCs followed by axonal growth. The differentiated NSC cells matured and produced mostly cholinergic and motor neuronal progeny. It is also demonstrated that exposure of primary rat NSCs to the microplasma leads to quite similar differentiation effects. This suggests that the observed effect may potentially be generic and applicable to other types of neural progenitor cells. The application of this new in vitro strategy to selectively differentiate NSCs into neurons represents a step towards reproducible and efficient production of the desired NSC derivatives.

Impaired neuronal maturation of hippocampal neural progenitor cells in mice lacking CRAF.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeiffer, Verena; Götz, Rudolf; Camarero, Guadelupe; Heinsen, Helmut; Blum, Robert; Rapp, Ulf Rüdiger

2018-01-01

RAF kinases are major constituents of the mitogen activated signaling pathway, regulating cell proliferation, differentiation and cell survival of many cell types, including neurons. In mammals, the family of RAF proteins consists of three members, ARAF, BRAF, and CRAF. Ablation of CRAF kinase in inbred mouse strains causes major developmental defects during fetal growth and embryonic or perinatal lethality. Heterozygous germline mutations in CRAF result in Noonan syndrome, which is characterized by neurocognitive impairment that may involve hippocampal physiology. The role of CRAF signaling during hippocampal development and generation of new postnatal hippocampal granule neurons has not been examined and may provide novel insight into the cause of hippocampal dysfunction in Noonan syndrome. In this study, by crossing CRAF-deficiency to CD-1 outbred mice, a CRAF mouse model was established which enabled us to investigate the interplay of neural progenitor proliferation and postmitotic differentiation during adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Albeit the general morphology of the hippocampus was unchanged, CRAF-deficient mice displayed smaller granule cell layer (GCL) volume at postnatal day 30 (P30). In CRAF-deficient mice a substantial number of abnormal, chromophilic, fast dividing cells were found in the subgranular zone (SGZ) and hilus of the dentate gyrus (DG), indicating that CRAF signaling contributes to hippocampal neural progenitor proliferation. CRAF-deficient neural progenitor cells showed an increased cell death rate and reduced neuronal maturation. These results indicate that CRAF function affects postmitotic neural cell differentiation and points to a critical role of CRAF-dependent growth factor signaling pathway in the postmitotic development of adult-born neurons.

An autoradiographic analysis of the development of the chick trigeminal ganglion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amico-Martel, A.D; Noden, D.M.

1980-01-01

The avian trigeminal ganglion, which is embryonically derived from the neural crest and epidermal placodes, consists of two topographically segregated classes of immature neurons, large and small, during the second week of incubation, and two neuronal cell types, dark and light, interspersed throughout the mature ganglion. In order to establish the times of terminal mitosis of trigeminal sensory neurons, embryos were treated with [ 3 H]thymidine during the first week of incubation and their ganglia fixed on embryonic day 11. The embryonically large, distal, placodal-derived neurons were generated between days 2 and 5, while the small, proximal, neural crest-derived neurons were formed mostly between days 4 and 7. By comparing the locations of labelled cells in ganglia treated with isotope but fixed on day 18 on incubation with their 11-day counterparts, it was shown that there are no morpho-genetic rearrangements of neurons during the final week of incubation. Thus, no unique relationship exists between the two neuron types in the mature ganglion and the two cell classes in the immature trigeminal. Therefore, both the light and the dark neurons in the mature trigeminal ganglion arise from neural crest as well as placodal primordia. (author)

Vagal stimulation targets select populations of intrinsic cardiac neurons to control neurally induced atrial fibrillation.

Science.gov (United States)

Salavatian, Siamak; Beaumont, Eric; Longpré, Jean-Philippe; Armour, J Andrew; Vinet, Alain; Jacquemet, Vincent; Shivkumar, Kalyanam; Ardell, Jeffrey L

2016-11-01

Mediastinal nerve stimulation (MNS) reproducibly evokes atrial fibrillation (AF) by excessive and heterogeneous activation of intrinsic cardiac (IC) neurons. This study evaluated whether preemptive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) impacts MNS-induced evoked changes in IC neural network activity to thereby alter susceptibility to AF. IC neuronal activity in the right atrial ganglionated plexus was directly recorded in anesthetized canines (n = 8) using a linear microelectrode array concomitant with right atrial electrical activity in response to: 1) epicardial touch or great vessel occlusion vs. 2) stellate or vagal stimulation. From these stressors, post hoc analysis (based on the Skellam distribution) defined IC neurons so recorded as afferent, efferent, or convergent (afferent and efferent inputs) local circuit neurons (LCN). The capacity of right-sided MNS to modify IC activity in the induction of AF was determined before and after preemptive right (RCV)- vs. left (LCV)-sided VNS (15 Hz, 500 μs; 1.2× bradycardia threshold). Neuronal (n = 89) activity at baseline (0.11 ± 0.29 Hz) increased during MNS-induced AF (0.51 ± 1.30 Hz; P neuronal synchrony increased during neurally induced AF, a local neural network response mitigated by preemptive VNS. These antiarrhythmic effects persisted post-VNS for, on average, 26 min. In conclusion, VNS preferentially targets convergent LCNs and their interactive coherence to mitigate the potential for neurally induced AF. The antiarrhythmic properties imposed by VNS exhibit memory. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Nigral dopaminergic neuron replenishment in adult mice through VE-cadherin-expressing neural progenitor cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abir A Rahman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The function of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is of central importance to the coordination of movement by the brain's basal ganglia circuitry. This is evidenced by the loss of these neurons, resulting in the cardinal motor deficits associated with Parkinson's disease. In order to fully understand the physiology of these key neurons and develop potential therapies for their loss, it is essential to determine if and how dopaminergic neurons are replenished in the adult brain. Recent work has presented evidence for adult neurogenesis of these neurons by Nestin+/Sox2– neural progenitor cells. We sought to further validate this finding and explore a potential atypical origin for these progenitor cells. Since neural progenitor cells have a proximal association with the vasculature of the brain and subsets of endothelial cells are Nestin+, we hypothesized that dopaminergic neural progenitors might share a common cell lineage. Therefore, we employed a VE-cadherin promoter-driven CREERT2:THlox/THlox transgenic mouse line to ablate the tyrosine hydroxylase gene from endothelial cells in adult animals. After 26 weeks, but not 13 weeks, following the genetic blockade of tyrosine hydroxylase expression in VE-cadherin+ cells, we observed a significant reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase+ neurons in the substantia nigra. The results from this genetic lineage tracing study suggest that dopaminergic neurons are replenished in adult mice by a VE-cadherin+ progenitor cell population potentially arising from an endothelial lineage.

Are neural crest stem cells the missing link between hematopoietic and neurogenic niches?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cécile eCoste

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Hematopoietic niches are defined as cellular and molecular microenvironments that regulate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC function together with stem cell autonomous mechanisms. Many different cell types have been characterized as contributors to the formation of HSC niches, such as osteoblasts, endothelial cells, Schwann cells, and mesenchymal progenitors. These mesenchymal progenitors have themselves been classified as CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL12-abundant reticular (CAR cells, stem cell factor expressing cells, or nestin-positive mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs, which have been recently identified as neural crest-derived cells (NCSCs. Together, these cells are spatially associated with HSCs and believed to provide appropriate microenvironments for HSC self-renewal, differentiation, mobilization and hibernation both by cell-to-cell contact and soluble factors. Interestingly, it appears that regulatory pathways governing the hematopoietic niche homeostasis are operating in the neurogenic niche as well. Therefore, this review paper aims to compare both the regulation of hematopoietic and neurogenic niches, in order to highlight the role of NCSCs and nervous system components in the development and the regulation of the hematopoietic system.

Are neural crest stem cells the missing link between hematopoietic and neurogenic niches?

Science.gov (United States)

Coste, Cécile; Neirinckx, Virginie; Gothot, André; Wislet, Sabine; Rogister, Bernard

2015-01-01

Hematopoietic niches are defined as cellular and molecular microenvironments that regulate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function together with stem cell autonomous mechanisms. Many different cell types have been characterized as contributors to the formation of HSC niches, such as osteoblasts, endothelial cells, Schwann cells, and mesenchymal progenitors. These mesenchymal progenitors have themselves been classified as CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL) 12-abundant reticular (CAR) cells, stem cell factor expressing cells, or nestin-positive mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which have been recently identified as neural crest-derived cells (NCSCs). Together, these cells are spatially associated with HSCs and believed to provide appropriate microenvironments for HSC self-renewal, differentiation, mobilization and hibernation both by cell-cell contact and soluble factors. Interestingly, it appears that regulatory pathways governing the hematopoietic niche homeostasis are operating in the neurogenic niche as well. Therefore, this review paper aims to compare both the regulation of hematopoietic and neurogenic niches, in order to highlight the role of NCSCs and nervous system components in the development and the regulation of the hematopoietic system.

Towards a theory of cortical columns: From spiking neurons to interacting neural populations of finite size

Science.gov (United States)

Gerstner, Wulfram

2017-01-01

Neural population equations such as neural mass or field models are widely used to study brain activity on a large scale. However, the relation of these models to the properties of single neurons is unclear. Here we derive an equation for several interacting populations at the mesoscopic scale starting from a microscopic model of randomly connected generalized integrate-and-fire neuron models. Each population consists of 50–2000 neurons of the same type but different populations account for different neuron types. The stochastic population equations that we find reveal how spike-history effects in single-neuron dynamics such as refractoriness and adaptation interact with finite-size fluctuations on the population level. Efficient integration of the stochastic mesoscopic equations reproduces the statistical behavior of the population activities obtained from microscopic simulations of a full spiking neural network model. The theory describes nonlinear emergent dynamics such as finite-size-induced stochastic transitions in multistable networks and synchronization in balanced networks of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The mesoscopic equations are employed to rapidly integrate a model of a cortical microcircuit consisting of eight neuron types, which allows us to predict spontaneous population activities as well as evoked responses to thalamic input. Our theory establishes a general framework for modeling finite-size neural population dynamics based on single cell and synapse parameters and offers an efficient approach to analyzing cortical circuits and computations. PMID:28422957

Combination of exogenous cell transplantation and 5-HT4 receptor agonism induce endogenous enteric neural crest-derived cells in a rat hypoganglionosis model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Hui; Zheng, Bai-Jun; Pan, Wei-Kang; Wang, Huai-Jie; Xie, Chong; Zhao, Yu-Ying; Chen, Xin-Lin; Liu, Yong; Gao, Ya

2017-01-01

Enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs) can migrate into endogenous ganglia and differentiate into progeny cells, and have even partially rescued bowel function; however, poor reliability and limited functional recovery after ENCC transplantation have yet to be addressed. Here, we investigated the induction of endogenous ENCCs by combining exogenous ENCC transplantation with a 5-HT 4 receptor agonist mosapride in a rat model of hypoganglionosis, established by benzalkonium chloride treatment. ENCCs, isolated from the gut of newborn rats, were labeled with a lentiviral eGFP reporter. ENCCs and rats were treated with the 5-HT 4 receptor agonist/antagonist. The labeled ENCCs were then transplanted into the muscular layer of benzalkonium chloride-treated colons. At given days post-intervention, colonic tissue samples were removed for histological analysis. ENCCs and neurons were detected by eGFP expression and immunoreactivity to p75 NTR and peripherin, respectively. eGFP-positive ENCCs and neurons could survive and maintain levels of fluorescence after transplantation. With longer times post-intervention, the number of peripherin-positive cells gradually increased in all groups. Significantly more peripherin-positive cells were found following ENCCs plus mosapride treatment, compared with the other groups. These results show that exogenous ENCCs combined with the 5-HT 4 receptor agonist effectively induced endogenous ENCCs proliferation and differentiation in a rat hypoganglionosis model. - Highlights: • Survival and differentiation of exogenous ENCCs in treated colons. • With longer times post-intervention, the number of ENCCs and their progeny cells gradually increased. • Exogenous ENCCs combined with the 5-HT4 receptor agonist ffectively induced ENCCs proliferation and differentiation.

Potential Roles of Dental Pulp Stem Cells in Neural Regeneration and Repair

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Lihua; Wang, Xiaoyan; Key, Brian; Lee, Bae Hoon

2018-01-01

This review summarizes current advances in dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and their potential applications in the nervous diseases. Injured adult mammalian nervous system has a limited regenerative capacity due to an insufficient pool of precursor cells in both central and peripheral nervous systems. Nerve growth is also constrained by inhibitory factors (associated with central myelin) and barrier tissues (glial scarring). Stem cells, possessing the capacity of self-renewal and multicellular differentiation, promise new therapeutic strategies for overcoming these impediments to neural regeneration. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) derive from a cranial neural crest lineage, retain a remarkable potential for neuronal differentiation, and additionally express multiple factors that are suitable for neuronal and axonal regeneration. DPSCs can also express immunomodulatory factors that stimulate formation of blood vessels and enhance regeneration and repair of injured nerve. These unique properties together with their ready accessibility make DPSCs an attractive cell source for tissue engineering in injured and diseased nervous systems. In this review, we interrogate the neuronal differentiation potential as well as the neuroprotective, neurotrophic, angiogenic, and immunomodulatory properties of DPSCs and its application in the injured nervous system. Taken together, DPSCs are an ideal stem cell resource for therapeutic approaches to neural repair and regeneration in nerve diseases. PMID:29853908

Optical imaging of neuronal activity and visualization of fine neural structures in non-desheathed nervous systems.

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Christopher John Goldsmith

Full Text Available Locating circuit neurons and recording from them with single-cell resolution is a prerequisite for studying neural circuits. Determining neuron location can be challenging even in small nervous systems because neurons are densely packed, found in different layers, and are often covered by ganglion and nerve sheaths that impede access for recording electrodes and neuronal markers. We revisited the voltage-sensitive dye RH795 for its ability to stain and record neurons through the ganglion sheath. Bath-application of RH795 stained neuronal membranes in cricket, earthworm and crab ganglia without removing the ganglion sheath, revealing neuron cell body locations in different ganglion layers. Using the pyloric and gastric mill central pattern generating neurons in the stomatogastric ganglion (STG of the crab, Cancer borealis, we found that RH795 permeated the ganglion without major residue in the sheath and brightly stained somatic, axonal and dendritic membranes. Visibility improved significantly in comparison to unstained ganglia, allowing the identification of somata location and number of most STG neurons. RH795 also stained axons and varicosities in non-desheathed nerves, and it revealed the location of sensory cell bodies in peripheral nerves. Importantly, the spike activity of the sensory neuron AGR, which influences the STG motor patterns, remained unaffected by RH795, while desheathing caused significant changes in AGR activity. With respect to recording neural activity, RH795 allowed us to optically record membrane potential changes of sub-sheath neuronal membranes without impairing sensory activity. The signal-to-noise ratio was comparable with that previously observed in desheathed preparations and sufficiently high to identify neurons in single-sweep recordings and synaptic events after spike-triggered averaging. In conclusion, RH795 enabled staining and optical recording of neurons through the ganglion sheath and is therefore both a

Efficient generation of dopamine neuron-like cells from skin-derived precursors with a synthetic peptide derived from von Hippel-Lindau protein.

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Kubo, Atsuhiko; Yoshida, Tetsuhiko; Kobayashi, Nahoko; Yokoyama, Takaakira; Mimura, Toshiro; Nishiguchi, Takao; Higashida, Tetsuhiro; Yamamoto, Isao; Kanno, Hiroshi

2009-12-01

Skin-derived precursors (SKPs) from mammalian dermis represent neural crest-related stem cells capable of differentiating into both neural and mesodermal progency. SKPs are of clinical interest because they serve as accessible autologous donor cells for neuronal repair for neuronal intractable diseases. However, little is known about the efficient generation of neurons from SKPs, and phenotypes of neurons generated from SKPs have been restricted. In addition, the neuronal repair using their generated neurons as donor cells has not been achieved. The von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL) is one of the proteins that play an important role during neuronal differentiation, and recently neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells by intracellular delivery of a synthetic VHL peptide derived from elongin BC-binding site has been demonstrated. In the present study, a synthetic VHL peptide derived from elongin BC-binding site was conjugated to the protein transduction domain (PTD) of HIV-TAT protein (TATVHL peptide) to facilitate entry into cells, and we demonstrate the efficient generation of cells with dopaminergic phenotype from SKPs with the intracellular delivery of TATVHL peptide, and characterized the generated cells. The TATVHL peptide-treated SKPs expressed neuronal marker proteins, particularly dopamine neuron markers, and also up-regulated mRNA levels of proneural basic helix-loop-helix factors. After the TATVHL peptide treatment, transplanted SKPs into Parkinson's disease (PD) model rats sufficiently differentiated into dopamine neuron-like cells in PD model rats, and partially but significantly corrected behavior of PD model rats. The generated dopamine neuron-like cells are expected to serve as donor cells for neuronal repair for PD.

Neural androgen receptors affect the number of surviving new neurones in the adult dentate gyrus of male mice.

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Swift-Gallant, A; Duarte-Guterman, P; Hamson, D K; Ibrahim, M; Monks, D A; Galea, L A M

2018-04-01

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis occurs in many mammalian species. In rats, the survival of new neurones within the hippocampus is modulated by the action of androgen via the androgen receptor (AR); however, it is not known whether this holds true in mice. Furthermore, the evidence is mixed regarding whether androgens act in neural tissue or via peripheral non-neural targets to promote new neurone survival in the hippocampus. We evaluated whether the action of androgen via AR underlies the survival of new neurones in mice, and investigated whether increasing AR selectively in neural tissue would increase new neurone survival in the hippocampus. We used the cre-loxP system to overexpress AR only in neural tissues (Nestin-AR). These males were compared with wild-type males, as well as control males with 1 of the 2 mutations required for overexpression. Mice were gonadectomised and injected with the DNA synthesis marker, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and for 37 days (following BrdU injection), mice were treated with oil or dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Using immunohistochemistry, proliferation (Ki67) and survival (BrdU) of new neurones were both evaluated in the dorsal and ventral dentate gyrus. Dihydrotestosterone treatment increased the survival of new neurones in the entire hippocampus in wild-type mice and control mice that only have 1 of 2 necessary mutations for transgenic expression. However, DHT treatment did not increase the survival of new neurones in mice that overexpressed AR in neural tissue. Cell proliferation (Ki67) and cell death (pyknotic cells) were not affected by DHT treatment in wild-type or transgenic males. These results suggest that androgens act via neural AR to affect hippocampal neurogenesis by promoting cell survival; however, the relationship between androgen dose and new neurone survival is nonlinear. © 2018 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

Neutralization of LINGO-1 during in vitro differentiation of neural stem cells results in proliferation of immature neurons.

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Camilla Lööv

Full Text Available Identifying external factors that can be used to control neural stem cells division and their differentiation to neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes is of high scientific and clinical interest. Here we show that the Nogo-66 receptor interacting protein LINGO-1 is a potent regulator of neural stem cell maturation to neurons. LINGO-1 is expressed by cortical neural stem cells from E14 mouse embryos and inhibition of LINGO-1 during the first days of neural stem cell differentiation results in decreased neuronal maturation. Compared to neurons in control cultures, which after 6 days of differentiation have long extending neurites, neurons in cultures treated with anti-LINGO-1 antibodies retain an immature, round phenotype with only very short processes. Furthermore, neutralization of LINGO-1 results in a threefold increase in βIII tubulin-positive cells compared to untreated control cultures. By using BrdU incorporation assays we show that the immature neurons in LINGO-1 neutralized cultures are dividing neuroblasts. In contrast to control cultures, in which no cells were double positive for βIII tubulin and BrdU, 36% of the neurons in cultures treated with anti-LINGO-1 antibodies were proliferating after three days of differentiation. TUNEL assays revealed that the amount of cells going through apoptosis during the early phase of differentiation was significantly decreased in cultures treated with anti-LINGO-1 antibodies compared to untreated control cultures. Taken together, our results demonstrate a novel role for LINGO-1 in neural stem cell differentiation to neurons and suggest a possibility to use LINGO-1 inhibitors to compensate for neuronal cell loss in the injured brain.

Computational Models of Neuron-Astrocyte Interactions Lead to Improved Efficacy in the Performance of Neural Networks

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Alvarellos-González, Alberto; Pazos, Alejandro; Porto-Pazos, Ana B.

2012-01-01

The importance of astrocytes, one part of the glial system, for information processing in the brain has recently been demonstrated. Regarding information processing in multilayer connectionist systems, it has been shown that systems which include artificial neurons and astrocytes (Artificial Neuron-Glia Networks) have well-known advantages over identical systems including only artificial neurons. Since the actual impact of astrocytes in neural network function is unknown, we have investigated, using computational models, different astrocyte-neuron interactions for information processing; different neuron-glia algorithms have been implemented for training and validation of multilayer Artificial Neuron-Glia Networks oriented toward classification problem resolution. The results of the tests performed suggest that all the algorithms modelling astrocyte-induced synaptic potentiation improved artificial neural network performance, but their efficacy depended on the complexity of the problem. PMID:22649480

The transcription factor Nerfin-1 prevents reversion of neurons into neural stem cells.

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Froldi, Francesca; Szuperak, Milan; Weng, Chen-Fang; Shi, Wei; Papenfuss, Anthony T; Cheng, Louise Y

2015-01-15

Cellular dedifferentiation is the regression of a cell from a specialized state to a more multipotent state and is implicated in cancer. However, the transcriptional network that prevents differentiated cells from reacquiring stem cell fate is so far unclear. Neuroblasts (NBs), the Drosophila neural stem cells, are a model for the regulation of stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Here we show that the Drosophila zinc finger transcription factor Nervous fingers 1 (Nerfin-1) locks neurons into differentiation, preventing their reversion into NBs. Following Prospero-dependent neuronal specification in the ganglion mother cell (GMC), a Nerfin-1-specific transcriptional program maintains differentiation in the post-mitotic neurons. The loss of Nerfin-1 causes reversion to multipotency and results in tumors in several neural lineages. Both the onset and rate of neuronal dedifferentiation in nerfin-1 mutant lineages are dependent on Myc- and target of rapamycin (Tor)-mediated cellular growth. In addition, Nerfin-1 is required for NB differentiation at the end of neurogenesis. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis show that Nerfin-1 administers its function by repression of self-renewing-specific and activation of differentiation-specific genes. Our findings support the model of bidirectional interconvertibility between neural stem cells and their post-mitotic progeny and highlight the importance of the Nerfin-1-regulated transcriptional program in neuronal maintenance. © 2015 Froldi et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

CREST Revealed

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Rapp, Hermann; Parisi, Cristiana; Bridgeman, Alfia

This report covers the period from 1993 when the CREST project was initiated, to its launch in 1996, and considers the environment that prompted its instigation. The report looks at the massive cooperation of Government, industry and a range of different service providers that all came together......, under the central control of the CREST project team. It proposes five reasons why the CREST project was successful and examines why the CREST system continues to be at the heart of UK settlement, 20 years on....

Generation of Regionally Specified Neural Progenitors and Functional Neurons from Human Embryonic Stem Cells under Defined Conditions

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Agnete Kirkeby

2012-06-01

Full Text Available To model human neural-cell-fate specification and to provide cells for regenerative therapies, we have developed a method to generate human neural progenitors and neurons from human embryonic stem cells, which recapitulates human fetal brain development. Through the addition of a small molecule that activates canonical WNT signaling, we induced rapid and efficient dose-dependent specification of regionally defined neural progenitors ranging from telencephalic forebrain to posterior hindbrain fates. Ten days after initiation of differentiation, the progenitors could be transplanted to the adult rat striatum, where they formed neuron-rich and tumor-free grafts with maintained regional specification. Cells patterned toward a ventral midbrain (VM identity generated a high proportion of authentic dopaminergic neurons after transplantation. The dopamine neurons showed morphology, projection pattern, and protein expression identical to that of human fetal VM cells grafted in parallel. VM-patterned but not forebrain-patterned neurons released dopamine and reversed motor deficits in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

Combination of exogenous cell transplantation and 5-HT{sub 4} receptor agonism induce endogenous enteric neural crest-derived cells in a rat hypoganglionosis model

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Yu, Hui [Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 157, Xi Wu Road, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi (China); Institute of Neurobiology, Environment and Genes Related to Diseases Key Laboratory of Chinese Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 96, Yan Ta Xi Road, Xi’an 710061, Shaanxi (China); Zheng, Bai-Jun; Pan, Wei-Kang; Wang, Huai-Jie; Xie, Chong; Zhao, Yu-Ying [Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 157, Xi Wu Road, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi (China); Chen, Xin-Lin; Liu, Yong [Institute of Neurobiology, Environment and Genes Related to Diseases Key Laboratory of Chinese Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 96, Yan Ta Xi Road, Xi’an 710061, Shaanxi (China); Gao, Ya, E-mail: ygao@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 157, Xi Wu Road, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi (China)

2017-02-01

Enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs) can migrate into endogenous ganglia and differentiate into progeny cells, and have even partially rescued bowel function; however, poor reliability and limited functional recovery after ENCC transplantation have yet to be addressed. Here, we investigated the induction of endogenous ENCCs by combining exogenous ENCC transplantation with a 5-HT{sub 4} receptor agonist mosapride in a rat model of hypoganglionosis, established by benzalkonium chloride treatment. ENCCs, isolated from the gut of newborn rats, were labeled with a lentiviral eGFP reporter. ENCCs and rats were treated with the 5-HT{sub 4} receptor agonist/antagonist. The labeled ENCCs were then transplanted into the muscular layer of benzalkonium chloride-treated colons. At given days post-intervention, colonic tissue samples were removed for histological analysis. ENCCs and neurons were detected by eGFP expression and immunoreactivity to p75{sup NTR} and peripherin, respectively. eGFP-positive ENCCs and neurons could survive and maintain levels of fluorescence after transplantation. With longer times post-intervention, the number of peripherin-positive cells gradually increased in all groups. Significantly more peripherin-positive cells were found following ENCCs plus mosapride treatment, compared with the other groups. These results show that exogenous ENCCs combined with the 5-HT{sub 4} receptor agonist effectively induced endogenous ENCCs proliferation and differentiation in a rat hypoganglionosis model. - Highlights: • Survival and differentiation of exogenous ENCCs in treated colons. • With longer times post-intervention, the number of ENCCs and their progeny cells gradually increased. • Exogenous ENCCs combined with the 5-HT4 receptor agonist ffectively induced ENCCs proliferation and differentiation.

Determination of relevant neuron-neuron connections for neural prosthetics using time-delayed mutual information: tutorial and preliminary results.

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Taghva, Alexander; Song, Dong; Hampson, Robert E; Deadwyler, Sam A; Berger, Theodore W

2012-12-01

Identification of functional dependence among neurons is a necessary component in both the rational design of neural prostheses as well as in the characterization of network physiology. The objective of this article is to provide a tutorial for neurosurgeons regarding information theory, specifically time-delayed mutual information, and to compare time-delayed mutual information, an information theoretic quantity based on statistical dependence, with cross-correlation, a commonly used metric for this task in a preliminary analysis of rat hippocampal neurons. Spike trains were recorded from rats performing delayed nonmatch-to-sample task using an array of electrodes surgically implanted into the hippocampus of each hemisphere of the brain. In addition, spike train simulations of positively correlated neurons, negatively correlated neurons, and neurons correlated by nonlinear functions were generated. These were evaluated by time-delayed mutual information (MI) and cross-correlation. Application of time-delayed MI to experimental data indicated the optimal bin size for information capture in the CA3-CA1 system was 40 ms, which may provide some insight into the spatiotemporal nature of encoding in the rat hippocampus. On simulated data, time-delayed MI showed peak values at appropriate time lags in positively correlated, negatively correlated, and complexly correlated data. Cross-correlation showed peak and troughs with positively correlated and negatively correlated data, but failed to capture some higher order correlations. Comparison of time-delayed MI to cross-correlation in identification of functionally dependent neurons indicates that the methods are not equivalent. Time-delayed MI appeared to capture some interactions between CA3-CA1 neurons at physiologically plausible time delays missed by cross-correlation. It should be considered as a method for identification of functional dependence between neurons and may be useful in the development of neural

Optimization behavior of brainstem respiratory neurons. A cerebral neural network model.

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Poon, C S

1991-01-01

A recent model of respiratory control suggested that the steady-state respiratory responses to CO2 and exercise may be governed by an optimal control law in the brainstem respiratory neurons. It was not certain, however, whether such complex optimization behavior could be accomplished by a realistic biological neural network. To test this hypothesis, we developed a hybrid computer-neural model in which the dynamics of the lung, brain and other tissue compartments were simulated on a digital computer. Mimicking the "controller" was a human subject who pedalled on a bicycle with varying speed (analog of ventilatory output) with a view to minimize an analog signal of the total cost of breathing (chemical and mechanical) which was computed interactively and displayed on an oscilloscope. In this manner, the visuomotor cortex served as a proxy (homolog) of the brainstem respiratory neurons in the model. Results in 4 subjects showed a linear steady-state ventilatory CO2 response to arterial PCO2 during simulated CO2 inhalation and a nearly isocapnic steady-state response during simulated exercise. Thus, neural optimization is a plausible mechanism for respiratory control during exercise and can be achieved by a neural network with cognitive computational ability without the need for an exercise stimulus.

Vagal stimulation targets select populations of intrinsic cardiac neurons to control neurally induced atrial fibrillation

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Salavatian, Siamak; Beaumont, Eric; Longpré, Jean-Philippe; Armour, J. Andrew; Vinet, Alain; Jacquemet, Vincent; Shivkumar, Kalyanam

2016-01-01

Mediastinal nerve stimulation (MNS) reproducibly evokes atrial fibrillation (AF) by excessive and heterogeneous activation of intrinsic cardiac (IC) neurons. This study evaluated whether preemptive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) impacts MNS-induced evoked changes in IC neural network activity to thereby alter susceptibility to AF. IC neuronal activity in the right atrial ganglionated plexus was directly recorded in anesthetized canines (n = 8) using a linear microelectrode array concomitant with right atrial electrical activity in response to: 1) epicardial touch or great vessel occlusion vs. 2) stellate or vagal stimulation. From these stressors, post hoc analysis (based on the Skellam distribution) defined IC neurons so recorded as afferent, efferent, or convergent (afferent and efferent inputs) local circuit neurons (LCN). The capacity of right-sided MNS to modify IC activity in the induction of AF was determined before and after preemptive right (RCV)- vs. left (LCV)-sided VNS (15 Hz, 500 μs; 1.2× bradycardia threshold). Neuronal (n = 89) activity at baseline (0.11 ± 0.29 Hz) increased during MNS-induced AF (0.51 ± 1.30 Hz; P < 0.001). Convergent LCNs were preferentially activated by MNS. Preemptive RCV reduced MNS-induced changes in LCN activity (by 70%) while mitigating MNS-induced AF (by 75%). Preemptive LCV reduced LCN activity by 60% while mitigating AF potential by 40%. IC neuronal synchrony increased during neurally induced AF, a local neural network response mitigated by preemptive VNS. These antiarrhythmic effects persisted post-VNS for, on average, 26 min. In conclusion, VNS preferentially targets convergent LCNs and their interactive coherence to mitigate the potential for neurally induced AF. The antiarrhythmic properties imposed by VNS exhibit memory. PMID:27591222

Mirror neurons and the social nature of language: the neural exploitation hypothesis.

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Gallese, Vittorio

2008-01-01

This paper discusses the relevance of the discovery of mirror neurons in monkeys and of the mirror neuron system in humans to a neuroscientific account of primates' social cognition and its evolution. It is proposed that mirror neurons and the functional mechanism they underpin, embodied simulation, can ground within a unitary neurophysiological explanatory framework important aspects of human social cognition. In particular, the main focus is on language, here conceived according to a neurophenomenological perspective, grounding meaning on the social experience of action. A neurophysiological hypothesis--the "neural exploitation hypothesis"--is introduced to explain how key aspects of human social cognition are underpinned by brain mechanisms originally evolved for sensorimotor integration. It is proposed that these mechanisms were later on adapted as new neurofunctional architecture for thought and language, while retaining their original functions as well. By neural exploitation, social cognition and language can be linked to the experiential domain of action.

Lateral Information Processing by Spiking Neurons: A Theoretical Model of the Neural Correlate of Consciousness

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Marc Ebner

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Cognitive brain functions, for example, sensory perception, motor control and learning, are understood as computation by axonal-dendritic chemical synapses in networks of integrate-and-fire neurons. Cognitive brain functions may occur either consciously or nonconsciously (on “autopilot”. Conscious cognition is marked by gamma synchrony EEG, mediated largely by dendritic-dendritic gap junctions, sideways connections in input/integration layers. Gap-junction-connected neurons define a sub-network within a larger neural network. A theoretical model (the “conscious pilot” suggests that as gap junctions open and close, a gamma-synchronized subnetwork, or zone moves through the brain as an executive agent, converting nonconscious “auto-pilot” cognition to consciousness, and enhancing computation by coherent processing and collective integration. In this study we implemented sideways “gap junctions” in a single-layer artificial neural network to perform figure/ground separation. The set of neurons connected through gap junctions form a reconfigurable resistive grid or sub-network zone. In the model, outgoing spikes are temporally integrated and spatially averaged using the fixed resistive grid set up by neurons of similar function which are connected through gap-junctions. This spatial average, essentially a feedback signal from the neuron's output, determines whether particular gap junctions between neurons will open or close. Neurons connected through open gap junctions synchronize their output spikes. We have tested our gap-junction-defined sub-network in a one-layer neural network on artificial retinal inputs using real-world images. Our system is able to perform figure/ground separation where the laterally connected sub-network of neurons represents a perceived object. Even though we only show results for visual stimuli, our approach should generalize to other modalities. The system demonstrates a moving sub-network zone of

Enteric neural crest cells regulate vertebrate stomach patterning and differentiation.

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Faure, Sandrine; McKey, Jennifer; Sagnol, Sébastien; de Santa Barbara, Pascal

2015-01-15

In vertebrates, the digestive tract develops from a uniform structure where reciprocal epithelial-mesenchymal interactions pattern this complex organ into regions with specific morphologies and functions. Concomitant with these early patterning events, the primitive GI tract is colonized by the vagal enteric neural crest cells (vENCCs), a population of cells that will give rise to the enteric nervous system (ENS), the intrinsic innervation of the GI tract. The influence of vENCCs on early patterning and differentiation of the GI tract has never been evaluated. In this study, we report that a crucial number of vENCCs is required for proper chick stomach development, patterning and differentiation. We show that reducing the number of vENCCs by performing vENCC ablations induces sustained activation of the BMP and Notch pathways in the stomach mesenchyme and impairs smooth muscle development. A reduction in vENCCs also leads to the transdifferentiation of the stomach into a stomach-intestinal mixed phenotype. In addition, sustained Notch signaling activity in the stomach mesenchyme phenocopies the defects observed in vENCC-ablated stomachs, indicating that inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway is essential for stomach patterning and differentiation. Finally, we report that a crucial number of vENCCs is also required for maintenance of stomach identity and differentiation through inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway. Altogether, our data reveal that, through the regulation of mesenchyme identity, vENCCs act as a new mediator in the mesenchymal-epithelial interactions that control stomach development. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Skeletogenic fate of zebrafish cranial and trunk neural crest.

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Erika Kague

Full Text Available The neural crest (NC is a major contributor to the vertebrate craniofacial skeleton, detailed in model organisms through embryological and genetic approaches, most notably in chick and mouse. Despite many similarities between these rather distant species, there are also distinct differences in the contribution of the NC, particularly to the calvariae of the skull. Lack of information about other vertebrate groups precludes an understanding of the evolutionary significance of these differences. Study of zebrafish craniofacial development has contributed substantially to understanding of cartilage and bone formation in teleosts, but there is currently little information on NC contribution to the zebrafish skeleton. Here, we employ a two-transgene system based on Cre recombinase to genetically label NC in the zebrafish. We demonstrate NC contribution to cells in the cranial ganglia and peripheral nervous system known to be NC-derived, as well as to a subset of myocardial cells. The indelible labeling also enables us to determine NC contribution to late-forming bones, including the calvariae. We confirm suspected NC origin of cartilage and bones of the viscerocranium, including cartilages such as the hyosymplectic and its replacement bones (hymandibula and symplectic and membranous bones such as the opercle. The cleithrum develops at the border of NC and mesoderm, and as an ancestral component of the pectoral girdle was predicted to be a hybrid bone composed of both NC and mesoderm tissues. However, we find no evidence of a NC contribution to the cleithrum. Similarly, in the vault of the skull, the parietal bones and the caudal portion of the frontal bones show no evidence of NC contribution. We also determine a NC origin for caudal fin lepidotrichia; the presumption is that these are derived from trunk NC, demonstrating that these cells have the ability to form bone during normal vertebrate development.

Stochastic Nonlinear Evolutional Model of the Large-Scaled Neuronal Population and Dynamic Neural Coding Subject to Stimulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Rubin; Yu Wei

2005-01-01

In this paper, we investigate how the population of neuronal oscillators deals with information and the dynamic evolution of neural coding when the external stimulation acts on it. Numerically computing method is used to describe the evolution process of neural coding in three-dimensioned space. The numerical result proves that only the suitable stimulation can change the coupling structure and plasticity of neurons

Neural dynamics as sampling: a model for stochastic computation in recurrent networks of spiking neurons.

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Buesing, Lars; Bill, Johannes; Nessler, Bernhard; Maass, Wolfgang

2011-11-01

The organization of computations in networks of spiking neurons in the brain is still largely unknown, in particular in view of the inherently stochastic features of their firing activity and the experimentally observed trial-to-trial variability of neural systems in the brain. In principle there exists a powerful computational framework for stochastic computations, probabilistic inference by sampling, which can explain a large number of macroscopic experimental data in neuroscience and cognitive science. But it has turned out to be surprisingly difficult to create a link between these abstract models for stochastic computations and more detailed models of the dynamics of networks of spiking neurons. Here we create such a link and show that under some conditions the stochastic firing activity of networks of spiking neurons can be interpreted as probabilistic inference via Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. Since common methods for MCMC sampling in distributed systems, such as Gibbs sampling, are inconsistent with the dynamics of spiking neurons, we introduce a different approach based on non-reversible Markov chains that is able to reflect inherent temporal processes of spiking neuronal activity through a suitable choice of random variables. We propose a neural network model and show by a rigorous theoretical analysis that its neural activity implements MCMC sampling of a given distribution, both for the case of discrete and continuous time. This provides a step towards closing the gap between abstract functional models of cortical computation and more detailed models of networks of spiking neurons.

Generation of Regionally Specific Neural Progenitor Cells (NPCs) and Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells (hPSCs).

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Cutts, Josh; Brookhouser, Nicholas; Brafman, David A

2016-01-01

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are a multipotent cell population capable of long-term expansion and differentiation into a variety of neuronal subtypes. As such, NPCs have tremendous potential for disease modeling, drug screening, and regenerative medicine. Current methods for the generation of NPCs results in cell populations homogenous for pan-neural markers such as SOX1 and SOX2 but heterogeneous with respect to regional identity. In order to use NPCs and their neuronal derivatives to investigate mechanisms of neurological disorders and develop more physiologically relevant disease models, methods for generation of regionally specific NPCs and neurons are needed. Here, we describe a protocol in which exogenous manipulation of WNT signaling, through either activation or inhibition, during neural differentiation of hPSCs, promotes the formation of regionally homogenous NPCs and neuronal cultures. In addition, we provide methods to monitor and characterize the efficiency of hPSC differentiation to these regionally specific cell identities.

Neuronal spike sorting based on radial basis function neural networks

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Taghavi Kani M

2011-02-01

Full Text Available "nBackground: Studying the behavior of a society of neurons, extracting the communication mechanisms of brain with other tissues, finding treatment for some nervous system diseases and designing neuroprosthetic devices, require an algorithm to sort neuralspikes automatically. However, sorting neural spikes is a challenging task because of the low signal to noise ratio (SNR of the spikes. The main purpose of this study was to design an automatic algorithm for classifying neuronal spikes that are emitted from a specific region of the nervous system."n "nMethods: The spike sorting process usually consists of three stages: detection, feature extraction and sorting. We initially used signal statistics to detect neural spikes. Then, we chose a limited number of typical spikes as features and finally used them to train a radial basis function (RBF neural network to sort the spikes. In most spike sorting devices, these signals are not linearly discriminative. In order to solve this problem, the aforesaid RBF neural network was used."n "nResults: After the learning process, our proposed algorithm classified any arbitrary spike. The obtained results showed that even though the proposed Radial Basis Spike Sorter (RBSS reached to the same error as the previous methods, however, the computational costs were much lower compared to other algorithms. Moreover, the competitive points of the proposed algorithm were its good speed and low computational complexity."n "nConclusion: Regarding the results of this study, the proposed algorithm seems to serve the purpose of procedures that require real-time processing and spike sorting.

Mef2c-F10N enhancer driven β-galactosidase (LacZ) and Cre recombinase mice facilitate analyses of gene function and lineage fate in neural crest cells.

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Aoto, Kazushi; Sandell, Lisa L; Butler Tjaden, Naomi E; Yuen, Kobe C; Watt, Kristin E Noack; Black, Brian L; Durnin, Michael; Trainor, Paul A

2015-06-01

Neural crest cells (NCC) comprise a multipotent, migratory stem cell and progenitor population that gives rise to numerous cell and tissue types within a developing embryo, including craniofacial bone and cartilage, neurons and glia of the peripheral nervous system, and melanocytes within the skin. Here we describe two novel stable transgenic mouse lines suitable for lineage tracing and analysis of gene function in NCC. Firstly, using the F10N enhancer of the Mef2c gene (Mef2c-F10N) linked to LacZ, we generated transgenic mice (Mef2c-F10N-LacZ) that express LacZ in the majority, if not all migrating NCC that delaminate from the neural tube. Mef2c-F10N-LacZ then continues to be expressed primarily in neurogenic, gliogenic and melanocytic NCC and their derivatives, but not in ectomesenchymal derivatives. Secondly, we used the same Mef2c-F10N enhancer together with Cre recombinase to generate transgenic mice (Mef2c-F10N-Cre) that can be used to indelibly label, or alter gene function in, migrating NCC and their derivatives. At early stages of development, Mef2c-F10N-LacZ and Mef2c-F10N-Cre label NCC in a pattern similar to Wnt1-Cre mice, with the exception that Mef2c-F10N-LacZ and Mef2c-F10N-Cre specifically label NCC that have delaminated from the neural plate, while premigratory NCC are not labeled. Thus, our Mef2c-F10N-LacZ and Mef2c-F10N-Cre transgenic mice provide new resources for tracing migratory NCC and analyzing gene function in migrating and differentiating NCC independently of NCC formation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impaired Cellular Immunity in the Murine Neural Crest Conditional Deletion of Endothelin Receptor-B Model of Hirschsprung's Disease.

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Ankush Gosain

Full Text Available Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR is characterized by aganglionosis from failure of neural crest cell (NCC migration to the distal hindgut. Up to 40% of HSCR patients suffer Hirschsprung's-associated enterocolitis (HAEC, with an incidence that is unchanged from the pre-operative to the post-operative state. Recent reports indicate that signaling pathways involved in NCC migration may also be involved in the development of secondary lymphoid organs. We hypothesize that gastrointestinal (GI mucosal immune defects occur in HSCR that may contribute to enterocolitis. EdnrB was deleted from the neural crest (EdnrBNCC-/- resulting in mutants with defective NCC migration, distal colonic aganglionosis and the development of enterocolitis. The mucosal immune apparatus of these mice was interrogated at post-natal day (P 21-24, prior to histological signs of enterocolitis. We found that EdnrBNCC-/- display lymphopenia of their Peyer's Patches, the major inductive site of GI mucosal immunity. EdnrBNCC-/- Peyer's Patches demonstrate decreased B-lymphocytes, specifically IgM+IgDhi (Mature B-lymphocytes, which are normally activated and produce IgA following antigen presentation. EdnrBNCC-/- animals demonstrate decreased small intestinal secretory IgA, but unchanged nasal and bronchial airway secretory IgA, indicating a gut-specific defect in IgA production or secretion. In the spleen, which is the primary source of IgA-producing Mature B-lymphocytes, EdnrBNCC-/- animals display decreased B-lymphocytes, but an increase in Mature B-lymphocytes. EdnrBNCC-/- spleens are also small and show altered architecture, with decreased red pulp and a paucity of B-lymphocytes in the germinal centers and marginal zone. Taken together, these findings suggest impaired GI mucosal immunity in EdnrBNCC-/- animals, with the spleen as a potential site of the defect. These findings build upon the growing body of literature that suggests that intestinal defects in HSCR are not restricted

The Wnt Co-Receptor Lrp5 Is Required for Cranial Neural Crest Cell Migration in Zebrafish.

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Bernd Willems

Full Text Available During vertebrate neurulation, cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT, delaminate from the neural plate border, and migrate as separate streams into different cranial regions. There, they differentiate into distinct parts of the craniofacial skeleton. Canonical Wnt signaling has been shown to be essential for this process at different levels but the involved receptors remained unclear. Here we show that the frizzled co-receptor low-density-lipoprotein (LDL receptor-related protein 5 (Lrp5 plays a crucial role in CNCC migration and morphogenesis of the cranial skeleton. Early during induction and migration of CNCCs, lrp5 is expressed ubiquitously but later gets restricted to CNCC derivatives in the ventral head region besides different regions in the CNS. A knock-down of lrp5 does not interfere with induction of CNCCs but leads to reduced proliferation of premigratory CNCCs. In addition, cell migration is disrupted as CNCCs are found in clusters at ectopic positions in the dorsomedial neuroepithelium after lrp5 knock-down and transient CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. These migratory defects consequently result in malformations of the craniofacial skeleton. To date, Lrp5 has mainly been associated with bone homeostasis in mammals. Here we show that in zebrafish, lrp5 also controls cell migration during early morphogenetic processes and contributes to shaping the craniofacial skeleton.

Modeling initiation of Ewing sarcoma in human neural crest cells.

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Cornelia von Levetzow

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Ewing sarcoma family tumors (ESFT are aggressive bone and soft tissue tumors that express EWS-ETS fusion genes as driver mutations. Although the histogenesis of ESFT is controversial, mesenchymal (MSC and/or neural crest (NCSC stem cells have been implicated as cells of origin. For the current study we evaluated the consequences of EWS-FLI1 expression in human embryonic stem cell-derived NCSC (hNCSC. Ectopic expression of EWS-FLI1 in undifferentiated hNCSC and their neuro-mesenchymal stem cell (hNC-MSC progeny was readily tolerated and led to altered expression of both well established as well as novel EWS-FLI1 target genes. Importantly, whole genome expression profiling studies revealed that the molecular signature of established ESFT is more similar to hNCSC than any other normal tissue, including MSC, indicating that maintenance or reactivation of the NCSC program is a feature of ESFT pathogenesis. Consistent with this hypothesis, EWS-FLI1 induced hNCSC genes as well as the polycomb proteins BMI-1 and EZH2 in hNC-MSC. In addition, up-regulation of BMI-1 was associated with avoidance of cellular senescence and reversible silencing of p16. Together these studies confirm that, unlike terminally differentiated cells but consistent with bone marrow-derived MSC, NCSC tolerate expression of EWS-FLI1 and ectopic expression of the oncogene initiates transition to an ESFT-like state. In addition, to our knowledge this is the first demonstration that EWS-FLI1-mediated induction of BMI-1 and epigenetic silencing of p16 might be critical early initiating events in ESFT tumorigenesis.

The SWI/SNF BAF-A complex is essential for neural crest development.

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Chandler, Ronald L; Magnuson, Terry

2016-03-01

Growing evidence indicates that chromatin remodeler mutations underlie the pathogenesis of human neurocristopathies or disorders that affect neural crest cells (NCCs). However, causal relationships among chromatin remodeler subunit mutations and NCC defects remain poorly understood. Here we show that homozygous loss of ARID1A-containing, SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes (BAF-A) in NCCs results in embryonic lethality in mice, with mutant embryos succumbing to heart defects. Strikingly, monoallelic loss of ARID1A in NCCs led to craniofacial defects in adult mice, including shortened snouts and low set ears, and these defects were more pronounced following homozygous loss of ARID1A, with the ventral cranial bones being greatly reduced in size. Early NCC specification and expression of the BRG1 NCC target gene, PLEXINA2, occurred normally in the absence of ARID1A. Nonetheless, mutant embryos displayed incomplete conotruncal septation of the cardiac outflow tract and defects in the posterior pharyngeal arteries, culminating in persistent truncus arteriosus and agenesis of the ductus arteriosus. Consistent with this, migrating cardiac NCCs underwent apoptosis within the circumpharyngeal ridge. Our data support the notion that multiple, distinct chromatin remodeling complexes govern genetically separable events in NCC development and highlight a potential pathogenic role for NCCs in the human BAF complex disorder, Coffin-Siris Syndrome. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neuropilin-1 interacts with the second branchial arch microenvironment to mediate chick neural crest cell dynamics

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McLennan, Rebecca; Kulesa, Paul M.

2011-01-01

Cranial neural crest cells (NCCs) require neuropilin signaling to reach and invade the branchial arches. Here, we use an in vivo chick model to investigate whether the neuropilin-1 knockdown phenotype is specific to the second branchial arch (ba2), changes in NCC behaviors and phenotypic consequences, and whether neuropilins work together to facilitate entry into and invasion of ba2. We find that cranial NCCs with reduced neuropilin-1 expression displayed shorter protrusions and decreased cell body and nuclear length-to-width ratios characteristic of a loss in polarity and motility, after specific interaction with ba2. Directed NCC migration was rescued by transplantation of transfected cells into rhombomere 4 of younger hosts. Lastly, reduction of neuropilin-2 expression by shRNA either solely or with reduction of neuropilin-1 expression did not lead to a stronger head phenotype. Thus, NCCs, independent of rhombomere origin, require neuropilin-1, but not neuropilin-2 to maintain polarity and directed migration into ba2. PMID:20503363

Dicer activity in neural crest cells is essential for craniofacial organogenesis and pharyngeal arch artery morphogenesis

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Nie, Xuguang; Wang, Qin; Jiao, Kai

2014-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in regulating gene expression during numerous biological/pathological processes. Dicer encodes an RNase III endonuclease that is essential for generating most, if not all, functional miRNAs. In this work, we applied a conditional gene inactivation approach to examine the function of Dicer during neural crest cell (NCC) development. Mice with NCC-specific inactivation of Dicer died perinatally. Cranial and cardiac NCC migration into target tissues was not affected by Dicer disruption, but their subsequent development was disturbed. NCC derivatives and their associated mesoderm-derived cells displayed massive apoptosis, leading to severe abnormalities during craniofacial morphogenesis and organogenesis. In addition, the 4th pharyngeal arch artery (PAA) remodeling was affected, resulting in interrupted aortic arch artery type B (IAA-B) in mutant animals. Taken together, our results show that Dicer activity in NCCs is essential for craniofacial development and pharyngeal arch artery morphogenesis. PMID:21256960

Derivation of mesenchymal stromal cells from pluripotent stem cells through a neural crest lineage using small molecule compounds with defined media.

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Makoto Fukuta

Full Text Available Neural crest cells (NCCs are an embryonic migratory cell population with the ability to differentiate into a wide variety of cell types that contribute to the craniofacial skeleton, cornea, peripheral nervous system, and skin pigmentation. This ability suggests the promising role of NCCs as a source for cell-based therapy. Although several methods have been used to induce human NCCs (hNCCs from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs, such as embryonic stem cells (ESCs and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs, further modifications are required to improve the robustness, efficacy, and simplicity of these methods. Chemically defined medium (CDM was used as the basal medium in the induction and maintenance steps. By optimizing the culture conditions, the combination of the GSK3β inhibitor and TGFβ inhibitor with a minimum growth factor (insulin very efficiently induced hNCCs (70-80% from hPSCs. The induced hNCCs expressed cranial NCC-related genes and stably proliferated in CDM supplemented with EGF and FGF2 up to at least 10 passages without changes being observed in the major gene expression profiles. Differentiation properties were confirmed for peripheral neurons, glia, melanocytes, and corneal endothelial cells. In addition, cells with differentiation characteristics similar to multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs were induced from hNCCs using CDM specific for human MSCs. Our simple and robust induction protocol using small molecule compounds with defined media enabled the generation of hNCCs as an intermediate material producing terminally differentiated cells for cell-based innovative medicine.

Role of the extracellular matrix during neural crest cell migration.

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Perris, R; Perissinotto, D

2000-07-01

Once specified to become neural crest (NC), cells occupying the dorsal portion of the neural tube disrupt their cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts, acquire motile properties, and embark upon an extensive migration through the embryo to reach their ultimate phenotype-specific sites. The understanding of how this movement is regulated is still rather fragmentary due to the complexity of the cellular and molecular interactions involved. An additional intricate aspect of the regulation of NC cell movement is that the timings, modes and patterns of NC cell migration are intimately associated with the concomitant phenotypic diversification that cells undergo during their migratory phase and the fact that these changes modulate the way that moving cells interact with their microenvironment. To date, two interplaying mechanisms appear central for the guidance of the migrating NC cells through the embryo: one involves secreted signalling molecules acting through their cognate protein kinase/phosphatase-type receptors and the other is contributed by the multivalent interactions of the cells with their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). The latter ones seem fundamental in light of the central morphogenetic role played by the intracellular signals transduced through the cytoskeleton upon integrin ligation, and the convergence of these signalling cascades with those triggered by cadherins, survival/growth factor receptors, gap junctional communications, and stretch-activated calcium channels. The elucidation of the importance of the ECM during NC cell movement is presently favoured by the augmenting knowledge about the macromolecular structure of the specific ECM assembled during NC development and the functional assaying of its individual constituents via molecular and genetic manipulations. Collectively, these data propose that NC cell migration may be governed by time- and space-dependent alterations in the expression of inhibitory ECM components; the relative ratio

Molecular Memory of Morphologies by Septins during Neuron Generation Allows Early Polarity Inheritance.

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Boubakar, Leila; Falk, Julien; Ducuing, Hugo; Thoinet, Karine; Reynaud, Florie; Derrington, Edmund; Castellani, Valérie

2017-08-16

Transmission of polarity established early during cell lineage history is emerging as a key process guiding cell differentiation. Highly polarized neurons provide a fascinating model to study inheritance of polarity over cell generations and across morphological transitions. Neural crest cells (NCCs) migrate to the dorsal root ganglia to generate neurons directly or after cell divisions in situ. Using live imaging of vertebrate embryo slices, we found that bipolar NCC progenitors lose their polarity, retracting their processes to round for division, but generate neurons with bipolar morphology by emitting processes from the same locations as the progenitor. Monitoring the dynamics of Septins, which play key roles in yeast polarity, indicates that Septin 7 tags process sites for re-initiation of process growth following mitosis. Interfering with Septins blocks this mechanism. Thus, Septins store polarity features during mitotic rounding so that daughters can reconstitute the initial progenitor polarity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural crest contribution to lingual mesenchyme, epithelium and developing taste papillae and taste buds.

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Liu, Hong-Xiang; Komatsu, Yoshihiro; Mishina, Yuji; Mistretta, Charlotte M

2012-08-15

The epithelium of mammalian tongue hosts most of the taste buds that transduce gustatory stimuli into neural signals. In the field of taste biology, taste bud cells have been described as arising from "local epithelium", in distinction from many other receptor organs that are derived from neurogenic ectoderm including neural crest (NC). In fact, contribution of NC to both epithelium and mesenchyme in the developing tongue is not fully understood. In the present study we used two independent, well-characterized mouse lines, Wnt1-Cre and P0-Cre that express Cre recombinase in a NC-specific manner, in combination with two Cre reporter mouse lines, R26R and ZEG, and demonstrate a contribution of NC-derived cells to both tongue mesenchyme and epithelium including taste papillae and taste buds. In tongue mesenchyme, distribution of NC-derived cells is in close association with taste papillae. In tongue epithelium, labeled cells are observed in an initial scattered distribution and progress to a clustered pattern between papillae, and within papillae and early taste buds. This provides evidence for a contribution of NC to lingual epithelium. Together with previous reports for the origin of taste bud cells from local epithelium in postnatal mouse, we propose that NC cells migrate into and reside in the epithelium of the tongue primordium at an early embryonic stage, acquire epithelial cell phenotypes, and undergo cell proliferation and differentiation that is involved in the development of taste papillae and taste buds. Our findings lead to a new concept about derivation of taste bud cells that include a NC origin. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of neuronal loss in the dynamic model of neural networks

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Yoon, B-G; Choi, J; Choi, M Y

2008-01-01

We study the phase transitions and dynamic behavior of the dynamic model of neural networks, with an emphasis on the effects of neuronal loss due to external stress. In the absence of loss the overall results obtained numerically are found to agree excellently with the theoretical ones. When the external stress is turned on, some neurons may deteriorate and die; such loss of neurons, in general, weakens the memory in the system. As the loss increases beyond a critical value, the order parameter measuring the strength of memory decreases to zero either continuously or discontinuously, namely, the system loses its memory via a second- or a first-order transition, depending on the ratio of the refractory period to the duration of action potential

Modeling the electrode-neuron interface of cochlear implants: effects of neural survival, electrode placement, and the partial tripolar configuration.

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Goldwyn, Joshua H; Bierer, Steven M; Bierer, Julie Arenberg

2010-09-01

The partial tripolar electrode configuration is a relatively novel stimulation strategy that can generate more spatially focused electric fields than the commonly used monopolar configuration. Focused stimulation strategies should improve spectral resolution in cochlear implant users, but may also be more sensitive to local irregularities in the electrode-neuron interface. In this study, we develop a practical computer model of cochlear implant stimulation that can simulate neural activation in a simplified cochlear geometry and we relate the resulting patterns of neural activity to basic psychophysical measures. We examine how two types of local irregularities in the electrode-neuron interface, variations in spiral ganglion nerve density and electrode position within the scala tympani, affect the simulated neural activation patterns and how these patterns change with electrode configuration. The model shows that higher partial tripolar fractions activate more spatially restricted populations of neurons at all current levels and require higher current levels to excite a given number of neurons. We find that threshold levels are more sensitive at high partial tripolar fractions to both types of irregularities, but these effects are not independent. In particular, at close electrode-neuron distances, activation is typically more spatially localized which leads to a greater influence of neural dead regions. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

p75 neurotrophin receptor positive dental pulp stem cells: new hope for patients with neurodegenerative disease and neural injury.

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Dai, Jie-wen; Yuan, Hao; Shen, Shun-yao; Lu, Jing-ting; Zhu, Xiao-fang; Yang, Tong; Zhang, Jiang-fei; Shen, Guo-fang

2013-08-01

Neurodegenerative diseases and neural injury are 2 of the most feared disorders that afflict humankind by leading to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation. Cell based treatment for these diseases had gained special interest in recent years. Previous studies showed that dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) could differentiate toward functionally active neurons both in vitro and in vivo, and could promote neuranagenesis through both cell-autonomous and paracrine neuroregenerative activities. Some of these neuroregenerative activities were unique to tooth-derived stem cells and superior to bone marrow stromal cells. However, DPSCs used in most of these studies were mixed and unfractionated dental pulp cells that contain several types of cells, and most were fibroblast cells while just contain a small portion of DPSCs. Thus, there might be weaker ability of neuranagenesis and more side effects from the fibroblast cells that cannot differentiate into neural cells. p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) positive DPSCs subpopulation was derived from migrating cranial neural crest cells and had been isolated from DPSCs, which had capacity of differentiation into neurons and repairing neural system. In this article, we hypothesize that p75NTR positive DPSCs simultaneously have greater propensity for neuronal differentiation and fewer side effects from fibroblast, and in vivo transptantation of autologous p75NTR positive DPSCs is a novel method for neuranagenesis. This will bring great hope to patients with neurodegenerative disease and neural injury.

Implementing Signature Neural Networks with Spiking Neurons.

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Carrillo-Medina, José Luis; Latorre, Roberto

2016-01-01

Spiking Neural Networks constitute the most promising approach to develop realistic Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Unlike traditional firing rate-based paradigms, information coding in spiking models is based on the precise timing of individual spikes. It has been demonstrated that spiking ANNs can be successfully and efficiently applied to multiple realistic problems solvable with traditional strategies (e.g., data classification or pattern recognition). In recent years, major breakthroughs in neuroscience research have discovered new relevant computational principles in different living neural systems. Could ANNs benefit from some of these recent findings providing novel elements of inspiration? This is an intriguing question for the research community and the development of spiking ANNs including novel bio-inspired information coding and processing strategies is gaining attention. From this perspective, in this work, we adapt the core concepts of the recently proposed Signature Neural Network paradigm-i.e., neural signatures to identify each unit in the network, local information contextualization during the processing, and multicoding strategies for information propagation regarding the origin and the content of the data-to be employed in a spiking neural network. To the best of our knowledge, none of these mechanisms have been used yet in the context of ANNs of spiking neurons. This paper provides a proof-of-concept for their applicability in such networks. Computer simulations show that a simple network model like the discussed here exhibits complex self-organizing properties. The combination of multiple simultaneous encoding schemes allows the network to generate coexisting spatio-temporal patterns of activity encoding information in different spatio-temporal spaces. As a function of the network and/or intra-unit parameters shaping the corresponding encoding modality, different forms of competition among the evoked patterns can emerge even in the absence

Variability of Neuronal Responses: Types and Functional Significance in Neuroplasticity and Neural Darwinism.

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Chervyakov, Alexander V; Sinitsyn, Dmitry O; Piradov, Michael A

2016-01-01

HIGHLIGHTS We suggest classifying variability of neuronal responses as follows: false (associated with a lack of knowledge about the influential factors), "genuine harmful" (noise), "genuine neutral" (synonyms, repeats), and "genuine useful" (the basis of neuroplasticity and learning).The genuine neutral variability is considered in terms of the phenomenon of degeneracy.Of particular importance is the genuine useful variability that is considered as a potential basis for neuroplasticity and learning. This type of variability is considered in terms of the neural Darwinism theory. In many cases, neural signals detected under the same external experimental conditions significantly change from trial to trial. The variability phenomenon, which complicates extraction of reproducible results and is ignored in many studies by averaging, has attracted attention of researchers in recent years. In this paper, we classify possible types of variability based on its functional significance and describe features of each type. We describe the key adaptive significance of variability at the neural network level and the degeneracy phenomenon that may be important for learning processes in connection with the principle of neuronal group selection.

A key role for poly(ADP-ribose polymerase 3 in ectodermal specification and neural crest development.

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Michèle Rouleau

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The PARP family member poly(ADP-ribose polymerase 3 (PARP3 is structurally related to the well characterized PARP1 that orchestrates cellular responses to DNA strand breaks and cell death by the synthesis of poly(ADP-ribose. In contrast to PARP1 and PARP2, the functions of PARP3 are undefined. Here, we reveal critical functions for PARP3 during vertebrate development.We have used several in vitro and in vivo approaches to examine the possible functions of PARP3 as a transcriptional regulator, a function suggested from its previously reported association with several Polycomb group (PcG proteins. We demonstrate that PARP3 gene occupancy in the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-SH occurs preferentially with developmental genes regulating cell fate specification, tissue patterning, craniofacial development and neurogenesis. Addressing the significance of this association during zebrafish development, we show that morpholino oligonucleotide-directed inhibition of parp3 expression in zebrafish impairs the expression of the neural crest cell specifier sox9a and of dlx3b/dlx4b, the formation of cranial sensory placodes, inner ears and pectoral fins. It delays pigmentation and severely impedes the development of the median fin fold and tail bud.Our findings demonstrate that Parp3 is crucial in the early stages of zebrafish development, possibly by exerting its transcriptional regulatory functions as early as during the specification of the neural plate border.

Bifurcation analysis on a generalized recurrent neural network with two interconnected three-neuron components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajihosseini, Amirhossein; Maleki, Farzaneh; Rokni Lamooki, Gholam Reza

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We construct a recurrent neural network by generalizing a specific n-neuron network. → Several codimension 1 and 2 bifurcations take place in the newly constructed network. → The newly constructed network has higher capabilities to learn periodic signals. → The normal form theorem is applied to investigate dynamics of the network. → A series of bifurcation diagrams is given to support theoretical results. - Abstract: A class of recurrent neural networks is constructed by generalizing a specific class of n-neuron networks. It is shown that the newly constructed network experiences generic pitchfork and Hopf codimension one bifurcations. It is also proved that the emergence of generic Bogdanov-Takens, pitchfork-Hopf and Hopf-Hopf codimension two, and the degenerate Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation points in the parameter space is possible due to the intersections of codimension one bifurcation curves. The occurrence of bifurcations of higher codimensions significantly increases the capability of the newly constructed recurrent neural network to learn broader families of periodic signals.

Identification of neural transcription factors required for the differentiation of three neuronal subtypes in the sea urchin embryo.

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Slota, Leslie A; McClay, David R

2018-03-15

Correct patterning of the nervous system is essential for an organism's survival and complex behavior. Embryologists have used the sea urchin as a model for decades, but our understanding of sea urchin nervous system patterning is incomplete. Previous histochemical studies identified multiple neurotransmitters in the pluteus larvae of several sea urchin species. However, little is known about how, where and when neural subtypes are differentially specified during development. Here, we examine the molecular mechanisms of neuronal subtype specification in 3 distinct neural subtypes in the Lytechinus variegatus larva. We show that these subtypes are specified through Delta/Notch signaling and identify a different transcription factor required for the development of each neural subtype. Our results show achaete-scute and neurogenin are proneural for the serotonergic neurons of the apical organ and cholinergic neurons of the ciliary band, respectively. We also show that orthopedia is not proneural but is necessary for the differentiation of the cholinergic/catecholaminergic postoral neurons. Interestingly, these transcription factors are used similarly during vertebrate neurogenesis. We believe this study is a starting point for building a neural gene regulatory network in the sea urchin and for finding conserved deuterostome neurogenic mechanisms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A novel recurrent neural network with one neuron and finite-time convergence for k-winners-take-all operation.

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Liu, Qingshan; Dang, Chuangyin; Cao, Jinde

2010-07-01

In this paper, based on a one-neuron recurrent neural network, a novel k-winners-take-all ( k -WTA) network is proposed. Finite time convergence of the proposed neural network is proved using the Lyapunov method. The k-WTA operation is first converted equivalently into a linear programming problem. Then, a one-neuron recurrent neural network is proposed to get the kth or (k+1)th largest inputs of the k-WTA problem. Furthermore, a k-WTA network is designed based on the proposed neural network to perform the k-WTA operation. Compared with the existing k-WTA networks, the proposed network has simple structure and finite time convergence. In addition, simulation results on numerical examples show the effectiveness and performance of the proposed k-WTA network.

A population of human brain cells expressing phenotypic markers of more than one lineage can be induced in vitro to differentiate into mesenchymal cells

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Rieske, Piotr; Augelli, Brian J.; Stawski, Robert; Gaughan, John; Azizi, S. Ausim; Krynska, Barbara

2009-01-01

Proliferating astrocytic cells from germinal, as well as mature areas of brain parenchyma, have the characteristics of neural stem/progenitor cells and are capable of generating both neurons and glia. We previously reported that primary fetal human brain cells, designated as Normal Human Astrocytes (NHA), expressed, in addition to GFAP, Vimentin and Nestin, low levels of βIII-Tubulin, an early neuronal marker, and differentiated into neurons and astrocytes in vitro. Here, we showed that primary NHA cells co-express low levels of mesenchymal markers Fibronectin and Collagen-1 in culture. These cells transitioned into mesenchymal-like cells when cultured in adherent conditions in serum containing media. The mesenchymal-like derivatives of these cells were characterized based on their morphological changes, high expression of Vimentin and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, Collagen-1 and Fibronectin, and decline of neural markers. When incubated in osteogenic and adipogenic induction media, the mesenchymal-like cells differentiated into osteoblasts and adipocytes. Furthermore, NHA cells express markers of neural crest cells, SOX-10 and p75. These data support the idea of ectoderm-derived mesenchymal lineages. These findings suggest that a population of primitive fetal brain cells with neural/neural crest/mesenchymal phenotype, resembles the remarkable phenotypic plasticity of neural crest cells, and differentiates into adipocytes and osteocytes under the influence of environmental factors

Synergic Functions of miRNAs Determine Neuronal Fate of Adult Neural Stem Cells

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Meritxell Pons-Espinal

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Summary: Adult neurogenesis requires the precise control of neuronal versus astrocyte lineage determination in neural stem cells. While microRNAs (miRNAs are critically involved in this step during development, their actions in adult hippocampal neural stem cells (aNSCs has been unclear. As entry point to address that question we chose DICER, an endoribonuclease essential for miRNA biogenesis and other RNAi-related processes. By specific ablation of Dicer in aNSCs in vivo and in vitro, we demonstrate that miRNAs are required for the generation of new neurons, but not astrocytes, in the adult murine hippocampus. Moreover, we identify 11 miRNAs, of which 9 have not been previously characterized in neurogenesis, that determine neurogenic lineage fate choice of aNSCs at the expense of astrogliogenesis. Finally, we propose that the 11 miRNAs sustain adult hippocampal neurogenesis through synergistic modulation of 26 putative targets from different pathways. : In this article, the authors demonstrate that Dicer-dependent miRNAs are required for the generation of new neurons, but not astrocytes, in the adult hippocampus in vivo and in vitro. The authors identify a new set of 11 miRNAs that synergistically converge on multiple targets in different pathways to sustain neurogenic lineage fate commitment in aNSCs. Keywords: mouse, hippocampus, neural stem cells, fate choice, adult neurogenesis, astrogliogenesis, DICER, microRNAs, synergy

Delamination of neural crest cells requires transient and reversible Wnt inhibition mediated by Dact1/2.

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Rabadán, M Angeles; Herrera, Antonio; Fanlo, Lucia; Usieto, Susana; Carmona-Fontaine, Carlos; Barriga, Elias H; Mayor, Roberto; Pons, Sebastián; Martí, Elisa

2016-06-15

Delamination of neural crest (NC) cells is a bona fide physiological model of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process that is influenced by Wnt/β-catenin signalling. Using two in vivo models, we show that Wnt/β-catenin signalling is transiently inhibited at the time of NC delamination. In attempting to define the mechanism underlying this inhibition, we found that the scaffold proteins Dact1 and Dact2, which are expressed in pre-migratory NC cells, are required for NC delamination in Xenopus and chick embryos, whereas they do not affect the motile properties of migratory NC cells. Dact1/2 inhibit Wnt/β-catenin signalling upstream of the transcriptional activity of T cell factor (TCF), which is required for EMT to proceed. Dact1/2 regulate the subcellular distribution of β-catenin, preventing β-catenin from acting as a transcriptional co-activator to TCF, yet without affecting its stability. Together, these data identify a novel yet important regulatory element that inhibits β-catenin signalling, which then affects NC delamination. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

hESC Differentiation toward an Autonomic Neuronal Cell Fate Depends on Distinct Cues from the Co-Patterning Vasculature

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Lisette M. Acevedo

2015-06-01

Full Text Available To gain insight into the cellular and molecular cues that promote neurovascular co-patterning at the earliest stages of human embryogenesis, we developed a human embryonic stem cell model to mimic the developing epiblast. Contact of ectoderm-derived neural cells with mesoderm-derived vasculature is initiated via the neural crest (NC, not the neural tube (NT. Neurovascular co-patterning then ensues with specification of NC toward an autonomic fate requiring vascular endothelial cell (EC-secreted nitric oxide (NO and direct contact with vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs via T-cadherin-mediated homotypic interactions. Once a neurovascular template has been established, NT-derived central neurons then align themselves with the vasculature. Our findings reveal that, in early human development, the autonomic nervous system forms in response to distinct molecular cues from VSMCs and ECs, providing a model for how other developing lineages might coordinate their co-patterning.

Silicon nanowires enhanced proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cell with vertically surface microenvironment.

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Yan, Qiuting; Fang, Lipao; Wei, Jiyu; Xiao, Guipeng; Lv, Meihong; Ma, Quanhong; Liu, Chunfeng; Wang, Wang

2017-09-01

Owing to its biocompatibility, noncytotoxicity, biodegradability and three-dimensional structure, vertically silicon nanowires (SiNWs) arrays are a promising scaffold material for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and relevant medical applications. Recently, its osteogenic differentiation effects, reorganization of cytoskeleton and regulation of the fate on stem cells have been demonstrated. However, it still remains unknown whether SiNWs arrays could affect the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) or not. In the present study, we have employed vertically aligned SiNWs arrays as culture systems for NSCs and proved that the scaffold material could promote the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of NSCs while maintaining excellent cell viability and stemness. Immunofluorescence imaging analysis, Western blot and RT-PCR results reveal that NSCs proliferation and neuronal differentiation efficiency on SiNWs arrays are significant greater than that on silicon wafers. These results implicate SiNWs arrays could offer a powerful platform for NSCs research and NSCs-based therapy in the field of neural tissue engineering.

Network bursts in cortical neuronal cultures: 'noise - versus pacemaker'- driven neural network simulations

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Gritsun, T.; Stegenga, J.; le Feber, Jakob; Rutten, Wim

2009-01-01

In this paper we address the issue of spontaneous bursting activity in cortical neuronal cultures and explain what might cause this collective behavior using computer simulations of two different neural network models. While the common approach to acivate a passive network is done by introducing

Large-scale generation of human iPSC-derived neural stem cells/early neural progenitor cells and their neuronal differentiation.

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D'Aiuto, Leonardo; Zhi, Yun; Kumar Das, Dhanjit; Wilcox, Madeleine R; Johnson, Jon W; McClain, Lora; MacDonald, Matthew L; Di Maio, Roberto; Schurdak, Mark E; Piazza, Paolo; Viggiano, Luigi; Sweet, Robert; Kinchington, Paul R; Bhattacharjee, Ayantika G; Yolken, Robert; Nimgaonka, Vishwajit L; Nimgaonkar, Vishwajit L

2014-01-01

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity to perform high-throughput screening of novel drugs for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Such screenings require a robust and scalable method for generating large numbers of mature, differentiated neuronal cells. Currently available methods based on differentiation of embryoid bodies (EBs) or directed differentiation of adherent culture systems are either expensive or are not scalable. We developed a protocol for large-scale generation of neuronal stem cells (NSCs)/early neural progenitor cells (eNPCs) and their differentiation into neurons. Our scalable protocol allows robust and cost-effective generation of NSCs/eNPCs from iPSCs. Following culture in neurobasal medium supplemented with B27 and BDNF, NSCs/eNPCs differentiate predominantly into vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1) positive neurons. Targeted mass spectrometry analysis demonstrates that iPSC-derived neurons express ligand-gated channels and other synaptic proteins and whole-cell patch-clamp experiments indicate that these channels are functional. The robust and cost-effective differentiation protocol described here for large-scale generation of NSCs/eNPCs and their differentiation into neurons paves the way for automated high-throughput screening of drugs for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.

The dynamic brain: from spiking neurons to neural masses and cortical fields.

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Gustavo Deco

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The cortex is a complex system, characterized by its dynamics and architecture, which underlie many functions such as action, perception, learning, language, and cognition. Its structural architecture has been studied for more than a hundred years; however, its dynamics have been addressed much less thoroughly. In this paper, we review and integrate, in a unifying framework, a variety of computational approaches that have been used to characterize the dynamics of the cortex, as evidenced at different levels of measurement. Computational models at different space-time scales help us understand the fundamental mechanisms that underpin neural processes and relate these processes to neuroscience data. Modeling at the single neuron level is necessary because this is the level at which information is exchanged between the computing elements of the brain; the neurons. Mesoscopic models tell us how neural elements interact to yield emergent behavior at the level of microcolumns and cortical columns. Macroscopic models can inform us about whole brain dynamics and interactions between large-scale neural systems such as cortical regions, the thalamus, and brain stem. Each level of description relates uniquely to neuroscience data, from single-unit recordings, through local field potentials to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, electroencephalogram (EEG, and magnetoencephalogram (MEG. Models of the cortex can establish which types of large-scale neuronal networks can perform computations and characterize their emergent properties. Mean-field and related formulations of dynamics also play an essential and complementary role as forward models that can be inverted given empirical data. This makes dynamic models critical in integrating theory and experiments. We argue that elaborating principled and informed models is a prerequisite for grounding empirical neuroscience in a cogent theoretical framework, commensurate with the achievements in the

Functional integration of grafted neural stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons monitored by optogenetics in an in vitro Parkinson model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tønnesen, Jan; Parish, Clare L; Sørensen, Andreas T

2011-01-01

Intrastriatal grafts of stem cell-derived dopamine (DA) neurons induce behavioral recovery in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD), but how they functionally integrate in host neural circuitries is poorly understood. Here, Wnt5a-overexpressing neural stem cells derived from embryonic ventral...... of post-synaptic currents, and functional expression of DA D₂ autoreceptors. These properties resembled those recorded from identical cells in acute slices of intrastriatal grafts in the 6-hydroxy-DA-induced mouse PD model and from DA neurons in intact substantia nigra. Optogenetic activation...... using optogenetics that ectopically grafted stem cell-derived DA neurons become functionally integrated in the DA-denervated striatum. Further optogenetic dissection of the synaptic wiring between grafted and host neurons will be crucial to clarify the cellular and synaptic mechanisms underlying...

Healthy human CSF promotes glial differentiation of hESC-derived neural cells while retaining spontaneous activity in existing neuronal networks

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Heikki Kiiski

2013-05-01

The possibilities of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural cells from the basic research tool to a treatment option in regenerative medicine have been well recognized. These cells also offer an interesting tool for in vitro models of neuronal networks to be used for drug screening and neurotoxicological studies and for patient/disease specific in vitro models. Here, as aiming to develop a reductionistic in vitro human neuronal network model, we tested whether human embryonic stem cell (hESC-derived neural cells could be cultured in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF in order to better mimic the in vivo conditions. Our results showed that CSF altered the differentiation of hESC-derived neural cells towards glial cells at the expense of neuronal differentiation. The proliferation rate was reduced in CSF cultures. However, even though the use of CSF as the culture medium altered the glial vs. neuronal differentiation rate, the pre-existing spontaneous activity of the neuronal networks persisted throughout the study. These results suggest that it is possible to develop fully human cell and culture-based environments that can further be modified for various in vitro modeling purposes.

Connecting Neurons to a Mobile Robot: An In Vitro Bidirectional Neural Interface

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Novellino, A.; D'Angelo, P.; Cozzi, L.; Chiappalone, M.; Sanguineti, V.; Martinoia, S.

2007-01-01

One of the key properties of intelligent behaviors is the capability to learn and adapt to changing environmental conditions. These features are the result of the continuous and intense interaction of the brain with the external world, mediated by the body. For this reason “embodiment” represents an innovative and very suitable experimental paradigm when studying the neural processes underlying learning new behaviors and adapting to unpredicted situations. To this purpose, we developed a novel bidirectional neural interface. We interconnected in vitro neurons, extracted from rat embryos and plated on a microelectrode array (MEA), to external devices, thus allowing real-time closed-loop interaction. The novelty of this experimental approach entails the necessity to explore different computational schemes and experimental hypotheses. In this paper, we present an open, scalable architecture, which allows fast prototyping of different modules and where coding and decoding schemes and different experimental configurations can be tested. This hybrid system can be used for studying the computational properties and information coding in biological neuronal networks with far-reaching implications for the future development of advanced neuroprostheses. PMID:18350128

Barrier Function-Based Neural Adaptive Control With Locally Weighted Learning and Finite Neuron Self-Growing Strategy.

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Jia, Zi-Jun; Song, Yong-Duan

2017-06-01

This paper presents a new approach to construct neural adaptive control for uncertain nonaffine systems. By integrating locally weighted learning with barrier Lyapunov function (BLF), a novel control design method is presented to systematically address the two critical issues in neural network (NN) control field: one is how to fulfill the compact set precondition for NN approximation, and the other is how to use varying rather than a fixed NN structure to improve the functionality of NN control. A BLF is exploited to ensure the NN inputs to remain bounded during the entire system operation. To account for system nonlinearities, a neuron self-growing strategy is proposed to guide the process for adding new neurons to the system, resulting in a self-adjustable NN structure for better learning capabilities. It is shown that the number of neurons needed to accomplish the control task is finite, and better performance can be obtained with less number of neurons as compared with traditional methods. The salient feature of the proposed method also lies in the continuity of the control action everywhere. Furthermore, the resulting control action is smooth almost everywhere except for a few time instants at which new neurons are added. Numerical example illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

PDGF controls contact inhibition of locomotion by regulating N-cadherin during neural crest migration.

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Bahm, Isabel; Barriga, Elias H; Frolov, Antonina; Theveneau, Eric; Frankel, Paul; Mayor, Roberto

2017-07-01

A fundamental property of neural crest (NC) migration is contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL), a process by which cells change their direction of migration upon cell contact. CIL has been proven to be essential for NC migration in amphibians and zebrafish by controlling cell polarity in a cell contact-dependent manner. Cell contact during CIL requires the participation of the cell adhesion molecule N-cadherin, which starts to be expressed by NC cells as a consequence of the switch between E- and N-cadherins during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the mechanism that controls the upregulation of N-cadherin remains unknown. Here, we show that platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα) and its ligand platelet-derived growth factor A (PDGF-A) are co-expressed in migrating cranial NC. Inhibition of PDGF-A/PDGFRα blocks NC migration by inhibiting N-cadherin and, consequently, impairing CIL. Moreover, we identify phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT as a downstream effector of the PDGFRα cellular response during CIL. Our results lead us to propose PDGF-A/PDGFRα signalling as a tissue-autonomous regulator of CIL by controlling N-cadherin upregulation during EMT. Finally, we show that once NC cells have undergone EMT, the same PDGF-A/PDGFRα works as an NC chemoattractant, guiding their directional migration. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Dataset of TWIST1-regulated genes in the cranial mesoderm and a transcriptome comparison of cranial mesoderm and cranial neural crest

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Heidi Bildsoe

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article contains data related to the research article entitled “Transcriptional targets of TWIST1 in the cranial mesoderm regulate cell-matrix interactions and mesenchyme maintenance” by Bildsoe et al. (2016 [1]. The data presented here are derived from: (1 a microarray-based comparison of sorted cranial mesoderm (CM and cranial neural crest (CNC cells from E9.5 mouse embryos; (2 comparisons of transcription profiles of head tissues from mouse embryos with a CM-specific loss-of-function of Twist1 and control mouse embryos collected at E8.5 and E9.5; (3 ChIP-seq using a TWIST1-specific monoclonal antibody with chromatin extracts from TWIST1-expressing MDCK cells, a model for a TWIST1-dependent mesenchymal state.

Functional cross-talk between the cellular prion protein and the neural cell adhesion molecule is critical for neuronal differentiation of neural stem/precursor cells.

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Prodromidou, Kanella; Papastefanaki, Florentia; Sklaviadis, Theodoros; Matsas, Rebecca

2014-06-01

Cellular prion protein (PrP) is prominently expressed in brain, in differentiated neurons but also in neural stem/precursor cells (NPCs). The misfolding of PrP is a central event in prion diseases, yet the physiological function of PrP is insufficiently understood. Although PrP has been reported to associate with the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), the consequences of concerted PrP-NCAM action in NPC physiology are unknown. Here, we generated NPCs from the subventricular zone (SVZ) of postnatal day 5 wild-type and PrP null (-/-) mice and observed that PrP is essential for proper NPC proliferation and neuronal differentiation. Moreover, we found that PrP is required for the NPC response to NCAM-induced neuronal differentiation. In the absence of PrP, NCAM not only fails to promote neuronal differentiation but also induces an accumulation of doublecortin-positive neuronal progenitors at the proliferation stage. In agreement, we noted an increase in cycling neuronal progenitors in the SVZ of PrP-/- mice compared with PrP+/+ mice, as evidenced by double labeling for the proliferation marker Ki67 and doublecortin as well as by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation experiments. Additionally, fewer newly born neurons were detected in the rostral migratory stream of PrP-/- mice. Analysis of the migration of SVZ cells in microexplant cultures from wild-type and PrP-/- mice revealed no differences between genotypes or a role for NCAM in this process. Our data demonstrate that PrP plays a critical role in neuronal differentiation of NPCs and suggest that this function is, at least in part, NCAM-dependent. © 2014 AlphaMed Press.

Effect of low dose 131I-MIBG therapy in metastatic neural crest tumors: Evaluation by RECIST and quality of life questionnaire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, S.; Joseph, J.K.

2004-01-01

Full text: The primary aim of 131I-MIBG therapy in advanced metastatic or recurrent neural crest tumors is palliation i.e. disease control and improvement of health related quality of life. No clear guidelines regarding the dosage and schedule of 131I-MIBG therapy in neural crest tumors exist at present. In general, a fixed dose of 100-300 mCi has been suggested for each therapy. We share our experience of 131I-MIBG therapy in various subgroups of neural crest tumors and discuss the response assessed by the RECIST and the quality of life questionnaire. A total number of 14 patients were treated with indigenously produced 131I-MIBG, which was administered as continuous intravenous infusion over a period of 2-4 hours. Patient isolation according to guidelines set by the national regulatory authority and thyroid blockade with Lugol's iodide were strictly adhered to. Antihypertensive measures were undertaken in case of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma to prevent effects of catecholamine release during or following 131I-MIBG infusion. The primaries included neuroblastoma (n=7), pheochromocytoma (n=5) and paraganglioma (n=2). The cases of neuroblastoma included patients with progressive disease where the conventional chemotherapy had failed, while those of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma were cases with recurrent / metastatic disease following surgery. In cases of multiple therapies, the minimum interval between two consecutive therapies was 12 weeks. Regular renal and haematological profiles were monitored in all the cases. Response to therapy was assessed by RECIST. The findings of 131I-MIBG scintigraphy were incorporated with CT scan in assessing the target lesions. Biochemical response was evaluated by 24 hours urinary VMA estimation. The quality of life status was evaluated by the conventional questionnaire. A total of 27 therapies were administered in 14 patients. In five treated cases of pheochromocytoma, three received multiple therapies. Follow up results

Confocal imaging of whole vertebrate embryos reveals novel insights into molecular and cellular mechanisms of organ development

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Hadel, Diana M.; Keller, Bradley B.; Sandell, Lisa L.

2014-03-01

Confocal microscopy has been an invaluable tool for studying cellular or sub-cellular biological processes. The study of vertebrate embryology is based largely on examination of whole embryos and organs. The application of confocal microscopy to immunostained whole mount embryos, combined with three dimensional (3D) image reconstruction technologies, opens new avenues for synthesizing molecular, cellular and anatomical analysis of vertebrate development. Optical cropping of the region of interest enables visualization of structures that are morphologically complex or obscured, and solid surface rendering of fluorescent signal facilitates understanding of 3D structures. We have applied these technologies to whole mount immunostained mouse embryos to visualize developmental morphogenesis of the mammalian inner ear and heart. Using molecular markers of neuron development and transgenic reporters of neural crest cell lineage we have examined development of inner ear neurons that originate from the otic vesicle, along with the supporting glial cells that derive from the neural crest. The image analysis reveals a previously unrecognized coordinated spatial organization between migratory neural crest cells and neurons of the cochleovestibular nerve. The images also enable visualization of early cochlear spiral nerve morphogenesis relative to the developing cochlea, demonstrating a heretofore unknown association of neural crest cells with extending peripheral neurite projections. We performed similar analysis of embryonic hearts in mouse and chick, documenting the distribution of adhesion molecules during septation of the outflow tract and remodeling of aortic arches. Surface rendering of lumen space defines the morphology in a manner similar to resin injection casting and micro-CT.

Efficient and rapid derivation of primitive neural stem cells and generation of brain subtype neurons from human pluripotent stem cells.

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Yan, Yiping; Shin, Soojung; Jha, Balendu Shekhar; Liu, Qiuyue; Sheng, Jianting; Li, Fuhai; Zhan, Ming; Davis, Janine; Bharti, Kapil; Zeng, Xianmin; Rao, Mahendra; Malik, Nasir; Vemuri, Mohan C

2013-11-01

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells, are unique cell sources for disease modeling, drug discovery screens, and cell therapy applications. The first step in producing neural lineages from hPSCs is the generation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Current methods of NSC derivation involve the time-consuming, labor-intensive steps of an embryoid body generation or coculture with stromal cell lines that result in low-efficiency derivation of NSCs. In this study, we report a highly efficient serum-free pluripotent stem cell neural induction medium that can induce hPSCs into primitive NSCs (pNSCs) in 7 days, obviating the need for time-consuming, laborious embryoid body generation or rosette picking. The pNSCs expressed the neural stem cell markers Pax6, Sox1, Sox2, and Nestin; were negative for Oct4; could be expanded for multiple passages; and could be differentiated into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, in addition to the brain region-specific neuronal subtypes GABAergic, dopaminergic, and motor neurons. Global gene expression of the transcripts of pNSCs was comparable to that of rosette-derived and human fetal-derived NSCs. This work demonstrates an efficient method to generate expandable pNSCs, which can be further differentiated into central nervous system neurons and glia with temporal, spatial, and positional cues of brain regional heterogeneity. This method of pNSC derivation sets the stage for the scalable production of clinically relevant neural cells for cell therapy applications in good manufacturing practice conditions.

SuperNeurons: Dynamic GPU Memory Management for Training Deep Neural Networks

OpenAIRE

Wang, Linnan; Ye, Jinmian; Zhao, Yiyang; Wu, Wei; Li, Ang; Song, Shuaiwen Leon; Xu, Zenglin; Kraska, Tim

2018-01-01

Going deeper and wider in neural architectures improves the accuracy, while the limited GPU DRAM places an undesired restriction on the network design domain. Deep Learning (DL) practitioners either need change to less desired network architectures, or nontrivially dissect a network across multiGPUs. These distract DL practitioners from concentrating on their original machine learning tasks. We present SuperNeurons: a dynamic GPU memory scheduling runtime to enable the network training far be...

Enhanced differentiation of neural stem cells to neurons and promotion of neurite outgrowth by oxygen-glucose deprivation.

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Wang, Qin; Yang, Lin; Wang, Yaping

2015-06-01

Stroke has become the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Hypoxic or ischemic insults are crucial factors mediating the neural damage in the brain tissue of stroke patients. Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been recognized as a promising tool for the treatment of ischemic stroke and other neurodegenerative diseases due to their inducible pluripotency. In this study, we aim to mimick the cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury in vitro using oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) strategy, and evaluate the effects of OGD on the NSC's neural differentiation, as well as the differentiated neurite outgrowth. Our data showed that NSCs under the short-term 2h OGD treatment are able to maintain cell viability and the capability to form neurospheres. Importantly, this moderate OGD treatment promotes NSC differentiation to neurons and enhances the performance of the mature neuronal networks, accompanying increased neurite outgrowth of differentiated neurons. However, long-term 6h and 8h OGD exposures in NSCs lead to decreased cell survival, reduced differentiation and diminished NSC-derived neurite outgrowth. The expressions of neuron-specific microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2) and growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43) are increased by short-term OGD treatments but suppressed by long-term OGD. Overall, our results demonstrate that short-term OGD exposure in vitro induces differentiation of NSCs while maintaining their proliferation and survival, providing valuable insights of adopting NSC-based therapy for ischemic stroke and other neurodegenerative disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Connecting Neurons to a Mobile Robot: An In Vitro Bidirectional Neural Interface

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A. Novellino

2007-01-01

Full Text Available One of the key properties of intelligent behaviors is the capability to learn and adapt to changing environmental conditions. These features are the result of the continuous and intense interaction of the brain with the external world, mediated by the body. For this reason x201C;embodiment” represents an innovative and very suitable experimental paradigm when studying the neural processes underlying learning new behaviors and adapting to unpredicted situations. To this purpose, we developed a novel bidirectional neural interface. We interconnected in vitro neurons, extracted from rat embryos and plated on a microelectrode array (MEA, to external devices, thus allowing real-time closed-loop interaction. The novelty of this experimental approach entails the necessity to explore different computational schemes and experimental hypotheses. In this paper, we present an open, scalable architecture, which allows fast prototyping of different modules and where coding and decoding schemes and different experimental configurations can be tested. This hybrid system can be used for studying the computational properties and information coding in biological neuronal networks with far-reaching implications for the future development of advanced neuroprostheses.

Possible promotion of neuronal differentiation in fetal rat brain neural progenitor cells after sustained exposure to static magnetism.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamichi, Noritaka; Ishioka, Yukichi; Hirai, Takao; Ozawa, Shusuke; Tachibana, Masaki; Nakamura, Nobuhiro; Takarada, Takeshi; Yoneda, Yukio

2009-08-15

We have previously shown significant potentiation of Ca(2+) influx mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, along with decreased microtubules-associated protein-2 (MAP2) expression, in hippocampal neurons cultured under static magnetism without cell death. In this study, we investigated the effects of static magnetism on the functionality of neural progenitor cells endowed to proliferate for self-replication and differentiate into neuronal, astroglial, and oligodendroglial lineages. Neural progenitor cells were isolated from embryonic rat neocortex and hippocampus, followed by culture under static magnetism at 100 mT and subsequent determination of the number of cells immunoreactive for a marker protein of particular progeny lineages. Static magnetism not only significantly decreased proliferation of neural progenitor cells without affecting cell viability, but also promoted differentiation into cells immunoreactive for MAP2 with a concomitant decrease in that for an astroglial marker, irrespective of the presence of differentiation inducers. In neural progenitors cultured under static magnetism, a significant increase was seen in mRNA expression of several activator-type proneural genes, such as Mash1, Math1, and Math3, together with decreased mRNA expression of the repressor type Hes5. These results suggest that sustained static magnetism could suppress proliferation for self-renewal and facilitate differentiation into neurons through promoted expression of activator-type proneural genes by progenitor cells in fetal rat brain.

γ-Secretase modulators reduce endogenous amyloid β42 levels in human neural progenitor cells without altering neuronal differentiation

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D’Avanzo, Carla; Sliwinski, Christopher; Wagner, Steven L.; Tanzi, Rudolph E.; Kim, Doo Yeon; Kovacs, Dora M.

2015-01-01

Soluble γ-secretase modulators (SGSMs) selectively decrease toxic amyloid β (Aβ) peptides (Aβ42). However, their effect on the physiologic functions of γ-secretase has not been tested in human model systems. γ-Secretase regulates fate determination of neural progenitor cells. Thus, we studied the impact of SGSMs on the neuronal differentiation of ReNcell VM (ReN) human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs). Quantitative PCR analysis showed that treatment of neurosphere-like ReN cell aggregate cultures with γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs), but not SGSMs, induced a 2- to 4-fold increase in the expression of the neuronal markers Tuj1 and doublecortin. GSI treatment also induced neuronal marker protein expression, as shown by Western blot analysis. In the same conditions, SGSM treatment selectively reduced endogenous Aβ42 levels by ∼80%. Mechanistically, we found that Notch target gene expressions were selectively inhibited by a GSI, not by SGSM treatment. We can assert, for the first time, that SGSMs do not affect the neuronal differentiation of hNPCs while selectively decreasing endogenous Aβ42 levels in the same conditions. Our results suggest that our hNPC differentiation system can serve as a useful model to test the impact of GSIs and SGSMs on both endogenous Aβ levels and γ-secretase physiologic functions including endogenous Notch signaling.—D’Avanzo, C., Sliwinski, C., Wagner, S. L., Tanzi, R. E., Kim, D. Y., Kovacs, D. M. γ-Secretase modulators reduce endogenous amyloid β42 levels in human neural progenitor cells without altering neuronal differentiation. PMID:25903103

Ablation of cholesterol biosynthesis in neural stem cells increases their VEGF expression and angiogenesis but causes neuron apoptosis.

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Saito, Kanako; Dubreuil, Veronique; Arai, Yoko; Wilsch-Bräuninger, Michaela; Schwudke, Dominik; Saher, Gesine; Miyata, Takaki; Breier, Georg; Thiele, Christoph; Shevchenko, Andrej; Nave, Klaus-Armin; Huttner, Wieland B

2009-05-19

Although sufficient cholesterol supply is known to be crucial for neurons in the developing mammalian brain, the cholesterol requirement of neural stem and progenitor cells in the embryonic central nervous system has not been addressed. Here we have conditionally ablated the activity of squalene synthase (SQS), a key enzyme for endogenous cholesterol production, in the neural stem and progenitor cells of the ventricular zone (VZ) of the embryonic mouse brain. Mutant embryos exhibited a reduced brain size due to the atrophy of the neuronal layers, and died at birth. Analyses of the E11.5-E15.5 dorsal telencephalon and diencephalon revealed that this atrophy was due to massive apoptosis of newborn neurons, implying that this progeny of the SQS-ablated neural stem and progenitor cells was dependent on endogenous cholesterol biosynthesis for survival. Interestingly, the neural stem and progenitor cells of the VZ, the primary target of SQS inactivation, did not undergo significant apoptosis. Instead, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in these cells was strongly upregulated via a hypoxia-inducible factor-1-independent pathway, and angiogenesis in the VZ was increased. Consistent with an increased supply of lipoproteins to these cells, the level of lipid droplets containing triacylglycerides with unsaturated fatty acyl chains was found to be elevated. Our study establishes a direct link between intracellular cholesterol levels, VEGF expression, and angiogenesis. Moreover, our data reveal a hitherto unknown compensatory process by which the neural stem and progenitor cells of the developing mammalian brain evade the detrimental consequences of impaired endogenous cholesterol biosynthesis.

Derivation of corneal endothelial cell-like cells from rat neural crest cells in vitro.

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Chengqun Ju

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of inducing rat neural crest cells (NCC to differentiate to functional corneal endothelial cell (CEC-like cells in vitro. Rat NCC were induced with adult CEC-derived conditioned medium. Immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and real time RT-PCR assay were used to detect expression of the corneal endothelium differentiation marker N-cadherin and transcription factors FoxC1 and Pitx2. CFDA SE-labeled CEC-like cells were transplanted to the corneal endothelium of a rat corneal endothelium deficiency model, and an eye-down position was maintained for 24 hours to allow cell attachment. The animals were observed for as long as 2 months after surgery and underwent clinical and histological examination. Spindle-like NCC turned to polygonal CEC-like after induction and expressed N-cadherin, FoxC1, Pitx2, zonula occludens-1 and sodium-potassium pump Na(+/K(+ ATPase. The corneas of the experimental group were much clearer than those of the control group and the mean corneal thickness in the experimental group was significantly less than in the control group7, 14, 21 and 28 days after surgery. Confocal microscopy through focusing and histological analysis confirmed that green fluorescence-positive CEC-like cells formed a monolayer covering the Descemet's membrane in the experimental group. In conclusion, CEC-like cells derived from NCCs displayed characters of native CEC, and the induction protocol provides guidance for future human CEC induction from NCC.

Temporally Regulated Neural Crest Transcription Factors Distinguish Neuroectodermal Tumors of Varying Malignancy and Differentiation

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Timothy R. Gershon

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Neuroectodermal tumor cells, like neural crest (NC cells, are pluripotent, proliferative, and migratory. We tested the hypothesis that genetic programs essential to NC development are activated in neuroectodermal tumors. We examined the expression of transcription factors PAX3, PAX7, AP-2α, and SOX10 in human embryos and neuroectodermal tumors: neurofibroma, schwannoma, neuroblastoma, malignant nerve sheath tumor, melanoma, medulloblastoma, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor, and Ewing's sarcoma. We also examined the expression of P0, ERBB3, and STX, targets of SOX10, AP-2α, and PAX3, respectively. PAX3, AP-2α, and SOX10 were expressed sequentially in human NC development, whereas PAX7 was restricted to mesoderm. Tumors expressed PAX3, AP-2α, SOX10, and PAX7 in specific combinations. SOX10 and AP-2α were expressed in relatively differentiated neoplasms. The early NC marker, PAX3, and its homologue, PAX7, were detected in poorly differentiated tumors and tumors with malignant potential. Expression of NC transcription factors and target genes correlated. Transcription factors essential to NC development are thus present in neuroectodermal tumors. Correlation of specific NC transcription factors with phenotype, and with expression of specific downstream genes, provides evidence that these transcription factors actively influence gene expression and tumor behavior. These findings suggest that PAX3, PAX7, AP-2α, and SOX10 are potential markers of prognosis and targets for therapeutic intervention.

Neural electrical activity and neural network growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Gafarov, F M

2018-05-01

The development of central and peripheral neural system depends in part on the emergence of the correct functional connectivity in its input and output pathways. Now it is generally accepted that molecular factors guide neurons to establish a primary scaffold that undergoes activity-dependent refinement for building a fully functional circuit. However, a number of experimental results obtained recently shows that the neuronal electrical activity plays an important role in the establishing of initial interneuronal connections. Nevertheless, these processes are rather difficult to study experimentally, due to the absence of theoretical description and quantitative parameters for estimation of the neuronal activity influence on growth in neural networks. In this work we propose a general framework for a theoretical description of the activity-dependent neural network growth. The theoretical description incorporates a closed-loop growth model in which the neural activity can affect neurite outgrowth, which in turn can affect neural activity. We carried out the detailed quantitative analysis of spatiotemporal activity patterns and studied the relationship between individual cells and the network as a whole to explore the relationship between developing connectivity and activity patterns. The model, developed in this work will allow us to develop new experimental techniques for studying and quantifying the influence of the neuronal activity on growth processes in neural networks and may lead to a novel techniques for constructing large-scale neural networks by self-organization. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

E-cadherin is required for cranial neural crest migration in Xenopus laevis.

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Huang, Chaolie; Kratzer, Marie-Claire; Wedlich, Doris; Kashef, Jubin

2016-03-15

The cranial neural crest (CNC) is a highly motile and multipotent embryonic cell population, which migrates directionally on defined routes throughout the embryo, contributing to facial structures including cartilage, bone and ganglia. Cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion is known to play a crucial role in the directional migration of CNC cells. However, migrating CNC co-express different cadherin subtypes, and their individual roles have yet to be fully explored. In previous studies, the expression of individual cadherin subtypes has been analysed using different methods with varying sensitivities, preventing the direct comparison of expression levels. Here, we provide the first comprehensive and comparative analysis of the expression of six cadherin superfamily members during different phases of CNC cell migration in Xenopus. By applying a quantitative RT-qPCR approach, we can determine the copy number and abundance of each expressed cadherin through different phases of CNC migration. Using this approach, we show for the first time expression of E-cadherin and XB/C-cadherin in CNC cells, adding them as two new members of cadherins co-expressed during CNC migration. Cadherin co-expression during CNC migration in Xenopus, in particular the constant expression of E-cadherin, contradicts the classical epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) model postulating a switch in cadherin expression. Loss-of-function experiments further show that E-cadherin is required for proper CNC cell migration in vivo and also for cell protrusion formation in vitro. Knockdown of E-cadherin is not rescued by co-injection of other classical cadherins, pointing to a specific function of E-cadherin in mediating CNC cell migration. Finally, through reconstitution experiments with different E-cadherin deletion mutants in E-cadherin morphant embryos, we demonstrate that the extracellular domain, but not the cytoplasmic domain, of E-cadherin is sufficient to rescue CNC cell migration in vivo

Premature Ventricular Contraction Coupling Interval Variability Destabilizes Cardiac Neuronal and Electrophysiological Control: Insights from Simultaneous Cardio-Neural Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Hamon, David; Rajendran, Pradeep S.; Chui, Ray W.; Ajijola, Olujimi A.; Irie, Tadanobu; Talebi, Ramin; Salavatian, Siamak; Vaseghi, Marmar; Bradfield, Jason S.; Armour, J. Andrew; Ardell, Jeffrey L.; Shivkumar, Kalyanam

2017-01-01

Background Variability in premature ventricular contraction (PVC) coupling interval (CI) increases the risk of cardiomyopathy and sudden death. The autonomic nervous system regulates cardiac electrical and mechanical indices, and its dysregulation plays an important role in cardiac disease pathogenesis. The impact of PVCs on the intrinsic cardiac nervous system (ICNS), a neural network on the heart, remains unknown. The objective was to determine the effect of PVCs and CI on ICNS function in generating cardiac neuronal and electrical instability using a novel cardio-neural mapping approach. Methods and Results In a porcine model (n=8) neuronal activity was recorded from a ventricular ganglion using a microelectrode array, and cardiac electrophysiological mapping was performed. Neurons were functionally classified based on their response to afferent and efferent cardiovascular stimuli, with neurons that responded to both defined as convergent (local reflex processors). Dynamic changes in neuronal activity were then evaluated in response to right ventricular outflow tract PVCs with fixed short, fixed long, and variable CI. PVC delivery elicited a greater neuronal response than all other stimuli (P<0.001). Compared to fixed short and long CI, PVCs with variable CI had a greater impact on neuronal response (P<0.05 versus short CI), particularly on convergent neurons (P<0.05), as well as neurons receiving sympathetic (P<0.05) and parasympathetic input (P<0.05). The greatest cardiac electrical instability was also observed following variable (short) CI PVCs. Conclusions Variable CI PVCs affect critical populations of ICNS neurons and alter cardiac repolarization. These changes may be critical for arrhythmogenesis and remodeling leading to cardiomyopathy. PMID:28408652

Role of motoneuron-derived neurotrophin 3 in survival and axonal projection of sensory neurons during neural circuit formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Usui, Noriyoshi; Watanabe, Keisuke; Ono, Katsuhiko; Tomita, Koichi; Tamamaki, Nobuaki; Ikenaka, Kazuhiro; Takebayashi, Hirohide

2012-03-01

Sensory neurons possess the central and peripheral branches and they form unique spinal neural circuits with motoneurons during development. Peripheral branches of sensory axons fasciculate with the motor axons that extend toward the peripheral muscles from the central nervous system (CNS), whereas the central branches of proprioceptive sensory neurons directly innervate motoneurons. Although anatomically well documented, the molecular mechanism underlying sensory-motor interaction during neural circuit formation is not fully understood. To investigate the role of motoneuron on sensory neuron development, we analyzed sensory neuron phenotypes in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of Olig2 knockout (KO) mouse embryos, which lack motoneurons. We found an increased number of apoptotic cells in the DRG of Olig2 KO embryos at embryonic day (E) 10.5. Furthermore, abnormal axonal projections of sensory neurons were observed in both the peripheral branches at E10.5 and central branches at E15.5. To understand the motoneuron-derived factor that regulates sensory neuron development, we focused on neurotrophin 3 (Ntf3; NT-3), because Ntf3 and its receptors (Trk) are strongly expressed in motoneurons and sensory neurons, respectively. The significance of motoneuron-derived Ntf3 was analyzed using Ntf3 conditional knockout (cKO) embryos, in which we observed increased apoptosis and abnormal projection of the central branch innervating motoneuron, the phenotypes being apparently comparable with that of Olig2 KO embryos. Taken together, we show that the motoneuron is a functional source of Ntf3 and motoneuron-derived Ntf3 is an essential pre-target neurotrophin for survival and axonal projection of sensory neurons.

Promoted neuronal differentiation after activation of alpha4/beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in undifferentiated neural progenitors.

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Takeshi Takarada

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Neural progenitor is a generic term used for undifferentiated cell populations of neural stem, neuronal progenitor and glial progenitor cells with abilities for proliferation and differentiation. We have shown functional expression of ionotropic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA and gamma-aminobutyrate type-A receptors endowed to positively and negatively regulate subsequent neuronal differentiation in undifferentiated neural progenitors, respectively. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the possible functional expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR by undifferentiated neural progenitors prepared from neocortex of embryonic rodent brains. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed mRNA expression of particular nAChR subunits in undifferentiated rat and mouse progenitors prepared before and after the culture with epidermal growth factor under floating conditions. Sustained exposure to nicotine significantly inhibited the formation of neurospheres composed of clustered proliferating cells and 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction activity at a concentration range of 1 µM to 1 mM without affecting cell survival. In these rodent progenitors previously exposed to nicotine, marked promotion was invariably seen for subsequent differentiation into cells immunoreactive for a neuronal marker protein following the culture of dispersed cells under adherent conditions. Both effects of nicotine were significantly prevented by the heteromeric α4β2 nAChR subtype antagonists dihydro-β-erythroidine and 4-(5-ethoxy-3-pyridinyl-N-methyl-(3E-3-buten-1-amine, but not by the homomeric α7 nAChR subtype antagonist methyllycaconitine, in murine progenitors. Sustained exposure to nicotine preferentially increased the expression of Math1 among different basic helix-loop-helix proneural genes examined. In undifferentiated progenitors from embryonic mice

Differentiation state determines neural effects on microvascular endothelial cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muffley, Lara A.; Pan, Shin-Chen; Smith, Andria N.; Ga, Maricar; Hocking, Anne M.; Gibran, Nicole S.

2012-01-01

Growing evidence indicates that nerves and capillaries interact paracrinely in uninjured skin and cutaneous wounds. Although mature neurons are the predominant neural cell in the skin, neural progenitor cells have also been detected in uninjured adult skin. The aim of this study was to characterize differential paracrine effects of neural progenitor cells and mature sensory neurons on dermal microvascular endothelial cells. Our results suggest that neural progenitor cells and mature sensory neurons have unique secretory profiles and distinct effects on dermal microvascular endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and nitric oxide production. Neural progenitor cells and dorsal root ganglion neurons secrete different proteins related to angiogenesis. Specific to neural progenitor cells were dipeptidyl peptidase-4, IGFBP-2, pentraxin-3, serpin f1, TIMP-1, TIMP-4 and VEGF. In contrast, endostatin, FGF-1, MCP-1 and thrombospondin-2 were specific to dorsal root ganglion neurons. Microvascular endothelial cell proliferation was inhibited by dorsal root ganglion neurons but unaffected by neural progenitor cells. In contrast, microvascular endothelial cell migration in a scratch wound assay was inhibited by neural progenitor cells and unaffected by dorsal root ganglion neurons. In addition, nitric oxide production by microvascular endothelial cells was increased by dorsal root ganglion neurons but unaffected by neural progenitor cells. -- Highlights: ► Dorsal root ganglion neurons, not neural progenitor cells, regulate microvascular endothelial cell proliferation. ► Neural progenitor cells, not dorsal root ganglion neurons, regulate microvascular endothelial cell migration. ► Neural progenitor cells and dorsal root ganglion neurons do not effect microvascular endothelial tube formation. ► Dorsal root ganglion neurons, not neural progenitor cells, regulate microvascular endothelial cell production of nitric oxide. ► Neural progenitor cells and dorsal root

A Model to Explain the Emergence of Reward Expectancy neurons using Reinforcement Learning and Neural Network

OpenAIRE

Shinya, Ishii; Munetaka, Shidara; Katsunari, Shibata

2006-01-01

In an experiment of multi-trial task to obtain a reward, reward expectancy neurons,###which responded only in the non-reward trials that are necessary to advance###toward the reward, have been observed in the anterior cingulate cortex of monkeys.###In this paper, to explain the emergence of the reward expectancy neuron in###terms of reinforcement learning theory, a model that consists of a recurrent neural###network trained based on reinforcement learning is proposed. The analysis of the###hi...

Functional integration of grafted neural stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons monitored by optogenetics in an in vitro Parkinson model.

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Jan Tønnesen

Full Text Available Intrastriatal grafts of stem cell-derived dopamine (DA neurons induce behavioral recovery in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD, but how they functionally integrate in host neural circuitries is poorly understood. Here, Wnt5a-overexpressing neural stem cells derived from embryonic ventral mesencephalon of tyrosine hydroxylase-GFP transgenic mice were expanded as neurospheres and transplanted into organotypic cultures of wild type mouse striatum. Differentiated GFP-labeled DA neurons in the grafts exhibited mature neuronal properties, including spontaneous firing of action potentials, presence of post-synaptic currents, and functional expression of DA D₂ autoreceptors. These properties resembled those recorded from identical cells in acute slices of intrastriatal grafts in the 6-hydroxy-DA-induced mouse PD model and from DA neurons in intact substantia nigra. Optogenetic activation or inhibition of grafted cells and host neurons using channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2 and halorhodopsin (NpHR, respectively, revealed complex, bi-directional synaptic interactions between grafted cells and host neurons and extensive synaptic connectivity within the graft. Our data demonstrate for the first time using optogenetics that ectopically grafted stem cell-derived DA neurons become functionally integrated in the DA-denervated striatum. Further optogenetic dissection of the synaptic wiring between grafted and host neurons will be crucial to clarify the cellular and synaptic mechanisms underlying behavioral recovery as well as adverse effects following stem cell-based DA cell replacement strategies in PD.

Dopaminergic-like neurons derived from oral mucosa stem cells by developmental cues improve symptoms in the hemi-parkinsonian rat model.

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Javier Ganz

Full Text Available Achieving safe and readily accessible sources for cell replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD is still a challenging unresolved issue. Recently, a primitive neural crest stem cell population (hOMSC was isolated from the adult human oral mucosa and characterized in vitro and in vivo. In this study we assessed hOMSC ability to differentiate into dopamine-secreting cells with a neuronal-dopaminergic phenotype in vitro in response to dopaminergic developmental cues and tested their therapeutic potential in the hemi-Parkinsonian rat model. We found that hOMSC express constitutively a repertoire of neuronal and dopaminergic markers and pivotal transcription factors. Soluble developmental factors induced a reproducible neuronal-like morphology in the majority of hOMSC, downregulated stem cells markers, upregulated the expression of the neuronal and dopaminergic markers that resulted in dopamine release capabilities. Transplantation of these dopaminergic-induced hOMSC into the striatum of hemi-Parkinsonian rats improved their behavioral deficits as determined by amphetamine-induced rotational behavior, motor asymmetry and motor coordination tests. Human TH expressing cells and increased levels of dopamine in the transplanted hemispheres were observed 10 weeks after transplantation. These results demonstrate for the first time that soluble factors involved in the development of DA neurons, induced a DA phenotype in hOMSC in vitro that significantly improved the motor function of hemiparkinsonian rats. Based on their neural-related origin, their niche accessibility by minimal-invasive procedures and their propensity for DA differentiation, hOMSC emerge as an attractive tool for autologous cell replacement therapy in PD.

Cell death in neural precursor cells and neurons before neurite formation prevents the emergence of abnormal neural structures in the Drosophila optic lobe.

Science.gov (United States)

Hara, Yusuke; Sudo, Tatsuya; Togane, Yu; Akagawa, Hiromi; Tsujimura, Hidenobu

2018-04-01

Programmed cell death is a conserved strategy for neural development both in vertebrates and invertebrates and is recognized at various developmental stages in the brain from neurogenesis to adulthood. To understand the development of the central nervous system, it is essential to reveal not only molecular mechanisms but also the role of neural cell death (Pinto-Teixeira et al., 2016). To understand the role of cell death in neural development, we investigated the effect of inhibition of cell death on optic lobe development. Our data demonstrate that, in the optic lobe of Drosophila, cell death occurs in neural precursor cells and neurons before neurite formation and functions to prevent various developmental abnormalities. When neuronal cell death was inhibited by an effector caspase inhibitor, p35, multiple abnormal neuropil structures arose during optic lobe development-e.g., enlarged or fused neuropils, misrouted neurons and abnormal neurite lumps. Inhibition of cell death also induced morphogenetic defects in the lamina and medulla development-e.g., failures in the separation of the lamina and medulla cortices and the medulla rotation. These defects were reproduced in the mutant of an initiator caspase, dronc. If cell death was a mechanism for removing the abnormal neuropil structures, we would also expect to observe them in mutants defective for corpse clearance. However, they were not observed in these mutants. When dead cell-membranes were visualized with Apoliner, they were observed only in cortices and not in neuropils. These results suggest that the cell death occurs before mature neurite formation. Moreover, we found that inhibition of cell death induced ectopic neuroepithelial cells, neuroblasts and ganglion mother cells in late pupal stages, at sites where the outer and inner proliferation centers were located at earlier developmental stages. Caspase-3 activation was observed in the neuroepithelial cells and neuroblasts in the proliferation centers

Differentiation of Equine Mesenchymal Stromal Cells into Cells of Neural Lineage: Potential for Clinical Applications

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Claudia Cruz Villagrán

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs are able to differentiate into extramesodermal lineages, including neurons. Positive outcomes were obtained after transplantation of neurally induced MSCs in laboratory animals after nerve injury, but this is unknown in horses. Our objectives were to test the ability of equine MSCs to differentiate into cells of neural lineage in vitro, to assess differences in morphology and lineage-specific protein expression, and to investigate if horse age and cell passage number affected the ability to achieve differentiation. Bone marrow-derived MSCs were obtained from young and adult horses. Following demonstration of stemness, MSCs were neurally induced and microscopically assessed at different time points. Results showed that commercially available nitrogen-coated tissue culture plates supported proliferation and differentiation. Morphological changes were immediate and all the cells displayed a neural crest-like cell phenotype. Expression of neural progenitor proteins, was assessed via western blot or immunofluorescence. In our study, MSCs generated from young and middle-aged horses did not show differences in their ability to undergo differentiation. The effect of cell passage number, however, is inconsistent and further experiments are needed. Ongoing work is aimed at transdifferentiating these cells into Schwann cells for transplantation into a peripheral nerve injury model in horses.

Augmented Indian hedgehog signaling in cranial neural crest cells leads to craniofacial abnormalities and dysplastic temporomandibular joint in mice.

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Yang, Ling; Gu, Shuping; Ye, Wenduo; Song, Yingnan; Chen, YiPing

2016-04-01

Extensive studies have pinpointed the crucial role of Indian hedgehog (Ihh) signaling in the development of the appendicular skeleton and the essential function of Ihh in the formation of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). In this study, we have investigated the effect of augmented Ihh signaling in TMJ development. We took a transgenic gain-of-function approach by overexpressing Ihh in the cranial neural crest (CNC) cells using a conditional Ihh transgenic allele and the Wnt1-Cre allele. We found that Wnt1-Cre-mediated tissue-specific overexpression of Ihh in the CNC lineage caused severe craniofacial abnormalities, including cleft lip/palate, encephalocele, anophthalmos, micrognathia, and defective TMJ development. In the mutant TMJ, the glenoid fossa was completely absent, whereas the condyle and the articular disc appeared relatively normal with slightly delayed chondrocyte differentiation. Our findings thus demonstrate that augmented Ihh signaling is detrimental to craniofacial development, and that finely tuned Ihh signaling is critical for TMJ formation. Our results also provide additional evidence that the development of the condyle and articular disc is independent of the glenoid fossa.

Occipital cephalocele with neural crest remnants? Radiological and pathological findings in a newborn boy.

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Arishima, Hidetaka; Neishi, Hiroyuki; Kikuta, Ken-Ichiro

2016-06-01

A cephalocele is a congenital anomaly involving the herniation of intracranial tissue from a skull defect. The sac containing the central nervous system (CNS) with the ventricle system is called the encephalocystocele. An atretic cephalocele is thought to be an abortive form of cephalocele, and the essential nature is still controversial. Here, we report the case of a newborn boy with an occipital cephalocele containing a small cystic component which was composed of ependymal cells and the immature CNS tissue. A newborn boy was admitted to our hospital because of an occipital mass, which was about 2.5 cm in diameter, located at the posterior midline, and covered with alopetic skin without CSF leakage. He had a cleft palate. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) clearly showed an occipital cephalocele with a tiny cystic component connecting to the subarachnoid space. MRI also showed mild hydrocephalus, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum and tentorium cerebelli, dropping down of the bilateral occipital lobes and vermicular agenesis. We performed the extirpation of the subscalp module under general anesthesia and histologically examined the resected mass. On immunohistopathological examination, most part of the subscalp module was fibrous tissue with numerous vessels and meningeal origin cells. In a small part of the innermost layer, we found a small island consisting of CNS tissue and a tiny cyst lined with a single layer of ependymal cells. Based on radiological and immunohistopathological findings, we speculate that the cystic component at the base of the nodule seems to correspond to neural crest remnants but not to true herniation of the brain and cerebral ventricles.

Neural plasticity in hypocretin neurons: the basis of hypocretinergic regulation of physiological and behavioral functions in animals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao-Bing eGao

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The neuronal system that resides in the perifornical and lateral hypothalamus (Pf/LH and synthesizes the neuropeptide hypocretin/orexin participates in critical brain functions across species from fish to human. The hypocretin system regulates neural activity responsible for daily functions (such as sleep/wake homeostasis, energy balance, appetite, etc and long-term behavioral changes (such as reward seeking and addiction, stress response, etc in animals. The most recent evidence suggests that the hypocretin system undergoes substantial plastic changes in response to both daily fluctuations (such as food intake and sleep-wake regulation and long-term changes (such as cocaine seeking in neuronal activity in the brain. The understanding of these changes in the hypocretin system is essential in addressing the role of the hypocretin system in normal physiological functions and pathological conditions in animals and humans. In this review, the evidence demonstrating that neural plasticity occurs in hypocretin-containing neurons in the Pf/LH will be presented and possible physiological behavioral, and mental health implications of these findings will be discussed.

Neural plasticity in hypocretin neurons: the basis of hypocretinergic regulation of physiological and behavioral functions in animals

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xiao-Bing; Hermes, Gretchen

2015-01-01

The neuronal system that resides in the perifornical and lateral hypothalamus (Pf/LH) and synthesizes the neuropeptide hypocretin/orexin participates in critical brain functions across species from fish to human. The hypocretin system regulates neural activity responsible for daily functions (such as sleep/wake homeostasis, energy balance, appetite, etc.) and long-term behavioral changes (such as reward seeking and addiction, stress response, etc.) in animals. The most recent evidence suggests that the hypocretin system undergoes substantial plastic changes in response to both daily fluctuations (such as food intake and sleep-wake regulation) and long-term changes (such as cocaine seeking) in neuronal activity in the brain. The understanding of these changes in the hypocretin system is essential in addressing the role of the hypocretin system in normal physiological functions and pathological conditions in animals and humans. In this review, the evidence demonstrating that neural plasticity occurs in hypocretin-containing neurons in the Pf/LH will be presented and possible physiological, behavioral, and mental health implications of these findings will be discussed. PMID:26539086

Dynamics in a Delayed Neural Network Model of Two Neurons with Inertial Coupling

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Changjin Xu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A delayed neural network model of two neurons with inertial coupling is dealt with in this paper. The stability is investigated and Hopf bifurcation is demonstrated. Applying the normal form theory and the center manifold argument, we derive the explicit formulas for determining the properties of the bifurcating periodic solutions. An illustrative example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.

Neural stem cells improve neuronal survival in cultured postmortem brain tissue from aged and Alzheimer patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wu, L.; Sluiter, A.A.; Guo, Ho Fu; Balesar, R. A.; Swaab, D. F.; Zhou, Jiang Ning; Verwer, R. W H

Neurodegenerative diseases are progressive and incurable and are becoming ever more prevalent. To study whether neural stem cell can reactivate or rescue functions of impaired neurons in the human aging and neurodegenerating brain, we co-cultured postmortem slices from Alzheimer patients and control

Development and degeneration of dorsal root ganglia in the absence of the HMG-domain transcription factor Sox10

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenberg-Riethmacher, Eva; Miehe, Michaela; Stolt, Claus C.

2001-01-01

neurogenesis seemed initially normal. A degeneration of motoneurons and sensory neurons occurred later in development. The mechanism that leads to the dramatic effects on the neural crest derived cell lineages in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), however, has not been examined up to now. Here, we provide...... a detailed analysis of proliferation and apoptosis in the DRG during the time of their generation and lineage segregation (between E 9.5 and E 11.5). We show that both increased apoptosis as well as decreased proliferation of neural crest cells contribute to the observed hypomorphism....

Pax3 stimulates p53 ubiquitination and degradation independent of transcription.

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Xiao Dan Wang

Full Text Available Pax3 is a developmental transcription factor that is required for neural tube and neural crest development. We previously showed that inactivating the p53 tumor suppressor protein prevents neural tube and cardiac neural crest defects in Pax3-mutant mouse embryos. This demonstrates that Pax3 regulates these processes by blocking p53 function. Here we investigated the mechanism by which Pax3 blocks p53 function.We employed murine embryonic stem cell (ESC-derived neuronal precursors as a cell culture model of embryonic neuroepithelium or neural crest. Pax3 reduced p53 protein stability, but had no effect on p53 mRNA levels or the rate of p53 synthesis. Full length Pax3 as well as fragments that contained either the DNA-binding paired box or the homeodomain, expressed as GST or FLAG fusion proteins, physically associated with p53 and Mdm2 both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, Splotch Pax3, which causes neural tube and neural crest defects in homozygous embryos, bound weakly, or not at all, to p53 or Mdm2. The paired domain and homeodomain each stimulated Mdm2-mediated ubiquitination of p53 and p53 degradation in the absence of the Pax3 transcription regulatory domains, whereas Splotch Pax3 did not stimulate p53 ubiquitination or degradation.Pax3 inactivates p53 function by stimulating its ubiquitination and degradation. This process utilizes the Pax3 paired domain and homeodomain but is independent of DNA-binding and transcription regulation. Because inactivating p53 is the only required Pax3 function during neural tube closure and cardiac neural crest development, and inactivating p53 does not require Pax3-dependent transcription regulation, this indicates that Pax3 is not required to function as a transcription factor during neural tube closure and cardiac neural crest development. These findings further suggest novel explanations for PAX3 functions in human diseases, such as in neural crest-derived cancers and Waardenburg syndrome types 1 and 3.

Numerical Simulation of 3-D Wave Crests

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YU Dingyong; ZHANG Hanyuan

2003-01-01

A clear definition of 3-D wave crest and a description of the procedures to detect the boundary of wave crest are presented in the paper. By using random wave theory and directional wave spectrum, a MATLAB-platformed program is designed to simulate random wave crests for various directional spectral conditions in deep water. Statistics of wave crests with different directional spreading parameters and different directional functions are obtained and discussed.

Sagittal crest formation in great apes and gibbons.

Science.gov (United States)

Balolia, Katharine L; Soligo, Christophe; Wood, Bernard

2017-06-01

The frequency of sagittal crest expression and patterns of sagittal crest growth and development have been documented in hominoids, including some extinct hominin taxa, and the more frequent expression of the sagittal crest in males has been traditionally linked with the need for larger-bodied individuals to have enough attachment area for the temporalis muscle. In the present study, we investigate sagittal cresting in a dentally mature sample of four hominoid taxa (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus and Hylobates lar). We investigate whether sagittal crest size increases with age beyond dental maturity in males and females of G. g. gorilla and Po. pyg. pygmaeus, and whether these taxa show sex differences in the timing of sagittal crest development. We evaluate the hypothesis that the larger sagittal crest of males may not be solely due to the requirement for a larger surface area than the un-crested cranial vault can provide for the attachment of the temporalis muscle, and present data on sex differences in temporalis muscle attachment area and sagittal crest size relative to cranial size. Gorilla g. gorilla and Po. pyg. pygmaeus males show significant relationships between tooth wear rank and sagittal crest size, and they show sagittal crest size differences between age groups that are not found in females. The sagittal crest emerges in early adulthood in the majority of G. g. gorilla males, whereas the percentage of G. g. gorilla females possessing a sagittal crest increases more gradually. Pongo pyg. pygmaeus males experience a three-fold increase in the number of specimens exhibiting a sagittal crest in mid-adulthood, consistent with a secondary growth spurt. Gorilla g. gorilla and Po. pyg. pygmaeus show significant sex differences in the size of the temporalis muscle attachment area, relative to cranial size, with males of both taxa showing positive allometry not shown in females. Gorilla g

Fast and Efficient Asynchronous Neural Computation with Adapting Spiking Neural Networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D. Zambrano (Davide); S.M. Bohte (Sander)

2016-01-01

textabstractBiological neurons communicate with a sparing exchange of pulses - spikes. It is an open question how real spiking neurons produce the kind of powerful neural computation that is possible with deep artificial neural networks, using only so very few spikes to communicate. Building on

Electronic bypass of spinal lesions: activation of lower motor neurons directly driven by cortical neural signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan; Alam, Monzurul; Guo, Shanshan; Ting, K H; He, Jufang

2014-07-03

Lower motor neurons in the spinal cord lose supraspinal inputs after complete spinal cord injury, leading to a loss of volitional control below the injury site. Extensive locomotor training with spinal cord stimulation can restore locomotion function after spinal cord injury in humans and animals. However, this locomotion is non-voluntary, meaning that subjects cannot control stimulation via their natural "intent". A recent study demonstrated an advanced system that triggers a stimulator using forelimb stepping electromyographic patterns to restore quadrupedal walking in rats with spinal cord transection. However, this indirect source of "intent" may mean that other non-stepping forelimb activities may false-trigger the spinal stimulator and thus produce unwanted hindlimb movements. We hypothesized that there are distinguishable neural activities in the primary motor cortex during treadmill walking, even after low-thoracic spinal transection in adult guinea pigs. We developed an electronic spinal bridge, called "Motolink", which detects these neural patterns and triggers a "spinal" stimulator for hindlimb movement. This hardware can be head-mounted or carried in a backpack. Neural data were processed in real-time and transmitted to a computer for analysis by an embedded processor. Off-line neural spike analysis was conducted to calculate and preset the spike threshold for "Motolink" hardware. We identified correlated activities of primary motor cortex neurons during treadmill walking of guinea pigs with spinal cord transection. These neural activities were used to predict the kinematic states of the animals. The appropriate selection of spike threshold value enabled the "Motolink" system to detect the neural "intent" of walking, which triggered electrical stimulation of the spinal cord and induced stepping-like hindlimb movements. We present a direct cortical "intent"-driven electronic spinal bridge to restore hindlimb locomotion after complete spinal cord injury.

Discrimination of communication vocalizations by single neurons and groups of neurons in the auditory midbrain.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, David M; Woolley, Sarah M N

2010-06-01

Many social animals including songbirds use communication vocalizations for individual recognition. The perception of vocalizations depends on the encoding of complex sounds by neurons in the ascending auditory system, each of which is tuned to a particular subset of acoustic features. Here, we examined how well the responses of single auditory neurons could be used to discriminate among bird songs and we compared discriminability to spectrotemporal tuning. We then used biologically realistic models of pooled neural responses to test whether the responses of groups of neurons discriminated among songs better than the responses of single neurons and whether discrimination by groups of neurons was related to spectrotemporal tuning and trial-to-trial response variability. The responses of single auditory midbrain neurons could be used to discriminate among vocalizations with a wide range of abilities, ranging from chance to 100%. The ability to discriminate among songs using single neuron responses was not correlated with spectrotemporal tuning. Pooling the responses of pairs of neurons generally led to better discrimination than the average of the two inputs and the most discriminating input. Pooling the responses of three to five single neurons continued to improve neural discrimination. The increase in discriminability was largest for groups of neurons with similar spectrotemporal tuning. Further, we found that groups of neurons with correlated spike trains achieved the largest gains in discriminability. We simulated neurons with varying levels of temporal precision and measured the discriminability of responses from single simulated neurons and groups of simulated neurons. Simulated neurons with biologically observed levels of temporal precision benefited more from pooling correlated inputs than did neurons with highly precise or imprecise spike trains. These findings suggest that pooling correlated neural responses with the levels of precision observed in the

Differential neural representation of oral ethanol by central taste-sensitive neurons in ethanol-preferring and genetically heterogeneous rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemon, Christian H; Wilson, David M; Brasser, Susan M

2011-12-01

In randomly bred rats, orally applied ethanol stimulates neural substrates for appetitive sweet taste. To study associations between ethanol's oral sensory characteristics and genetically mediated ethanol preference, we made electrophysiological recordings of oral responses (spike density) by taste-sensitive nucleus tractus solitarii neurons in anesthetized selectively bred ethanol-preferring (P) rats and their genetically heterogeneous Wistar (W) control strain. Stimuli (25 total) included ethanol [3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 25%, and 40% (vol/vol)], a sucrose series (0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1 M), and other sweet, salt, acidic, and bitter stimuli; 50 P and 39 W neurons were sampled. k-means clustering applied to the sucrose response series identified cells showing high (S(1)) or relatively low (S(0)) sensitivity to sucrose. A three-way factorial analysis revealed that activity to ethanol was influenced by a neuron's sensitivity to sucrose, ethanol concentration, and rat line (P = 0.01). Ethanol produced concentration-dependent responses in S(1) neurons that were larger than those in S(0) cells. Although responses to ethanol by S(1) cells did not differ between lines, neuronal firing rates to ethanol in S(0) cells increased across concentration only in P rats. Correlation and multivariate analyses revealed that ethanol evoked responses in W neurons that were strongly and selectively associated with activity to sweet stimuli, whereas responses to ethanol by P neurons were not easily associated with activity to representative sweet, sodium salt, acidic, or bitter stimuli. These findings show differential central neural representation of oral ethanol between genetically heterogeneous rats and P rats genetically selected to prefer alcohol.

Delivery of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor by 3D Biocompatible Polymeric Scaffolds for Neural Tissue Engineering and Neuronal Regeneration

KAUST Repository

Limongi, Tania; Rocchi, A.; Cesca, F.; Tan, H.; Miele, E.; Giugni, Andrea; Orlando, M.; Perrone Donnorso, M.; Perozziello, G.; Benfenati, Fabio; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.

2018-01-01

Biopolymers are increasingly employed for neuroscience applications as scaffolds to drive and promote neural regrowth, thanks to their ability to mediate the upload and subsequent release of active molecules and drugs. Synthetic degradable polymers are characterized by different responses ranging from tunable distension or shrinkage to total dissolution, depending on the function they are designed for. In this paper we present a biocompatible microfabricated poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) scaffold for primary neuron growth and maturation that has been optimized for the in vitro controlled release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We demonstrate that the designed morphology confers to these devices an enhanced drug delivery capability with respect to monolithic unstructured supports. After incubation with BDNF, micropillared PCL devices progressively release the neurotrophin over 21 days in vitro. Moreover, the bioactivity of released BDNF is confirmed using primary neuronal cultures, where it mediates a consistent activation of BDNF signaling cascades, increased synaptic density, and neuronal survival. These results provide the proof-of-principle on the fabrication process of micropatterned PCL devices, which represent a promising therapeutic option to enhance neuronal regeneration after lesion and for neural tissue engineering and prosthetics.

Delivery of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor by 3D Biocompatible Polymeric Scaffolds for Neural Tissue Engineering and Neuronal Regeneration

KAUST Repository

Limongi, Tania

2018-04-04

Biopolymers are increasingly employed for neuroscience applications as scaffolds to drive and promote neural regrowth, thanks to their ability to mediate the upload and subsequent release of active molecules and drugs. Synthetic degradable polymers are characterized by different responses ranging from tunable distension or shrinkage to total dissolution, depending on the function they are designed for. In this paper we present a biocompatible microfabricated poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) scaffold for primary neuron growth and maturation that has been optimized for the in vitro controlled release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We demonstrate that the designed morphology confers to these devices an enhanced drug delivery capability with respect to monolithic unstructured supports. After incubation with BDNF, micropillared PCL devices progressively release the neurotrophin over 21 days in vitro. Moreover, the bioactivity of released BDNF is confirmed using primary neuronal cultures, where it mediates a consistent activation of BDNF signaling cascades, increased synaptic density, and neuronal survival. These results provide the proof-of-principle on the fabrication process of micropatterned PCL devices, which represent a promising therapeutic option to enhance neuronal regeneration after lesion and for neural tissue engineering and prosthetics.

Transplantation of Xenopus laevis tissues to determine the ability of motor neurons to acquire a novel target.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen L Elliott

Full Text Available The evolutionary origin of novelties is a central problem in biology. At a cellular level this requires, for example, molecularly resolving how brainstem motor neurons change their innervation target from muscle fibers (branchial motor neurons to neural crest-derived ganglia (visceral motor neurons or ear-derived hair cells (inner ear and lateral line efferent neurons. Transplantation of various tissues into the path of motor neuron axons could determine the ability of any motor neuron to innervate a novel target. Several tissues that receive direct, indirect, or no motor innervation were transplanted into the path of different motor neuron populations in Xenopus laevis embryos. Ears, somites, hearts, and lungs were transplanted to the orbit, replacing the eye. Jaw and eye muscle were transplanted to the trunk, replacing a somite. Applications of lipophilic dyes and immunohistochemistry to reveal motor neuron axon terminals were used. The ear, but not somite-derived muscle, heart, or liver, received motor neuron axons via the oculomotor or trochlear nerves. Somite-derived muscle tissue was innervated, likely by the hypoglossal nerve, when replacing the ear. In contrast to our previous report on ear innervation by spinal motor neurons, none of the tissues (eye or jaw muscle was innervated when transplanted to the trunk. Taken together, these results suggest that there is some plasticity inherent to motor innervation, but not every motor neuron can become an efferent to any target that normally receives motor input. The only tissue among our samples that can be innervated by all motor neurons tested is the ear. We suggest some possible, testable molecular suggestions for this apparent uniqueness.

Resting-state hemodynamics are spatiotemporally coupled to synchronized and symmetric neural activity in excitatory neurons

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Ma, Ying; Shaik, Mohammed A.; Kozberg, Mariel G.; Portes, Jacob P.; Timerman, Dmitriy

2016-01-01

Brain hemodynamics serve as a proxy for neural activity in a range of noninvasive neuroimaging techniques including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In resting-state fMRI, hemodynamic fluctuations have been found to exhibit patterns of bilateral synchrony, with correlated regions inferred to have functional connectivity. However, the relationship between resting-state hemodynamics and underlying neural activity has not been well established, making the neural underpinnings of functional connectivity networks unclear. In this study, neural activity and hemodynamics were recorded simultaneously over the bilateral cortex of awake and anesthetized Thy1-GCaMP mice using wide-field optical mapping. Neural activity was visualized via selective expression of the calcium-sensitive fluorophore GCaMP in layer 2/3 and 5 excitatory neurons. Characteristic patterns of resting-state hemodynamics were accompanied by more rapidly changing bilateral patterns of resting-state neural activity. Spatiotemporal hemodynamics could be modeled by convolving this neural activity with hemodynamic response functions derived through both deconvolution and gamma-variate fitting. Simultaneous imaging and electrophysiology confirmed that Thy1-GCaMP signals are well-predicted by multiunit activity. Neurovascular coupling between resting-state neural activity and hemodynamics was robust and fast in awake animals, whereas coupling in urethane-anesthetized animals was slower, and in some cases included lower-frequency (resting-state hemodynamics in the awake and anesthetized brain are coupled to underlying patterns of excitatory neural activity. The patterns of bilaterally-symmetric spontaneous neural activity revealed by wide-field Thy1-GCaMP imaging may depict the neural foundation of functional connectivity networks detected in resting-state fMRI. PMID:27974609

Spiking Neural P Systems with Communication on Request.

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Pan, Linqiang; Păun, Gheorghe; Zhang, Gexiang; Neri, Ferrante

2017-12-01

Spiking Neural [Formula: see text] Systems are Neural System models characterized by the fact that each neuron mimics a biological cell and the communication between neurons is based on spikes. In the Spiking Neural [Formula: see text] systems investigated so far, the application of evolution rules depends on the contents of a neuron (checked by means of a regular expression). In these [Formula: see text] systems, a specified number of spikes are consumed and a specified number of spikes are produced, and then sent to each of the neurons linked by a synapse to the evolving neuron. [Formula: see text]In the present work, a novel communication strategy among neurons of Spiking Neural [Formula: see text] Systems is proposed. In the resulting models, called Spiking Neural [Formula: see text] Systems with Communication on Request, the spikes are requested from neighboring neurons, depending on the contents of the neuron (still checked by means of a regular expression). Unlike the traditional Spiking Neural [Formula: see text] systems, no spikes are consumed or created: the spikes are only moved along synapses and replicated (when two or more neurons request the contents of the same neuron). [Formula: see text]The Spiking Neural [Formula: see text] Systems with Communication on Request are proved to be computationally universal, that is, equivalent with Turing machines as long as two types of spikes are used. Following this work, further research questions are listed to be open problems.

Cognitive phase transitions in the cerebral cortex enhancing the neuron doctrine by modeling neural fields

CERN Document Server

Kozma, Robert

2016-01-01

This intriguing book was born out of the many discussions the authors had in the past 10 years about the role of scale-free structure and dynamics in producing intelligent behavior in brains. The microscopic dynamics of neural networks is well described by the prevailing paradigm based in a narrow interpretation of the neuron doctrine. This book broadens the doctrine by incorporating the dynamics of neural fields, as first revealed by modeling with differential equations (K-sets).  The book broadens that approach by application of random graph theory (neuropercolation). The book concludes with diverse commentaries that exemplify the wide range of mathematical/conceptual approaches to neural fields. This book is intended for researchers, postdocs, and graduate students, who see the limitations of network theory and seek a beachhead from which to embark on mesoscopic and macroscopic neurodynamics.

Transplanted Dental Pulp Stem Cells Migrate to Injured Area and Express Neural Markers in a Rat Model of Cerebral Ischemia.

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Zhang, Xuemei; Zhou, Yinglian; Li, Hulun; Wang, Rui; Yang, Dan; Li, Bing; Cao, Xiaofang; Fu, Jin

2018-01-01

Ischemic stroke is a major cause of disability and mortality worldwide, while effective restorative treatments are limited at present. Stem cell transplantation holds therapeutic potential for ischemic vascular diseases and may provide an opportunity for neural regeneration. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) origin from neural crest and have neuro-ectodermal features including proliferation and multilineage differentiation potentials. The rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was used to evaluate whether intravenous administration of DPSCs can reduce infarct size and to estimate the migration and trans-differentiation into neuron-like cells in focal cerebral ischemia models. Brain tissues were collected at 4 weeks following cell transplantation and analyzed with immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. Intravenously administration of rat-derived DPSCs were found to migrate into the boundary of ischemic areas and expressed neural specific markers, reducing infarct volume and cerebral edema. These results suggest that DPSCs treatment may serve as a potential therapy for clinical stroke patients in the future. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Spiking Neurons for Analysis of Patterns

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Huntsberger, Terrance

2008-01-01

Artificial neural networks comprising spiking neurons of a novel type have been conceived as improved pattern-analysis and pattern-recognition computational systems. These neurons are represented by a mathematical model denoted the state-variable model (SVM), which among other things, exploits a computational parallelism inherent in spiking-neuron geometry. Networks of SVM neurons offer advantages of speed and computational efficiency, relative to traditional artificial neural networks. The SVM also overcomes some of the limitations of prior spiking-neuron models. There are numerous potential pattern-recognition, tracking, and data-reduction (data preprocessing) applications for these SVM neural networks on Earth and in exploration of remote planets. Spiking neurons imitate biological neurons more closely than do the neurons of traditional artificial neural networks. A spiking neuron includes a central cell body (soma) surrounded by a tree-like interconnection network (dendrites). Spiking neurons are so named because they generate trains of output pulses (spikes) in response to inputs received from sensors or from other neurons. They gain their speed advantage over traditional neural networks by using the timing of individual spikes for computation, whereas traditional artificial neurons use averages of activity levels over time. Moreover, spiking neurons use the delays inherent in dendritic processing in order to efficiently encode the information content of incoming signals. Because traditional artificial neurons fail to capture this encoding, they have less processing capability, and so it is necessary to use more gates when implementing traditional artificial neurons in electronic circuitry. Such higher-order functions as dynamic tasking are effected by use of pools (collections) of spiking neurons interconnected by spike-transmitting fibers. The SVM includes adaptive thresholds and submodels of transport of ions (in imitation of such transport in biological

Sequentially firing neurons confer flexible timing in neural pattern generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urban, Alexander; Ermentrout, Bard

2011-01-01

Neuronal networks exhibit a variety of complex spatiotemporal patterns that include sequential activity, synchrony, and wavelike dynamics. Inhibition is the primary means through which such patterns are implemented. This behavior is dependent on both the intrinsic dynamics of the individual neurons as well as the connectivity patterns. Many neural circuits consist of networks of smaller subcircuits (motifs) that are coupled together to form the larger system. In this paper, we consider a particularly simple motif, comprising purely inhibitory interactions, which generates sequential periodic dynamics. We first describe the dynamics of the single motif both for general balanced coupling (all cells receive the same number and strength of inputs) and then for a specific class of balanced networks: circulant systems. We couple these motifs together to form larger networks. We use the theory of weak coupling to derive phase models which, themselves, have a certain structure and symmetry. We show that this structure endows the coupled system with the ability to produce arbitrary timing relationships between symmetrically coupled motifs and that the phase relationships are robust over a wide range of frequencies. The theory is applicable to many other systems in biology and physics.

Multivalent binding of PWWP2A to H2A.Z regulates mitosis and neural crest differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pünzeler, Sebastian; Link, Stephanie; Wagner, Gabriele; Keilhauer, Eva C; Kronbeck, Nina; Spitzer, Ramona Mm; Leidescher, Susanne; Markaki, Yolanda; Mentele, Edith; Regnard, Catherine; Schneider, Katrin; Takahashi, Daisuke; Kusakabe, Masayuki; Vardabasso, Chiara; Zink, Lisa M; Straub, Tobias; Bernstein, Emily; Harata, Masahiko; Leonhardt, Heinrich; Mann, Matthias; Rupp, Ralph Aw; Hake, Sandra B

2017-08-01

Replacement of canonical histones with specialized histone variants promotes altering of chromatin structure and function. The essential histone variant H2A.Z affects various DNA-based processes via poorly understood mechanisms. Here, we determine the comprehensive interactome of H2A.Z and identify PWWP2A as a novel H2A.Z-nucleosome binder. PWWP2A is a functionally uncharacterized, vertebrate-specific protein that binds very tightly to chromatin through a concerted multivalent binding mode. Two internal protein regions mediate H2A.Z-specificity and nucleosome interaction, whereas the PWWP domain exhibits direct DNA binding. Genome-wide mapping reveals that PWWP2A binds selectively to H2A.Z-containing nucleosomes with strong preference for promoters of highly transcribed genes. In human cells, its depletion affects gene expression and impairs proliferation via a mitotic delay. While PWWP2A does not influence H2A.Z occupancy, the C-terminal tail of H2A.Z is one important mediator to recruit PWWP2A to chromatin. Knockdown of PWWP2A in Xenopus results in severe cranial facial defects, arising from neural crest cell differentiation and migration problems. Thus, PWWP2A is a novel H2A.Z-specific multivalent chromatin binder providing a surprising link between H2A.Z, chromosome segregation, and organ development. © 2017 The Authors.

Whistler wave trapping in a density crest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugai, H.; Niki, H.; Inutake, M.; Takeda, S.

1979-11-01

The linear trapping process of whistler waves in a field-aligned density crest is investigated theoretically and experimentally below ω = ωsub(c)/2 (half gyrofrequency). The conditions of the crest trapping are derived in terms of the frequency ω/ωsub(c), the incident wave-normal angle theta sub(i), and the density ratio n sub(i)/n sub(o), where n sub(i) and n sub(o) denote the density at the incident point and that at the ridge, respectively. The oscillation length of the trapped ray path is calculated for a parabolic density profile. The experiment on antenna-excited whistler wave has been performed in a large magnetized plasma with the density crest. The phase and amplitude profile of the whistler wave is measured along and across the crest. The measurement has verified characteristic behaviors of the crest trapping. (author)

Sagittal crest formation in great apes and gibbons

OpenAIRE

Balolia, K. L.; Soligo, C.; Wood, B.

2017-01-01

The frequency of sagittal crest expression and patterns of sagittal crest growth and development have been documented in hominoids, including some extinct hominin taxa, and the more frequent expression of the sagittal crest in males has been traditionally linked with the need for larger-bodied individuals to have enough attachment area for the temporalis muscle. In the present study, we investigate sagittal cresting in a dentally mature sample of four hominoid taxa (Pan troglodytes schweinfur...

A voltage-sensitive dye-based assay for the identification of differentiated neurons derived from embryonic neural stem cell cultures.

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Richardson N Leão

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pluripotent and multipotent stem cells hold great therapeutical promise for the replacement of degenerated tissue in neurological diseases. To fulfill that promise we have to understand the mechanisms underlying the differentiation of multipotent cells into specific types of neurons. Embryonic stem cell (ESC and embryonic neural stem cell (NSC cultures provide a valuable tool to study the processes of neural differentiation, which can be assessed using immunohistochemistry, gene expression, Ca(2+-imaging or electrophysiology. However, indirect methods such as protein and gene analysis cannot provide direct evidence of neuronal functionality. In contrast, direct methods such as electrophysiological techniques are well suited to produce direct evidence of neural functionality but are limited to the study of a few cells on a culture plate. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study we describe a novel method for the detection of action potential-capable neurons differentiated from embryonic NSC cultures using fast voltage-sensitive dyes (VSD. We found that the use of extracellularly applied VSD resulted in a more detailed labeling of cellular processes compared to calcium indicators. In addition, VSD changes in fluorescence translated precisely to action potential kinetics as assessed by the injection of simulated slow and fast sodium currents using the dynamic clamp technique. We further demonstrate the use of a finite element model of the NSC culture cover slip for optimizing electrical stimulation parameters. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our method allows for a repeatable fast and accurate stimulation of neurons derived from stem cell cultures to assess their differentiation state, which is capable of monitoring large amounts of cells without harming the overall culture.

Successful in vitro expansion and Characterization of Human Enteric Neuronal cells- A step towards Cell based therapies for Hirschsprung’s disease

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Balamurugan M

2010-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Enteric Nervous system (ENS is a part of the Peripheral nervous system (PNS that controls the peristaltic activity of the gut wall which is essential for propulsion of food in the digestive tract. It is composed of a large number of neurons and glial cells, distributed throughout the length of the gut. These ganglion cells develop from the neural crest in the embryo. Failure of complete colonization of the gut by these enteric neural crest cells during early development of life results in absence of ganglia or neurons in a portion of the gut, usually the colon which leads to aperistaltis and severe intestinal obstruction. This is known as Hirschsprung’s disease (HSCR also known as congenital megacolon. HSCR affects 1 in 4500 newborns (1, 2. It appears either sporadically or has a familial basis and is often associated with other developmental defects. The main forms of treatment of HSCR are surgical resection of the aganglionic segment and pull through of the normal bowel. At present research is aimed at developing Cell based therapies for replacement of ganglion cells or enteric neuronal cells in the aganglionic portion of the gut thus aiming at restoring the function of the gut (1, 3, 5. In this study we have isolated, in vitro expanded and characterized the Enteric Neuronal cells derived from human gut full thickness biopsy samplesMATERIALS AND METHODS: The postnatal gut full thickness biopsy samples of size 2-4 mm were obtained using from 13 patients undergoing gut resection surgery after informed consent. The samples were washed in Phosphate Buffer saline and using forceps, the outer smooth muscle layers along with the myenteric plexus were peeled off from the underlying tissue as strips. The strips were washed in Phosphate Buffer saline (PBS and treated with 1mg/ml Collagenase/Dispase mixture in PBS for 30-45 min at 37°C. The digested cells were filtered with 70µm filter and the cell suspensions were centrifuged at 1800

Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Enhance Neuronal Differentiation in Cultured Rat Neural Stem Cells

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Masanori Katakura

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs can induce neurogenesis and recovery from brain diseases. However, the exact mechanisms of the beneficial effects of PUFAs have not been conclusively described. We recently reported that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA induced neuronal differentiation by decreasing Hes1 expression and increasing p27kip1 expression, which causes cell cycle arrest in neural stem cells (NSCs. In the present study, we examined the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA and arachidonic acid (AA on differentiation, expression of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors (Hes1, Hes6, and NeuroD, and the cell cycle of cultured NSCs. EPA also increased mRNA levels of Hes1, an inhibitor of neuronal differentiation, Hes6, an inhibitor of Hes1, NeuroD, and Map2 mRNA and Tuj-1-positive cells (a neuronal marker, indicating that EPA induced neuronal differentiation. EPA increased the mRNA levels of p21cip1 and p27kip1, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, which indicated that EPA induced cell cycle arrest. Treatment with AA decreased Hes1 mRNA but did not affect NeuroD and Map2 mRNA levels. Furthermore, AA did not affect the number of Tuj-1-positive cells or cell cycle progression. These results indicated that EPA could be involved in neuronal differentiation by mechanisms alternative to those of DHA, whereas AA did not affect neuronal differentiation in NSCs.

Ferulic acid promotes survival and differentiation of neural stem cells to prevent gentamicin-induced neuronal hearing loss.

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Gu, Lintao; Cui, Xinhua; Wei, Wei; Yang, Jia; Li, Xuezhong

2017-11-15

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have exhibited promising potential in therapies against neuronal hearing loss. Ferulic acid (FA) has been widely reported to enhance neurogenic differentiation of different stem cells. We investigated the role of FA in promoting NSC transplant therapy to prevent gentamicin-induced neuronal hearing loss. NSCs were isolated from mouse cochlear tissues to establish in vitro culture, which were then treated with FA. The survival and differentiation of NSCs were evaluated. Subsequently, neurite outgrowth and excitability of the in vitro neuronal network were assessed. Gentamicin was used to induce neuronal hearing loss in mice, in the presence and absence of FA, followed by assessments of auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion product optoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) amplitude. FA promoted survival, neurosphere formation and differentiation of NSCs, as well as neurite outgrowth and excitability of in vitro neuronal network. Furthermore, FA restored ABR threshold shifts and DPOAE in gentamicin-induced neuronal hearing loss mouse model in vivo. Our data, for the first time, support potential therapeutic efficacy of FA in promoting survival and differentiation of NSCs to prevent gentamicin-induced neuronal hearing loss. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) Inhibitors - emerging roles in neuronal memory, learning, synaptic plasticity and neural regeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganai, Shabir Ahmad; Ramadoss, Mahalakshmi; Mahadevan, Vijayalakshmi

2016-01-01

Epigenetic regulation of neuronal signalling through histone acetylation dictates transcription programs that govern neuronal memory, plasticity and learning paradigms. Histone Acetyl Transferases (HATs) and Histone Deacetylases (HDACs) are antagonistic enzymes that regulate gene expression through acetylation and deacetylation of histone proteins around which DNA is wrapped inside a eukaryotic cell nucleus. The epigenetic control of HDACs and the cellular imbalance between HATs and HDACs dictate disease states and have been implicated in muscular dystrophy, loss of memory, neurodegeneration and autistic disorders. Altering gene expression profiles through inhibition of HDACs is now emerging as a powerful technique in therapy. This review presents evolving applications of HDAC inhibitors as potential drugs in neurological research and therapy. Mechanisms that govern their expression profiles in neuronal signalling, plasticity and learning will be covered. Promising and exciting possibilities of HDAC inhibitors in memory formation, fear conditioning, ischemic stroke and neural regeneration have been detailed.

Phospholipase D1 increases Bcl-2 expression during neuronal differentiation of rat neural stem cells.

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Park, Shin-Young; Ma, Weina; Yoon, Sung Nyo; Kang, Min Jeong; Han, Joong-Soo

2015-01-01

We studied the possible role of phospholipase D1 (PLD1) in the neuronal differentiation, including neurite formation of neural stem cells. PLD1 protein and PLD activity increased during neuronal differentiation. Bcl-2 also increased. Downregulation of PLD1 by transfection with PLD1 siRNA or a dominant-negative form of PLD1 (DN-PLD1) inhibited both neurite outgrowth and Bcl-2 expression. PLD activity was dramatically reduced by a PLCγ (phospholipase Cγ) inhibitor (U73122), a Ca(2+)chelator (BAPTA-AM), and a PKCα (protein kinase Cα) inhibitor (RO320432). Furthermore, treatment with arachidonic acid (AA) which is generated by the action of PLA2 (phospholipase A2) on phosphatidic acid (a PLD1 product), increased the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and CREB, as well as Bcl-2 expression, indicating that PLA2 is involved in the differentiation process resulting from PLD1 activation. PGE2 (prostaglandin E2), a cyclooxygenase product of AA, also increased during neuronal differentiation. Moreover, treatment with PGE2 increased the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and CREB, as well as Bcl-2 expression, and this effect was inhibited by a PKA inhibitor (Rp-cAMP). As expected, inhibition of p38 MAPK resulted in loss of CREB activity, and when CREB activity was blocked with CREB siRNA, Bcl-2 production also decreased. We also showed that the EP4 receptor was required for the PKA/p38MAPK/CREB/Bcl-2 pathway. Taken together, these observations indicate that PLD1 is activated by PLCγ/PKCα signaling and stimulate Bcl-2 expression through PLA2/Cox2/EP4/PKA/p38MAPK/CREB during neuronal differentiation of rat neural stem cells.

Endogenous neural stem cells in central canal of adult rats acquired limited ability to differentiate into neurons following mild spinal cord injury

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuan; Tan, Botao; Wang, Li; Long, Zaiyun; Li, Yingyu; Liao, Weihong; Wu, Yamin

2015-01-01

Endogenous neural stem cells in central canal of adult mammalian spinal cord exhibit stem cell properties following injury. In the present study, the endogenous neural stem cells were labeled with Dil to track the differentiation of cells after mild spinal cord injury (SCI). Compared with 1 and 14 days post mild injury, the number of endogenous neural stem cells significantly increased at the injured site of spinal cord on 3 and 7 days post-injury. Dil-labeled βIII-tublin and GFAP expressing cells could be detected on 7 days post-injury, which indicated that the endogenous neural stem cells in central canal of spinal cord differentiated into different type of neural cells, but there were more differentiated astrocytes than the neurons after injury. Furthermore, after injury the expression of inhibitory Notch1 and Hes1 mRNA began to increase at 6 hours and was evident at 12 and 24 hours, which maintained high levels up to 7 days post-injury. These results indicated that a mild SCI in rat is sufficient to induce endogenous neural stem cells proliferation and differentiation. However, the ability to differentiate into neurons is limited, which may be, at least in part, due to high expression of inhibitory Notch1 and Hes1 genes after injury. PMID:26097566

Neuron selection based on deflection coefficient maximization for the neural decoding of dexterous finger movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yong-Hee; Thakor, Nitish V; Schieber, Marc H; Kim, Hyoung-Nam

2015-05-01

Future generations of brain-machine interface (BMI) will require more dexterous motion control such as hand and finger movements. Since a population of neurons in the primary motor cortex (M1) area is correlated with finger movements, neural activities recorded in M1 area are used to reconstruct an intended finger movement. In a BMI system, decoding discrete finger movements from a large number of input neurons does not guarantee a higher decoding accuracy in spite of the increase in computational burden. Hence, we hypothesize that selecting neurons important for coding dexterous flexion/extension of finger movements would improve the BMI performance. In this paper, two metrics are presented to quantitatively measure the importance of each neuron based on Bayes risk minimization and deflection coefficient maximization in a statistical decision problem. Since motor cortical neurons are active with movements of several different fingers, the proposed method is more suitable for a discrete decoding of flexion-extension finger movements than the previous methods for decoding reaching movements. In particular, the proposed metrics yielded high decoding accuracies across all subjects and also in the case of including six combined two-finger movements. While our data acquisition and analysis was done off-line and post processing, our results point to the significance of highly coding neurons in improving BMI performance.

Disruption of Smad4 in neural crest cells leads to mid-gestation death with pharyngeal arch, craniofacial and cardiac defects

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Xuguang; Deng, Chu-xia; Wang, Qin; Jiao, Kai

2008-01-01

TGFβ/BMP signaling pathways are essential for normal development of neural crest cells (NCCs). Smad4 encodes the only common Smad protein in mammals, which is a critical nuclear mediator of TGFβ/BMP signaling. In this work, we sought to investigate the roles of Smad4 for development of NCCs. To overcome the early embryonic lethality of Smad4 null mice, we specifically disrupted Smad4 in NCCs using a Cre/loxP system. The mutant mice died at mid-gestation with defects in facial primordia, pharyngeal arches, outflow tract and cardiac ventricles. Further examination revealed that mutant embryos displayed severe molecular defects starting from E9.5. Expression of multiple genes, including Msx1, 2, Ap-2α, Pax3, and Sox9, which play critical roles for NCC development, was downregulated by NCC disruption of Smad4. Moreover, increased cell death was observed in pharyngeal arches from E10.5. However, the cell proliferation rate in these areas was not substantially altered. Taken together, these findings provide compelling genetic evidence that Smad4-mediated activities of TGFβ/BMP signals are essential for appropriate NCC development. PMID:18334251

Introduction to Concepts in Artificial Neural Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Niebur, Dagmar

1995-01-01

This introduction to artificial neural networks summarizes some basic concepts of computational neuroscience and the resulting models of artificial neurons. The terminology of biological and artificial neurons, biological and machine learning and neural processing is introduced. The concepts of supervised and unsupervised learning are explained with examples from the power system area. Finally, a taxonomy of different types of neurons and different classes of artificial neural networks is presented.

The role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in neural cell adhesion molecule-mediated neuronal differentiation and survival

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ditlevsen, Dorte K; Køhler, Lene B; Pedersen, Martin Volmer

2003-01-01

The neural cell adhesion molecule, NCAM, is known to stimulate neurite outgrowth from primary neurones and PC12 cells presumably through signalling pathways involving the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC), the Ras-mitogen activated protein...... kinase (MAPK) pathway and an increase in intracellular Ca2+ levels. Stimulation of neurones with the synthetic NCAM-ligand, C3, induces neurite outgrowth through signalling pathways similar to the pathways activated through physiological, homophilic NCAM-stimulation. We present here data indicating...... that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is required for NCAM-mediated neurite outgrowth from PC12-E2 cells and from cerebellar and dopaminergic neurones in primary culture, and that the thr/ser kinase Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) is phosphorylated downstream of PI3K after stimulation with C3. Moreover, we present data...

Spiking Neural Networks with Unsupervised Learning Based on STDP Using Resistive Synaptic Devices and Analog CMOS Neuron Circuit.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Min-Woo; Baek, Myung-Hyun; Hwang, Sungmin; Kim, Sungjun; Park, Byung-Gook

2018-09-01

We designed the CMOS analog integrate and fire (I&F) neuron circuit can drive resistive synaptic device. The neuron circuit consists of a current mirror for spatial integration, a capacitor for temporal integration, asymmetric negative and positive pulse generation part, a refractory part, and finally a back-propagation pulse generation part for learning of the synaptic devices. The resistive synaptic devices were fabricated using HfOx switching layer by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The resistive synaptic device had gradual set and reset characteristics and the conductance was adjusted by spike-timing-dependent-plasticity (STDP) learning rule. We carried out circuit simulation of synaptic device and CMOS neuron circuit. And we have developed an unsupervised spiking neural networks (SNNs) for 5 × 5 pattern recognition and classification using the neuron circuit and synaptic devices. The hardware-based SNNs can autonomously and efficiently control the weight updates of the synapses between neurons, without the aid of software calculations.

Linear stability analysis of retrieval state in associative memory neural networks of spiking neurons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshioka, Masahiko

2002-01-01

We study associative memory neural networks of the Hodgkin-Huxley type of spiking neurons in which multiple periodic spatiotemporal patterns of spike timing are memorized as limit-cycle-type attractors. In encoding the spatiotemporal patterns, we assume the spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity with the asymmetric time window. Analysis for periodic solution of retrieval state reveals that if the area of the negative part of the time window is equivalent to the positive part, then crosstalk among encoded patterns vanishes. Phase transition due to the loss of the stability of periodic solution is observed when we assume fast α function for direct interaction among neurons. In order to evaluate the critical point of this phase transition, we employ Floquet theory in which the stability problem of the infinite number of spiking neurons interacting with α function is reduced to the eigenvalue problem with the finite size of matrix. Numerical integration of the single-body dynamics yields the explicit value of the matrix, which enables us to determine the critical point of the phase transition with a high degree of precision

Integration of donor mesenchymal stem cell-derived neuron-like cells into host neural network after rat spinal cord transection.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Xiang; Qiu, Xue-Cheng; Ma, Yuan-Huan; Duan, Jing-Jing; Chen, Yuan-Feng; Gu, Huai-Yu; Wang, Jun-Mei; Ling, Eng-Ang; Wu, Jin-Lang; Wu, Wutian; Zeng, Yuan-Shan

2015-06-01

Functional deficits following spinal cord injury (SCI) primarily attribute to loss of neural connectivity. We therefore tested if novel tissue engineering approaches could enable neural network repair that facilitates functional recovery after spinal cord transection (SCT). Rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), genetically engineered to overexpress TrkC, receptor of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), were pre-differentiated into cells carrying neuronal features via co-culture with NT-3 overproducing Schwann cells in 3-dimensional gelatin sponge (GS) scaffold for 14 days in vitro. Intra-GS formation of MSC assemblies emulating neural network (MSC-GS) were verified morphologically via electron microscopy (EM) and functionally by whole-cell patch clamp recording of spontaneous post-synaptic currents. The differentiated MSCs still partially maintained prototypic property with the expression of some mesodermal cytokines. MSC-GS or GS was then grafted acutely into a 2 mm-wide transection gap in the T9-T10 spinal cord segments of adult rats. Eight weeks later, hindlimb function of the MSC-GS-treated SCT rats was significantly improved relative to controls receiving the GS or lesion only as indicated by BBB score. The MSC-GS transplantation also significantly recovered cortical motor evoked potential (CMEP). Histologically, MSC-derived neuron-like cells maintained their synapse-like structures in vivo; they additionally formed similar connections with host neurites (i.e., mostly serotonergic fibers plus a few corticospinal axons; validated by double-labeled immuno-EM). Moreover, motor cortex electrical stimulation triggered c-fos expression in the grafted and lumbar spinal cord cells of the treated rats only. Our data suggest that MSC-derived neuron-like cells resulting from NT-3-TrkC-induced differentiation can partially integrate into transected spinal cord and this strategy should be further investigated for reconstructing disrupted neural circuits. Copyright �

Augmented BMPRIA-mediated BMP signaling in cranial neural crest lineage leads to cleft palate formation and delayed tooth differentiation.

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Lu Li

Full Text Available The importance of BMP receptor Ia (BMPRIa mediated signaling in the development of craniofacial organs, including the tooth and palate, has been well illuminated in several mouse models of loss of function, and by its mutations associated with juvenile polyposis syndrome and facial defects in humans. In this study, we took a gain-of-function approach to further address the role of BMPR-IA-mediated signaling in the mesenchymal compartment during tooth and palate development. We generated transgenic mice expressing a constitutively active form of BmprIa (caBmprIa in cranial neural crest (CNC cells that contributes to the dental and palatal mesenchyme. Mice bearing enhanced BMPRIa-mediated signaling in CNC cells exhibit complete cleft palate and delayed odontogenic differentiation. We showed that the cleft palate defect in the transgenic animals is attributed to an altered cell proliferation rate in the anterior palatal mesenchyme and to the delayed palatal elevation in the posterior portion associated with ectopic cartilage formation. Despite enhanced activity of BMP signaling in the dental mesenchyme, tooth development and patterning in transgenic mice appeared normal except delayed odontogenic differentiation. These data support the hypothesis that a finely tuned level of BMPRIa-mediated signaling is essential for normal palate and tooth development.

Central neural pathways for thermoregulation

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Morrison, Shaun F.; Nakamura, Kazuhiro

2010-01-01

Central neural circuits orchestrate a homeostatic repertoire to maintain body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and to alter body temperature during the inflammatory response. This review summarizes the functional organization of the neural pathways through which cutaneous thermal receptors alter thermoregulatory effectors: the cutaneous circulation for heat loss, the brown adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and heart for thermogenesis and species-dependent mechanisms (sweating, panting and saliva spreading) for evaporative heat loss. These effectors are regulated by parallel but distinct, effector-specific neural pathways that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. The thermal afferent circuits include cutaneous thermal receptors, spinal dorsal horn neurons and lateral parabrachial nucleus neurons projecting to the preoptic area to influence warm-sensitive, inhibitory output neurons which control thermogenesis-promoting neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus that project to premotor neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla, including the raphe pallidus, that descend to provide the excitation necessary to drive thermogenic thermal effectors. A distinct population of warm-sensitive preoptic neurons controls heat loss through an inhibitory input to raphe pallidus neurons controlling cutaneous vasoconstriction. PMID:21196160

Attractor dynamics in local neuronal networks

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Jean-Philippe eThivierge

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Patterns of synaptic connectivity in various regions of the brain are characterized by the presence of synaptic motifs, defined as unidirectional and bidirectional synaptic contacts that follow a particular configuration and link together small groups of neurons. Recent computational work proposes that a relay network (two populations communicating via a third, relay population of neurons can generate precise patterns of neural synchronization. Here, we employ two distinct models of neuronal dynamics and show that simulated neural circuits designed in this way are caught in a global attractor of activity that prevents neurons from modulating their response on the basis of incoming stimuli. To circumvent the emergence of a fixed global attractor, we propose a mechanism of selective gain inhibition that promotes flexible responses to external stimuli. We suggest that local neuronal circuits may employ this mechanism to generate precise patterns of neural synchronization whose transient nature delimits the occurrence of a brief stimulus.

Differentiation-Dependent Energy Production and Metabolite Utilization: A Comparative Study on Neural Stem Cells, Neurons, and Astrocytes

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Jády, Attila Gy.; Nagy, Ádám M.; Kőhidi, Tímea; Ferenczi, Szilamér; Tretter, László

2016-01-01

While it is evident that the metabolic machinery of stem cells should be fairly different from that of differentiated neurons, the basic energy production pathways in neural stem cells (NSCs) or in neurons are far from clear. Using the model of in vitro neuron production by NE-4C NSCs, this study focused on the metabolic changes taking place during the in vitro neuronal differentiation. O2 consumption, H+ production, and metabolic responses to single metabolites were measured in cultures of NSCs and in their neuronal derivatives, as well as in primary neuronal and astroglial cultures. In metabolite-free solutions, NSCs consumed little O2 and displayed a higher level of mitochondrial proton leak than neurons. In stem cells, glycolysis was the main source of energy for the survival of a 2.5-h period of metabolite deprivation. In contrast, stem cell-derived or primary neurons sustained a high-level oxidative phosphorylation during metabolite deprivation, indicating the consumption of own cellular material for energy production. The stem cells increased O2 consumption and mitochondrial ATP production in response to single metabolites (with the exception of glucose), showing rapid adaptation of the metabolic machinery to the available resources. In contrast, single metabolites did not increase the O2 consumption of neurons or astrocytes. In “starving” neurons, neither lactate nor pyruvate was utilized for mitochondrial ATP production. Gene expression studies also suggested that aerobic glycolysis and rapid metabolic adaptation characterize the NE-4C NSCs, while autophagy and alternative glucose utilization play important roles in the metabolism of stem cell-derived neurons. PMID:27116891

Wnt1 from cochlear schwann cells enhances neuronal differentiation of transplanted neural stem cells in a rat spiral ganglion neuron degeneration model.

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He, Ya; Zhang, Peng-Zhi; Sun, Dong; Mi, Wen-Juan; Zhang, Xin-Yi; Cui, Yong; Jiang, Xing-Wang; Mao, Xiao-Bo; Qiu, Jian-Hua

2014-04-01

Although neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation is widely expected to become a therapy for nervous system degenerative diseases and injuries, the low neuronal differentiation rate of NSCs transplanted into the inner ear is a major obstacle for the successful treatment of spiral ganglion neuron (SGN) degeneration. In this study, we validated whether the local microenvironment influences the neuronal differentiation of transplanted NSCs in the inner ear. Using a rat SGN degeneration model, we demonstrated that transplanted NSCs were more likely to differentiate into microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2)-positive neurons in SGN-degenerated cochleae than in control cochleae. Using real-time quantitative PCR and an immunofluorescence assay, we also proved that the expression of Wnt1 (a ligand of Wnt signaling) increases significantly in Schwann cells in the SGN-degenerated cochlea. We further verified that NSC cultures express receptors and signaling components for Wnts. Based on these expression patterns, we hypothesized that Schwann cell-derived Wnt1 and Wnt signaling might be involved in the regulation of the neuronal differentiation of transplanted NSCs. We verified our hypothesis in vitro using a coculture system. We transduced a lentiviral vector expressing Wnt1 into cochlear Schwann cell cultures and cocultured them with NSC cultures. The coculture with Wnt1-expressing Schwann cells resulted in a significant increase in the percentage of NSCs that differentiated into MAP2-positive neurons, whereas this differentiation-enhancing effect was prevented by Dkk1 (an inhibitor of the Wnt signaling pathway). These results suggested that Wnt1 derived from cochlear Schwann cells enhanced the neuronal differentiation of transplanted NSCs through Wnt signaling pathway activation. Alterations of the microenvironment deserve detailed investigation because they may help us to conceive effective strategies to overcome the barrier of the low differentiation rate of transplanted

The low-affinity neurotrophin receptor, p75, is upregulated in ganglioneuroblastoma/ganglioneuroma and reduces tumorigenicity of neuroblastoma cells in vivo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schulte, Johannes H.; Pentek, Falk; Hartmann, Wolfgang; Schramm, Alexander; Friedrichs, Nicolaus; Ora, Ingrid; Koster, Jan; Versteeg, Rogier; Kirfel, Jutta; Buettner, Reinhard; Eggert, Angelika

2009-01-01

Neuroblastoma, the most common extracranial tumor of childhood, is derived from neural crest progenitor cells that fail to differentiate along their predefined route to sympathetic neurons or sympatho-adrenergic adrenal cells. Although expression of the high-affinity neurotrophin receptors, TrkA and

Overflow Characteristic of Cylindrical Shape Crest Weirs Over Horizontal Bed

OpenAIRE

Emad4 AbdulGabbar

2013-01-01

The most common types of weirs are the broad-crested weir, the sharp-crested weir, the circular crested weir and the ogee crested weir. Advantages of the cylindrical weir shape include the stable overflow pattern, the ease to pass floating debris, the simplicity of design compared to ogee crest design and the associated lower costs. In present study, it was investigated the overflow characteristics of circular weirs in laboratory for various cylinder radii of three sizes (11.4, 9.0, 6.3 cm), ...

Taurine Protected Against the Impairments of Neural Stem Cell Differentiated Neurons Induced by Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation.

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Xiao, Bo; Liu, Huazhen; Gu, Zeyun; Liu, Sining; Ji, Cheng

2015-11-01

Cell transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) is a promising approach for neurological recovery both structurally and functionally. However, one big obstacle is to promote differentiation of NSCs into neurons and the followed maturation. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of taurine on the differentiation of NSCs and subsequent maturation of their neuronal lineage, when exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). The results suggested that taurine (5-20 mM) promoted the viability and proliferation of NSCs, and it protected against 8 h of OGD induced impairments. Furthermore, 20 mM taurine promoted NSCs to differentiate into neurons after 7 days of culture, and it also protected against the suppressive impairments of 8 h of OGD. Consistently, taurine (20 mM) promoted the neurite sprouting and outgrowth of the NSC differentiated neurons after 14 days of differentiation, which were significantly inhibited by OGD (8 h). At D21, the mushroom spines and spine density were promoted or restored by 20 mM taurine. Taken together, the enhanced viability and proliferation of NSCs, more differentiated neurons and the promoted maturation of neurons by 20 mM taurine support its therapeutic application during stem cell therapy to enhance neurological recovery. Moreover, it protected against the impairments induced by OGD, which may highlight its role for a more direct therapeutic application especially in an ischemic stroke environment.

Implications of the dependence of neuronal activity on neural network states for the design of brain-machine interfaces

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Stefano ePanzeri

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs can improve the quality of life of patients with sensory and motor disabilities by both decoding motor intentions expressed by neural activity, and by encoding artificially sensed information into patterns of neural activity elicited by causal interventions on the neural tissue. Yet, current BMIs can exchange relatively small amounts of information with the brain. This problem has proved difficult to overcome by simply increasing the number of recording or stimulating electrodes, because trial-to-trial variability of neural activity partly arises from intrinsic factors (collectively known as the network state that include ongoing spontaneous activity and neuromodulation, and so is shared among neurons. Here we review recent progress in characterizing the state dependence of neural responses, and in particular of how neural responses depend on endogenous slow fluctuations of network excitability. We then elaborate on how this knowledge may be used to increase the amount of information that BMIs exchange with brains. Knowledge of network state can be used to fine-tune the stimulation pattern that should reliably elicit a target neural response used to encode information in the brain, and to discount part of the trial-by-trial variability of neural responses, so that they can be decoded more accurately.

CREST--classification resources for environmental sequence tags.

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Anders Lanzén

Full Text Available Sequencing of taxonomic or phylogenetic markers is becoming a fast and efficient method for studying environmental microbial communities. This has resulted in a steadily growing collection of marker sequences, most notably of the small-subunit (SSU ribosomal RNA gene, and an increased understanding of microbial phylogeny, diversity and community composition patterns. However, to utilize these large datasets together with new sequencing technologies, a reliable and flexible system for taxonomic classification is critical. We developed CREST (Classification Resources for Environmental Sequence Tags, a set of resources and tools for generating and utilizing custom taxonomies and reference datasets for classification of environmental sequences. CREST uses an alignment-based classification method with the lowest common ancestor algorithm. It also uses explicit rank similarity criteria to reduce false positives and identify novel taxa. We implemented this method in a web server, a command line tool and the graphical user interfaced program MEGAN. Further, we provide the SSU rRNA reference database and taxonomy SilvaMod, derived from the publicly available SILVA SSURef, for classification of sequences from bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. Using cross-validation and environmental datasets, we compared the performance of CREST and SilvaMod to the RDP Classifier. We also utilized Greengenes as a reference database, both with CREST and the RDP Classifier. These analyses indicate that CREST performs better than alignment-free methods with higher recall rate (sensitivity as well as precision, and with the ability to accurately identify most sequences from novel taxa. Classification using SilvaMod performed better than with Greengenes, particularly when applied to environmental sequences. CREST is freely available under a GNU General Public License (v3 from http://apps.cbu.uib.no/crest and http://lcaclassifier.googlecode.com.

BigNeuron: Large-scale 3D Neuron Reconstruction from Optical Microscopy Images

OpenAIRE

Peng, Hanchuan; Hawrylycz, Michael; Roskams, Jane; Hill, Sean; Spruston, Nelson; Meijering, Erik; Ascoli, Giorgio A.

2015-01-01

textabstractUnderstanding the structure of single neurons is critical for understanding how they function within neural circuits. BigNeuron is a new community effort that combines modern bioimaging informatics, recent leaps in labeling and microscopy, and the widely recognized need for openness and standardization to provide a community resource for automated reconstruction of dendritic and axonal morphology of single neurons. Understanding the structure of single neurons is critical for unde...

Central auditory neurons have composite receptive fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozlov, Andrei S; Gentner, Timothy Q

2016-02-02

High-level neurons processing complex, behaviorally relevant signals are sensitive to conjunctions of features. Characterizing the receptive fields of such neurons is difficult with standard statistical tools, however, and the principles governing their organization remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate multiple distinct receptive-field features in individual high-level auditory neurons in a songbird, European starling, in response to natural vocal signals (songs). We then show that receptive fields with similar characteristics can be reproduced by an unsupervised neural network trained to represent starling songs with a single learning rule that enforces sparseness and divisive normalization. We conclude that central auditory neurons have composite receptive fields that can arise through a combination of sparseness and normalization in neural circuits. Our results, along with descriptions of random, discontinuous receptive fields in the central olfactory neurons in mammals and insects, suggest general principles of neural computation across sensory systems and animal classes.

Induction of apoptotic death and retardation of neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells by sodium arsenite treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanov, Vladimir N., E-mail: vni3@columbia.edu [Center for Radiological Research, Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, NY 10032 (United States); Hei, Tom K. [Center for Radiological Research, Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, NY 10032 (United States)

2013-04-01

Chronic arsenic toxicity is a global health problem that affects more than 100 million people worldwide. Long-term health effects of inorganic sodium arsenite in drinking water may result in skin, lung and liver cancers and in severe neurological abnormalities. We investigated in the present study whether sodium arsenite affects signaling pathways that control cell survival, proliferation and neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells (NSC). We demonstrated that the critical signaling pathway, which was suppressed by sodium arsenite in NSC, was the protective PI3K–AKT pathway. Sodium arsenite (2–4 μM) also caused down-regulation of Nanog, one of the key transcription factors that control pluripotency and self-renewal of stem cells. Mitochondrial damage and cytochrome-c release induced by sodium arsenite exposure was followed by initiation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in NSC. Beside caspase-9 and caspase-3 inhibitors, suppression of JNK activity decreased levels of arsenite-induced apoptosis in NSC. Neuronal differentiation of NSC was substantially inhibited by sodium arsenite exposure. Overactivation of JNK1 and ERK1/2 and down-regulation of PI3K–AKT activity induced by sodium arsenite were critical factors that strongly affected neuronal differentiation. In conclusion, sodium arsenite exposure of human NSC induces the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, which is substantially accelerated due to the simultaneous suppression of PI3K–AKT. Sodium arsenite also negatively affects neuronal differentiation of NSC through overactivation of MEK–ERK and suppression of PI3K–AKT. - Highlights: ► Arsenite induces the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in human neural stem cells. ► Arsenite-induced apoptosis is strongly upregulated by suppression of PI3K–AKT. ► Arsenite-induced apoptosis is strongly down-regulated by inhibition of JNK–cJun. ► Arsenite negatively affects neuronal differentiation by inhibition of PI3K–AKT.

Induction of apoptotic death and retardation of neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells by sodium arsenite treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov, Vladimir N.; Hei, Tom K.

2013-01-01

Chronic arsenic toxicity is a global health problem that affects more than 100 million people worldwide. Long-term health effects of inorganic sodium arsenite in drinking water may result in skin, lung and liver cancers and in severe neurological abnormalities. We investigated in the present study whether sodium arsenite affects signaling pathways that control cell survival, proliferation and neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells (NSC). We demonstrated that the critical signaling pathway, which was suppressed by sodium arsenite in NSC, was the protective PI3K–AKT pathway. Sodium arsenite (2–4 μM) also caused down-regulation of Nanog, one of the key transcription factors that control pluripotency and self-renewal of stem cells. Mitochondrial damage and cytochrome-c release induced by sodium arsenite exposure was followed by initiation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in NSC. Beside caspase-9 and caspase-3 inhibitors, suppression of JNK activity decreased levels of arsenite-induced apoptosis in NSC. Neuronal differentiation of NSC was substantially inhibited by sodium arsenite exposure. Overactivation of JNK1 and ERK1/2 and down-regulation of PI3K–AKT activity induced by sodium arsenite were critical factors that strongly affected neuronal differentiation. In conclusion, sodium arsenite exposure of human NSC induces the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, which is substantially accelerated due to the simultaneous suppression of PI3K–AKT. Sodium arsenite also negatively affects neuronal differentiation of NSC through overactivation of MEK–ERK and suppression of PI3K–AKT. - Highlights: ► Arsenite induces the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in human neural stem cells. ► Arsenite-induced apoptosis is strongly upregulated by suppression of PI3K–AKT. ► Arsenite-induced apoptosis is strongly down-regulated by inhibition of JNK–cJun. ► Arsenite negatively affects neuronal differentiation by inhibition of PI3K–AKT

Bioprinting for Neural Tissue Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Knowlton, Stephanie; Anand, Shivesh; Shah, Twisha; Tasoglu, Savas

2018-01-01

Bioprinting is a method by which a cell-encapsulating bioink is patterned to create complex tissue architectures. Given the potential impact of this technology on neural research, we review the current state-of-the-art approaches for bioprinting neural tissues. While 2D neural cultures are ubiquitous for studying neural cells, 3D cultures can more accurately replicate the microenvironment of neural tissues. By bioprinting neuronal constructs, one can precisely control the microenvironment by specifically formulating the bioink for neural tissues, and by spatially patterning cell types and scaffold properties in three dimensions. We review a range of bioprinted neural tissue models and discuss how they can be used to observe how neurons behave, understand disease processes, develop new therapies and, ultimately, design replacement tissues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TAM receptors support neural stem cell survival, proliferation and neuronal differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Rui; Meng, Lingbin; Jiang, Xin; Cvm, Naresh Kumar; Ding, Jixiang; Li, Qiutang; Lu, Qingxian

2014-01-01

Tyro3, Axl and Mertk (TAM) receptor tyrosine kinases play multiple functional roles by either providing intrinsic trophic support for cell growth or regulating the expression of target genes that are important in the homeostatic regulation of immune responses. TAM receptors have been shown to regulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis by negatively regulation of glial cell activation in central nervous system (CNS). In the present study, we further demonstrated that all three TAM receptors were expressed by cultured primary neural stem cells (NSCs) and played a direct growth trophic role in NSCs proliferation, neuronal differentiation and survival. The cultured primary NSCs lacking TAM receptors exhibited slower growth, reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis as shown by decreased BrdU incorporation and increased TUNEL labeling, than those from the WT NSCs. In addition, the neuronal differentiation and maturation of the mutant NSCs were impeded, as characterized by less neuronal differentiation (β-tubulin III+) and neurite outgrowth than their WT counterparts. To elucidate the underlying mechanism that the TAM receptors play on the differentiating NSCs, we examined the expression profile of neurotrophins and their receptors by real-time qPCR on the total RNAs from hippocampus and primary NSCs; and found that the TKO NSC showed a significant reduction in the expression of both nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), but accompanied by compensational increases in the expression of the TrkA, TrkB, TrkC and p75 receptors. These results suggest that TAM receptors support NSCs survival, proliferation and differentiation by regulating expression of neurotrophins, especially the NGF.

Degradation processes and the methods of securing wall crests

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Maciej Trochonowicz

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The protection of historical ruins requires solution of doctrinal and technical problems. Technical problems concern above all preservation of walls, which are exposed to the influence of atmospheric factors. The problem that needs to be solved in any historic ruin is securing of wall crests. Form of protection of the wall crests depends on many factors, mainly technical features of the wall and architectural and conservatory vision. The following article presents three aspects important for protection of wall crests. Firstly, analysis of features of the wall as a structure, secondly the characteristics of destructive agents, thirdly forms of protection of wall crests. In the summary of the following article, advantages and disadvantages of each method of preservation of the wall crests were presented.

An improved superconducting neural circuit and its application for a neural network solving a combinatorial optimization problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onomi, T; Nakajima, K

2014-01-01

We have proposed a superconducting Hopfield-type neural network for solving the N-Queens problem which is one of combinatorial optimization problems. The sigmoid-shape function of a neuron output is represented by the output of coupled SQUIDs gate consisting of a single-junction and a double-junction SQUIDs. One of the important factors for an improvement of the network performance is an improvement of a threshold characteristic of a neuron circuit. In this paper, we report an improved design of coupled SQUID gates for a superconducting neural network. A step-like function with a steep threshold at a rising edge is desirable for a neuron circuit to solve a combinatorial optimization problem. A neuron circuit is composed of two coupled SQUIDs gates with a cascade connection in order to obtain such characteristics. The designed neuron circuit is fabricated by a 2.5 kA/cm 2 Nb/AlOx/Nb process. The operation of a fabricated neuron circuit is experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, we discuss about the performance of the neural network using the improved neuron circuits and delayed negative self-connections.

The Effects of GABAergic Polarity Changes on Episodic Neural Network Activity in Developing Neural Systems

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Wilfredo Blanco

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Early in development, neural systems have primarily excitatory coupling, where even GABAergic synapses are excitatory. Many of these systems exhibit spontaneous episodes of activity that have been characterized through both experimental and computational studies. As development progress the neural system goes through many changes, including synaptic remodeling, intrinsic plasticity in the ion channel expression, and a transformation of GABAergic synapses from excitatory to inhibitory. What effect each of these, and other, changes have on the network behavior is hard to know from experimental studies since they all happen in parallel. One advantage of a computational approach is that one has the ability to study developmental changes in isolation. Here, we examine the effects of GABAergic synapse polarity change on the spontaneous activity of both a mean field and a neural network model that has both glutamatergic and GABAergic coupling, representative of a developing neural network. We find some intuitive behavioral changes as the GABAergic neurons go from excitatory to inhibitory, shared by both models, such as a decrease in the duration of episodes. We also find some paradoxical changes in the activity that are only present in the neural network model. In particular, we find that during early development the inter-episode durations become longer on average, while later in development they become shorter. In addressing this unexpected finding, we uncover a priming effect that is particularly important for a small subset of neurons, called the “intermediate neurons.” We characterize these neurons and demonstrate why they are crucial to episode initiation, and why the paradoxical behavioral change result from priming of these neurons. The study illustrates how even arguably the simplest of developmental changes that occurs in neural systems can present non-intuitive behaviors. It also makes predictions about neural network behavioral changes

A Hybrid Fuzzy Time Series Approach Based on Fuzzy Clustering and Artificial Neural Network with Single Multiplicative Neuron Model

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Ozge Cagcag Yolcu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Particularly in recent years, artificial intelligence optimization techniques have been used to make fuzzy time series approaches more systematic and improve forecasting performance. Besides, some fuzzy clustering methods and artificial neural networks with different structures are used in the fuzzification of observations and determination of fuzzy relationships, respectively. In approaches considering the membership values, the membership values are determined subjectively or fuzzy outputs of the system are obtained by considering that there is a relation between membership values in identification of relation. This necessitates defuzzification step and increases the model error. In this study, membership values were obtained more systematically by using Gustafson-Kessel fuzzy clustering technique. The use of artificial neural network with single multiplicative neuron model in identification of fuzzy relation eliminated the architecture selection problem as well as the necessity for defuzzification step by constituting target values from real observations of time series. The training of artificial neural network with single multiplicative neuron model which is used for identification of fuzzy relation step is carried out with particle swarm optimization. The proposed method is implemented using various time series and the results are compared with those of previous studies to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.

BigNeuron: Large-Scale 3D Neuron Reconstruction from Optical Microscopy Images

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H. Peng (Hanchuan); M. Hawrylycz (Michael); J. Roskams (Jane); S. Hill (Sean); N. Spruston (Nelson); E. Meijering (Erik); G.A. Ascoli (Giorgio A.)

2015-01-01

textabstractUnderstanding the structure of single neurons is critical for understanding how they function within neural circuits. BigNeuron is a new community effort that combines modern bioimaging informatics, recent leaps in labeling and microscopy, and the widely recognized need for openness and

Generation of human cortical neurons from a new immortal fetal neural stem cell line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cacci, E.; Villa, A.; Parmar, M.; Cavallaro, M.; Mandahl, N.; Lindvall, O.; Martinez-Serrano, A.; Kokaia, Z.

2007-01-01

Isolation and expansion of neural stem cells (NSCs) of human origin are crucial for successful development of cell therapy approaches in neurodegenerative diseases. Different epigenetic and genetic immortalization strategies have been established for long-term maintenance and expansion of these cells in vitro. Here we report the generation of a new, clonal NSC (hc-NSC) line, derived from human fetal cortical tissue, based on v-myc immortalization. Using immunocytochemistry, we show that these cells retain the characteristics of NSCs after more than 50 passages. Under proliferation conditions, when supplemented with epidermal and basic fibroblast growth factors, the hc-NSCs expressed neural stem/progenitor cell markers like nestin, vimentin and Sox2. When growth factors were withdrawn, proliferation and expression of v-myc and telomerase were dramatically reduced, and the hc-NSCs differentiated into glia and neurons (mostly glutamatergic and GABAergic, as well as tyrosine hydroxylase-positive, presumably dopaminergic neurons). RT-PCR analysis showed that the hc-NSCs retained expression of Pax6, Emx2 and Neurogenin2, which are genes associated with regionalization and cell commitment in cortical precursors during brain development. Our data indicate that this hc-NSC line could be useful for exploring the potential of human NSCs to replace dead or damaged cortical cells in animal models of acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Taking advantage of its clonality and homogeneity, this cell line will also be a valuable experimental tool to study the regulatory role of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in human NSC biology

Crest syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, B.; Roedl, W.

1988-01-01

If a patient has peri- and intra-articular calcinosis, as well as acro-osteolysis and esophageal hypomotility, and rheumatic symptoms, Crest syndrome should be considered as a manifestation of progressive systemic sclerosis. In connection with relevant symptoms on the skin and visceral involvement, radiological studies offer the possibility of classifying progressive systemic sclerosis more accurately. (orig.) [de

Repair kinetics of DNA double-strand breaks and incidence of apoptosis in mouse neural stem/progenitor cells and their differentiated neurons exposed to ionizing radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kashiwagi, Hiroki; Shiraishi, Kazunori; Sakaguchi, Kenta; Nakahama, Tomoya; Kodama, Seiji

2018-05-01

Neuronal loss leads to neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Because of their long lifespans, neurons are assumed to possess highly efficient DNA repair ability and to be able to protect themselves from deleterious DNA damage such as DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) produced by intrinsic and extrinsic sources. However, it remains largely unknown whether the DSB repair ability of neurons is more efficient compared with that of other cells. Here, we investigated the repair kinetics of X-ray-induced DSBs in mouse neural cells by scoring the number of phosphorylated 53BP1 foci post irradiation. We found that p53-independent apoptosis was induced time dependently during differentiation from neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) into neurons in culture for 48 h. DSB repair in neurons differentiated from NSPCs in culture was faster than that in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), possibly due to the higher DNA-dependent protein kinase activity, but it was similar to that in NSPCs. Further, the incidence of p53-dependent apoptosis induced by X-irradiation in neurons was significantly higher than that in NSPCs. This difference in response of X-ray-induced apoptosis between neurons and NSPCs may reflect a difference in the fidelity of non-homologous end joining or a differential sensitivity to DNA damage other than DSBs.

Comparison of 2D and 3D neural induction methods for the generation of neural progenitor cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandrasekaran, Abinaya; Avci, Hasan X; Ochalek, Anna; Rösingh, Lone N; Molnár, Kinga; László, Lajos; Bellák, Tamás; Téglási, Annamária; Pesti, Krisztina; Mike, Arpad; Phanthong, Phetcharat; Bíró, Orsolya; Hall, Vanessa; Kitiyanant, Narisorn; Krause, Karl-Heinz; Kobolák, Julianna; Dinnyés, András

2017-12-01

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are frequently induced using 3D culture methodologies however, it is unknown whether spheroid-based (3D) neural induction is actually superior to monolayer (2D) neural induction. Our aim was to compare the efficiency of 2D induction with 3D induction method in their ability to generate NPCs, and subsequently neurons and astrocytes. Neural differentiation was analysed at the protein level qualitatively by immunocytochemistry and quantitatively by flow cytometry for NPC (SOX1, PAX6, NESTIN), neuronal (MAP2, TUBB3), cortical layer (TBR1, CUX1) and glial markers (SOX9, GFAP, AQP4). Electron microscopy demonstrated that both methods resulted in morphologically similar neural rosettes. However, quantification of NPCs derived from 3D neural induction exhibited an increase in the number of PAX6/NESTIN double positive cells and the derived neurons exhibited longer neurites. In contrast, 2D neural induction resulted in more SOX1 positive cells. While 2D monolayer induction resulted in slightly less mature neurons, at an early stage of differentiation, the patch clamp analysis failed to reveal any significant differences between the electrophysiological properties between the two induction methods. In conclusion, 3D neural induction increases the yield of PAX6 + /NESTIN + cells and gives rise to neurons with longer neurites, which might be an advantage for the production of forebrain cortical neurons, highlighting the potential of 3D neural induction, independent of iPSCs' genetic background. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Burst firing enhances neural output correlation

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Ho Ka eChan

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Neurons communicate and transmit information predominantly through spikes. Given that experimentally observed neural spike trains in a variety of brain areas can be highly correlated, it is important to investigate how neurons process correlated inputs. Most previous work in this area studied the problem of correlation transfer analytically by making significant simplifications on neural dynamics. Temporal correlation between inputs that arises from synaptic filtering, for instance, is often ignored when assuming that an input spike can at most generate one output spike. Through numerical simulations of a pair of leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF neurons receiving correlated inputs, we demonstrate that neurons in the presence of synaptic filtering by slow synapses exhibit strong output correlations. We then show that burst firing plays a central role in enhancing output correlations, which can explain the above-mentioned observation because synaptic filtering induces bursting. The observed changes of correlations are mostly on a long time scale. Our results suggest that other features affecting the prevalence of neural burst firing in biological neurons, e.g., adaptive spiking mechanisms, may play an important role in modulating the overall level of correlations in neural networks.

Fitting neuron models to spike trains

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Cyrille eRossant

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Computational modeling is increasingly used to understand the function of neural circuitsin systems neuroscience.These studies require models of individual neurons with realisticinput-output properties.Recently, it was found that spiking models can accurately predict theprecisely timed spike trains produced by cortical neurons in response tosomatically injected currents,if properly fitted. This requires fitting techniques that are efficientand flexible enough to easily test different candidate models.We present a generic solution, based on the Brian simulator(a neural network simulator in Python, which allowsthe user to define and fit arbitrary neuron models to electrophysiological recordings.It relies on vectorization and parallel computing techniques toachieve efficiency.We demonstrate its use on neural recordings in the barrel cortex andin the auditory brainstem, and confirm that simple adaptive spiking modelscan accurately predict the response of cortical neurons. Finally, we show how a complexmulticompartmental model can be reduced to a simple effective spiking model.

Proposal for an All-Spin Artificial Neural Network: Emulating Neural and Synaptic Functionalities Through Domain Wall Motion in Ferromagnets.

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Sengupta, Abhronil; Shim, Yong; Roy, Kaushik

2016-12-01

Non-Boolean computing based on emerging post-CMOS technologies can potentially pave the way for low-power neural computing platforms. However, existing work on such emerging neuromorphic architectures have either focused on solely mimicking the neuron, or the synapse functionality. While memristive devices have been proposed to emulate biological synapses, spintronic devices have proved to be efficient at performing the thresholding operation of the neuron at ultra-low currents. In this work, we propose an All-Spin Artificial Neural Network where a single spintronic device acts as the basic building block of the system. The device offers a direct mapping to synapse and neuron functionalities in the brain while inter-layer network communication is accomplished via CMOS transistors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a neural architecture where a single nanoelectronic device is able to mimic both neurons and synapses. The ultra-low voltage operation of low resistance magneto-metallic neurons enables the low-voltage operation of the array of spintronic synapses, thereby leading to ultra-low power neural architectures. Device-level simulations, calibrated to experimental results, was used to drive the circuit and system level simulations of the neural network for a standard pattern recognition problem. Simulation studies indicate energy savings by  ∼  100× in comparison to a corresponding digital/analog CMOS neuron implementation.

Functional model of biological neural networks.

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Lo, James Ting-Ho

2010-12-01

A functional model of biological neural networks, called temporal hierarchical probabilistic associative memory (THPAM), is proposed in this paper. THPAM comprises functional models of dendritic trees for encoding inputs to neurons, a first type of neuron for generating spike trains, a second type of neuron for generating graded signals to modulate neurons of the first type, supervised and unsupervised Hebbian learning mechanisms for easy learning and retrieving, an arrangement of dendritic trees for maximizing generalization, hardwiring for rotation-translation-scaling invariance, and feedback connections with different delay durations for neurons to make full use of present and past informations generated by neurons in the same and higher layers. These functional models and their processing operations have many functions of biological neural networks that have not been achieved by other models in the open literature and provide logically coherent answers to many long-standing neuroscientific questions. However, biological justifications of these functional models and their processing operations are required for THPAM to qualify as a macroscopic model (or low-order approximate) of biological neural networks.

A career at the interface of cell and developmental biology: a view from the crest.

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Bronner, Marianne E

2012-11-01

Just as neural crest cells migrate great distances through the embryo, my journey has taken me from a childhood in a distant land to a career as a biologist. My mentoring relationships have shaped not only the careers of my trainees, but also the trajectory of my own science. One of the most satisfying aspects of mentoring comes from helping to empower the next generation of scientists to do more tomorrow than is possible today. This, together with a passion for discovery and learning new things, motivates me and makes science such a rewarding career.

Neurotrophin-3 promotes proliferation and cholinergic neuronal differentiation of bone marrow- derived neural stem cells via notch signaling pathway.

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Yan, Yu-Hui; Li, Shao-Heng; Gao, Zhong; Zou, Sa-Feng; Li, Hong-Yan; Tao, Zhen-Yu; Song, Jie; Yang, Jing-Xian

2016-12-01

Recently, the potential for neural stem cells (NSCs) to be used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been reported; however, the therapeutic effects are modest by virtue of the low neural differentiation rate. In our study, we transfected bone marrow-derived NSCs (BM-NSCs) with Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), a superactive neurotrophic factor that promotes neuronal survival, differentiation, and migration of neuronal cells, to investigate the effects of NT-3 gene overexpression on the proliferation and differentiation into cholinergic neuron of BM-NSCs in vitro and its possible molecular mechanism. BM-NSCs were generated from BM mesenchymal cells of adult C57BL/6 mice and cultured in vitro. After transfected with NT-3 gene, immunofluorescence and RT-PCR method were used to determine the ability of BM-NSCs on proliferation and differentiation into cholinergic neuron; Acetylcholine Assay Kit was used for acetylcholine (Ach). RT-PCR and WB analysis were used to characterize mRNA and protein level related to the Notch signaling pathway. We found that NT-3 can promote the proliferation and differentiation of BM-NSCs into cholinergic neurons and elevate the levels of acetylcholine (ACh) in the supernatant. Furthermore, NT-3 gene overexpression increase the expression of Hes1, decreased the expression of Mash1 and Ngn1 during proliferation of BM-NSCs. Whereas, the expression of Hes1 was down-regulated, and Mash1 and Ngn1 expression were up-regulated during differentiation of BM-NSCs. Our findings support the prospect of using NT-3-transduced BM-NSCs in developing therapies for AD due to their equivalent therapeutic potential as subventricular zone-derived NSCs (SVZ-NSCs), greater accessibility, and autogenous attributes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lessons learned from the EU project T-CREST

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schoeberl, Martin

2016-01-01

A three year EU project, such a T-CREST, with partners from all over Europe and with backgrounds from different domains is a challenging endeavor. Successful execution of such a project depends on more factors than simply performing excellent research. Within the three-year project T-CREST eight...... partners from academia and industry developed and evaluated a time-predictable multi-core processor with an accompanying compiler and a worst-case execution time analysis tool. The tight cooperation of the partners and the shared vision of the need of new computer architectures for future real-time systems...... enabled the successful completion of the T-CREST project. The T-CREST platform is now available, with most components in open source, to be used for future real-time systems and as a platform for further research....

The neural crest and neural crest cells

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

PRAKASH KUMAR

papers and independent studies in the 1920s and '30s by. Landacre ..... Four possibilities, which are not mutually exclusive, could explain evolutionary changes in gene function: .... description of the results of the chief course of events in the.

Neural Crossroads in the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Niche.

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Agarwala, Sobhika; Tamplin, Owen J

2018-05-29

The hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche supports steady-state hematopoiesis and responds to changing needs during stress and disease. The nervous system is an important regulator of the niche, and its influence is established early in development when stem cells are specified. Most research has focused on direct innervation of the niche, however recent findings show there are different modes of neural control, including globally by the central nervous system (CNS) and hormone release, locally by neural crest-derived mesenchymal stem cells, and intrinsically by hematopoietic cells that express neural receptors and neurotransmitters. Dysregulation between neural and hematopoietic systems can contribute to disease, however new therapeutic opportunities may be found among neuroregulator drugs repurposed to support hematopoiesis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rodent Zic Genes in Neural Network Wiring.

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Herrera, Eloísa

2018-01-01

The formation of the nervous system is a multistep process that yields a mature brain. Failure in any of the steps of this process may cause brain malfunction. In the early stages of embryonic development, neural progenitors quickly proliferate and then, at a specific moment, differentiate into neurons or glia. Once they become postmitotic neurons, they migrate to their final destinations and begin to extend their axons to connect with other neurons, sometimes located in quite distant regions, to establish different neural circuits. During the last decade, it has become evident that Zic genes, in addition to playing important roles in early development (e.g., gastrulation and neural tube closure), are involved in different processes of late brain development, such as neuronal migration, axon guidance, and refinement of axon terminals. ZIC proteins are therefore essential for the proper wiring and connectivity of the brain. In this chapter, we review our current knowledge of the role of Zic genes in the late stages of neural circuit formation.

Gross anatomy and development of the peripheral nervous system.

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Catala, Martin; Kubis, Nathalie

2013-01-01

The nervous system is divided into the central nervous system (CNS) composed of the brain, the brainstem, the cerebellum, and the spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) made up of the different nerves arising from the CNS. The PNS is divided into the cranial nerves III to XII supplying the head and the spinal nerves that supply the upper and lower limbs. The general anatomy of the PNS is organized according to the arrangement of the fibers along the rostro-caudal axis. The control of the development of the PNS has been unravelled during the last 30 years. Motor nerves arise from the ventral neural tube. This ventralization is induced by morphogenetic molecules such as sonic hedgehog. In contrast, the sensory elements of the PNS arise from a specific population of cells originating from the roof of the neural tube, namely the neural crest. These cells give rise to the neurons of the dorsal root ganglia, the autonomic ganglia and the paraganglia including the adrenergic neurons of the adrenals. Furthermore, the supportive glial Schwann cells of the PNS originate from the neural crest cells. Growth factors as well as myelinating proteins are involved in the development of the PNS. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Connexin 43-mediated modulation of polarized cell movement and the directional migration of cardiac neural crest cells.

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Xu, Xin; Francis, Richard; Wei, Chih Jen; Linask, Kaari L; Lo, Cecilia W

2006-09-01

Connexin 43 knockout (Cx43alpha1KO) mice have conotruncal heart defects that are associated with a reduction in the abundance of cardiac neural crest cells (CNCs) targeted to the heart. In this study, we show CNCs can respond to changing fibronectin matrix density by adjusting their migratory behavior, with directionality increasing and speed decreasing with increasing fibronectin density. However, compared with wild-type CNCs, Cx43alpha1KO CNCs show reduced directionality and speed, while CNCs overexpressing Cx43alpha1 from the CMV43 transgenic mice show increased directionality and speed. Altered integrin signaling was indicated by changes in the distribution of vinculin containing focal contacts, and altered temporal response of Cx43alpha1KO and CMV43 CNCs to beta1 integrin function blocking antibody treatment. High resolution motion analysis showed Cx43alpha1KO CNCs have increased cell protrusive activity accompanied by the loss of polarized cell movement. They exhibited an unusual polygonal arrangement of actin stress fibers that indicated a profound change in cytoskeletal organization. Semaphorin 3A, a chemorepellent known to inhibit integrin activation, was found to inhibit CNC motility, but in the Cx43alpha1KO and CMV43 CNCs, cell processes failed to retract with semaphorin 3A treatment. Immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses suggested close interactions between Cx43alpha1, vinculin and other actin-binding proteins. However, dye coupling analysis showed no correlation between gap junction communication level and fibronectin plating density. Overall, these findings indicate Cx43alpha1 may have a novel function in mediating crosstalk with cell signaling pathways that regulate polarized cell movement essential for the directional migration of CNCs.

Novel migrating mouse neural crest cell assay system utilizing P0-Cre/EGFP fluorescent time-lapse imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kawakami Minoru

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Neural crest cells (NCCs are embryonic, multipotent stem cells. Their long-range and precision-guided migration is one of their most striking characteristics. We previously reported that P0-Cre/CAG-CAT-lacZ double-transgenic mice showed significant lacZ expression in tissues derived from NCCs. Results In this study, by embedding a P0-Cre/CAG-CAT-EGFP embryo at E9.5 in collagen gel inside a culture glass slide, we were able to keep the embryo developing ex vivo for more than 24 hours; this development was with enough NCC fluorescent signal intensity to enable single-cell resolution analysis, with the accompanying NCC migration potential intact and with the appropriate NCC response to the extracellular signal maintained. By implantation of beads with absorbed platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA, we demonstrated that PDGF-AA acts as an NCC-attractant in embryos. We also performed assays with NCCs isolated from P0-Cre/CAG-CAT-EGFP embryos on culture plates. The neuromediator 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT has been known to regulate NCC migration. We newly demonstrated that dopamine, in addition to 5-HT, stimulated NCC migration in vitro. Two NCC populations, with different axial levels of origins, showed unique distribution patterns regarding migration velocity and different dose-response patterns to both 5-HT and dopamine. Conclusions Although avian species predominated over the other species in the NCC study, our novel system should enable us to use mice to assay many different aspects of NCCs in embryos or on culture plates, such as migration, division, differentiation, and apoptosis.

Effects of neurotrophin-3 on the differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons and oligodendrocytes

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Zhu, Guowei; Sun, Chongran; Liu, Weiguo

2012-01-01

In this study, cells from the cerebral cortex of fetal rats at pregnant 16 days were harvested and cultured with 20 μg/L neurotrophin-3. After 7 days of culture, immunocytochemical staining showed that, 22.4% of cells were positive for nestin, 10.5% were positive for β-III tubulin (neuronal marker), and 60.6% were positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein, but no cells were positive for O4 (oligodendrocytic marker). At 14 days, there were 5.6% nestin-, 9.6% β-III tubulin-, 81.1% glial fibrillary acidic protein-, and 2.2% O4-positive cells. In cells not treated with neurotrophin-3, some were nestin-positive, while the majority showed positive staining for glial fibrillary acidic protein. Our experimental findings indicate that neurotrophin-3 is a crucial factor for inducing neural stem cells differentiation into neurons and oligodendrocytes. PMID:25657683

FGF8 signaling sustains progenitor status and multipotency of cranial neural crest-derived mesenchymal cells in vivo and in vitro

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Shao, Meiying; Liu, Chao; Song, Yingnan; Ye, Wenduo; He, Wei; Yuan, Guohua; Gu, Shuping; Lin, Congxin; Ma, Liang; Zhang, Yanding; Tian, Weidong; Hu, Tao; Chen, YiPing

2015-01-01

The cranial neural crest (CNC) cells play a vital role in craniofacial development and regeneration. They are multi-potent progenitors, being able to differentiate into various types of tissues. Both pre-migratory and post-migratory CNC cells are plastic, taking on diverse fates by responding to different inductive signals. However, what sustains the multipotency of CNC cells and derivatives remains largely unknown. In this study, we present evidence that FGF8 signaling is able to sustain progenitor status and multipotency of CNC-derived mesenchymal cells both in vivo and in vitro. We show that augmented FGF8 signaling in pre-migratory CNC cells prevents cell differentiation and organogenesis in the craniofacial region by maintaining their progenitor status. CNC-derived mesenchymal cells with Fgf8 overexpression or control cells in the presence of exogenous FGF8 exhibit prolonged survival, proliferation, and multi-potent differentiation capability in cell cultures. Remarkably, exogenous FGF8 also sustains the capability of CNC-derived mesenchymal cells to participate in organogenesis such as odontogenesis. Furthermore, FGF8-mediated signaling strongly promotes adipogenesis but inhibits osteogenesis of CNC-derived mesenchymal cells in vitro. Our results reveal a specific role for FGF8 in the maintenance of progenitor status and in fate determination of CNC cells, implicating a potential application in expansion and fate manipulation of CNC-derived cells in stem cell-based craniofacial regeneration. PMID:26243590

Excitation of lateral habenula neurons as a neural mechanism underlying ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion.

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Tandon, Shashank; Keefe, Kristen A; Taha, Sharif A

2017-02-15

The lateral habenula (LHb) has been implicated in regulation of drug-seeking behaviours through aversion-mediated learning. In this study, we recorded neuronal activity in the LHb of rats during an operant task before and after ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to saccharin. Ethanol-induced CTA caused significantly higher baseline firing rates in LHb neurons, as well as elevated firing rates in response to cue presentation, lever press and saccharin taste. In a separate cohort of rats, we found that bilateral LHb lesions blocked ethanol-induced CTA. Our results strongly suggest that excitation of LHb neurons is required for ethanol-induced CTA, and point towards a mechanism through which LHb firing may regulate voluntary ethanol consumption. Ethanol, like other drugs of abuse, has both rewarding and aversive properties. Previous work suggests that sensitivity to ethanol's aversive effects negatively modulates voluntary alcohol intake and thus may be important in vulnerability to developing alcohol use disorders. We previously found that rats with lesions of the lateral habenula (LHb), which is implicated in aversion-mediated learning, show accelerated escalation of voluntary ethanol consumption. To understand neural encoding in the LHb contributing to ethanol-induced aversion, we recorded neural firing in the LHb of freely behaving, water-deprived rats before and after an ethanol-induced (1.5 g kg -1 20% ethanol, i.p.) conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to saccharin taste. Ethanol-induced CTA strongly decreased motivation for saccharin in an operant task to obtain the tastant. Comparison of LHb neural firing before and after CTA induction revealed four main differences in firing properties. First, baseline firing after CTA induction was significantly higher. Second, firing evoked by cues signalling saccharin availability shifted from a pattern of primarily inhibition before CTA to primarily excitation after CTA induction. Third, CTA induction reduced

Excitation of lateral habenula neurons as a neural mechanism underlying ethanol‐induced conditioned taste aversion

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Kristen A.; Taha, Sharif A.

2016-01-01

Key points The lateral habenula (LHb) has been implicated in regulation of drug‐seeking behaviours through aversion‐mediated learning.In this study, we recorded neuronal activity in the LHb of rats during an operant task before and after ethanol‐induced conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to saccharin.Ethanol‐induced CTA caused significantly higher baseline firing rates in LHb neurons, as well as elevated firing rates in response to cue presentation, lever press and saccharin taste.In a separate cohort of rats, we found that bilateral LHb lesions blocked ethanol‐induced CTA.Our results strongly suggest that excitation of LHb neurons is required for ethanol‐induced CTA, and point towards a mechanism through which LHb firing may regulate voluntary ethanol consumption. Abstract Ethanol, like other drugs of abuse, has both rewarding and aversive properties. Previous work suggests that sensitivity to ethanol's aversive effects negatively modulates voluntary alcohol intake and thus may be important in vulnerability to developing alcohol use disorders. We previously found that rats with lesions of the lateral habenula (LHb), which is implicated in aversion‐mediated learning, show accelerated escalation of voluntary ethanol consumption. To understand neural encoding in the LHb contributing to ethanol‐induced aversion, we recorded neural firing in the LHb of freely behaving, water‐deprived rats before and after an ethanol‐induced (1.5 g kg−1 20% ethanol, i.p.) conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to saccharin taste. Ethanol‐induced CTA strongly decreased motivation for saccharin in an operant task to obtain the tastant. Comparison of LHb neural firing before and after CTA induction revealed four main differences in firing properties. First, baseline firing after CTA induction was significantly higher. Second, firing evoked by cues signalling saccharin availability shifted from a pattern of primarily inhibition before CTA to primarily excitation after CTA

Neuronal medium that supports basic synaptic functions and activity of human neurons in vitro

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bardy, C.; Hurk, M. van den; Eames, T.; Marchand, C.; Hernandez, R.V.; Kellogg, M.; Gorris, M.A.J.; Galet, B.; Palomares, V.; Brown, J.; Bang, A.G.; Mertens, J.; Bohnke, L.; Boyer, L.; Simon, S.; Gage, F.H.

2015-01-01

Human cell reprogramming technologies offer access to live human neurons from patients and provide a new alternative for modeling neurological disorders in vitro. Neural electrical activity is the essence of nervous system function in vivo. Therefore, we examined neuronal activity in media widely

Decreased proliferative, migrative and neuro-differentiative potential of postnatal rat enteric neural crest-derived cells during culture in vitro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Hui; Pan, Wei-Kang; Zheng, Bai-Jun; Wang, Huai-Jie; Chen, Xin-Lin; Liu, Yong; Gao, Ya

2016-01-01

A growing body of evidence supports the potential use of enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs) as a cell replacement therapy for Hirschsprung's disease. Based on previous observations of robust propagation of primary ENCCs, as opposed to their progeny, it is suggested that their therapeutic potential after in vitro expansion may be restricted. We therefore examined the growth and differentiation activities and phenotypic characteristics of continuous ENCC cultures. ENCCs were isolated from the intestines of postnatal rats and were identified using an immunocytochemical approach. During continuous ENCC culture expansion, proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and differentiation potentials were monitored. The Cell Counting Kit-8 was used for assessment of ENCC vitality, Transwell inserts for cell migration, immunocytochemistry for cell counts and identification, and flow cytometry for apoptosis. Over six continuous generations, ENCC proliferation potency was reduced and with prolonged culture, the ratio of migratory ENCCs was decreased. The percentage of apoptosis showed an upward trend with prolonged intragenerational culture, but showed a downward trend with prolonged culture of combined generations. Furthermore, the percentage of peripherin"+ cells decreased whilst the percentage of GFAP"+ cells increased with age. The results demonstrated that alterations in ENCC growth characteristics occur with increased culture time, which may partially account for the poor results of proposed cell therapies. - Highlights: • Differences were identified between primary and daughter ENCCs. • Daughter ENCCs had reduced proliferation, migration and differentiation. • Daughter ENCCs also had increased apoptosis. • These altered characteristics warrant further investigation.

Decreased proliferative, migrative and neuro-differentiative potential of postnatal rat enteric neural crest-derived cells during culture in vitro

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, Hui [Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 157, Xi Wu Road, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi (China); Institute of Neurobiology, Environment and Genes Related to Diseases Key Laboratory of Chinese Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 96, Yan Ta Xi Road, Xi’an 710061, Shaanxi (China); Pan, Wei-Kang; Zheng, Bai-Jun; Wang, Huai-Jie [Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 157, Xi Wu Road, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi (China); Chen, Xin-Lin; Liu, Yong [Institute of Neurobiology, Environment and Genes Related to Diseases Key Laboratory of Chinese Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 96, Yan Ta Xi Road, Xi’an 710061, Shaanxi (China); Gao, Ya, E-mail: ygao@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No 157, Xi Wu Road, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi (China)

2016-05-01

A growing body of evidence supports the potential use of enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs) as a cell replacement therapy for Hirschsprung's disease. Based on previous observations of robust propagation of primary ENCCs, as opposed to their progeny, it is suggested that their therapeutic potential after in vitro expansion may be restricted. We therefore examined the growth and differentiation activities and phenotypic characteristics of continuous ENCC cultures. ENCCs were isolated from the intestines of postnatal rats and were identified using an immunocytochemical approach. During continuous ENCC culture expansion, proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and differentiation potentials were monitored. The Cell Counting Kit-8 was used for assessment of ENCC vitality, Transwell inserts for cell migration, immunocytochemistry for cell counts and identification, and flow cytometry for apoptosis. Over six continuous generations, ENCC proliferation potency was reduced and with prolonged culture, the ratio of migratory ENCCs was decreased. The percentage of apoptosis showed an upward trend with prolonged intragenerational culture, but showed a downward trend with prolonged culture of combined generations. Furthermore, the percentage of peripherin{sup +} cells decreased whilst the percentage of GFAP{sup +} cells increased with age. The results demonstrated that alterations in ENCC growth characteristics occur with increased culture time, which may partially account for the poor results of proposed cell therapies. - Highlights: • Differences were identified between primary and daughter ENCCs. • Daughter ENCCs had reduced proliferation, migration and differentiation. • Daughter ENCCs also had increased apoptosis. • These altered characteristics warrant further investigation.

Non-Viral Generation of Neural Precursor-like Cells from Adult Human Fibroblasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maucksch C

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Recent studies have reported direct reprogramming of human fibroblasts to mature neurons by the introduction of defined neural genes. This technology has potential use in the areas of neurological disease modeling and drug development. However, use of induced neurons for large-scale drug screening and cell-based replacement strategies is limited due to their inability to expand once reprogrammed. We propose it would be more desirable to induce expandable neural precursor cells directly from human fibroblasts. To date several pluripotent and neural transcription factors have been shown to be capable of converting mouse fibroblasts to neural stem/precursor-like cells when delivered by viral vectors. Here we extend these findings and demonstrate that transient ectopic insertion of the transcription factors SOX2 and PAX6 to adult human fibroblasts through use of non-viral plasmid transfection or protein transduction allows the generation of induced neural precursor (iNP colonies expressing a range of neural stem and pro-neural genes. Upon differentiation, iNP cells give rise to neurons exhibiting typical neuronal morphologies and expressing multiple neuronal markers including tyrosine hydroxylase and GAD65/67. Importantly, iNP-derived neurons demonstrate electrophysiological properties of functionally mature neurons with the capacity to generate action potentials. In addition, iNP cells are capable of differentiating into glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP-expressing astrocytes. This study represents a novel virus-free approach for direct reprogramming of human fibroblasts to a neural precursor fate.

Metabolic neural mapping in neonatal rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DiRocco, R.J.; Hall, W.G.

1981-01-01

Functional neural mapping by 14 C-deoxyglucose autoradiography in adult rats has shown that increases in neural metabolic rate that are coupled to increased neurophysiological activity are more evident in axon terminals and dendrites than neuron cell bodies. Regions containing architectonically well-defined concentrations of terminals and dendrites (neuropil) have high metabolic rates when the neuropil is physiologically active. In neonatal rats, however, we find that regions containing well-defined groupings of neuron cell bodies have high metabolic rates in 14 C-deoxyglucose autoradiograms. The striking difference between the morphological appearance of 14 C-deoxyglucose autoradiograms obtained from neonatal and adult rats is probably related to developmental changes in morphometric features of differentiating neurons, as well as associated changes in type and locus of neural work performed

Enteric neurospheres are not specific to neural crest cultures : Implications for neural stem cell therapies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Binder, E. (Ellen); D. Natarajan (Dipa); J.E. Cooper (Julie E.); Kronfli, R. (Rania); Cananzi, M. (Mara); J.-M. Delalande (Jean-Marie); C. Mccann; A.J. Burns (Alan); N. Thapar (Nikhil)

2015-01-01

textabstractObjectives Enteric neural stem cells provide hope of curative treatment for enteric neuropathies. Current protocols for their harvesting from humans focus on the generation of 'neurospheres' from cultures of dissociated gut tissue. The study aims to better understand the derivation,

Directed neuronal differentiation of human embryonic stem cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noggle Scott A

2003-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We have developed a culture system for the efficient and directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (HESCs to neural precursors and neurons. HESC were maintained by manual passaging and were differentiated to a morphologically distinct OCT-4+/SSEA-4- monolayer cell type prior to the derivation of embryoid bodies. Embryoid bodies were grown in suspension in serum free conditions, in the presence of 50% conditioned medium from the human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2 (MedII. Results A neural precursor population was observed within HESC derived serum free embryoid bodies cultured in MedII conditioned medium, around 7–10 days after derivation. The neural precursors were organized into rosettes comprised of a central cavity surrounded by ring of cells, 4 to 8 cells in width. The central cells within rosettes were proliferating, as indicated by the presence of condensed mitotic chromosomes and by phosphoHistone H3 immunostaining. When plated and maintained in adherent culture, the rosettes of neural precursors were surrounded by large interwoven networks of neurites. Immunostaining demonstrated the expression of nestin in rosettes and associated non-neuronal cell types, and a radial expression of Map-2 in rosettes. Differentiated neurons expressed the markers Map-2 and Neurofilament H, and a subpopulation of the neurons expressed tyrosine hydroxylase, a marker for dopaminergic neurons. Conclusion This novel directed differentiation approach led to the efficient derivation of neuronal cultures from HESCs, including the differentiation of tyrosine hydroxylase expressing neurons. HESC were morphologically differentiated to a monolayer OCT-4+ cell type, which was used to derive embryoid bodies directly into serum free conditions. Exposure to the MedII conditioned medium enhanced the derivation of neural precursors, the first example of the effect of this conditioned medium on HESC.

Amniotic fluid promotes the appearance of neural retinal progenitors and neurons in human RPE cell cultures.

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Davari, Maliheh; Soheili, Zahra-Soheila; Ahmadieh, Hamid; Sanie-Jahromi, Fateme; Ghaderi, Shima; Kanavi, Mozhgan Rezaei; Samiei, Shahram; Akrami, Hassan; Haghighi, Massoud; Javidi-Azad, Fahimeh

2013-01-01

Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are capable of differentiating into retinal neurons when induced by the appropriate growth factors. Amniotic fluid contains a variety of growth factors that are crucial for the development of a fetus. In this study, the effects of human amniotic fluid (HAF) on primary RPE cell cultures were evaluated. RPE cells were isolated from the globes of postnatal human cadavers. The isolated cells were plated and grown in DMEM/F12 with 10% fetal bovine serum. To confirm the RPE identity of the cultured cells, they were immunocytochemically examined for the presence of the RPE cell-specific marker RPE65. RPE cultures obtained from passages 2-7 were treated with HAF and examined morphologically for 1 month. To determine whether retinal neurons or progenitors developed in the treated cultures, specific markers for bipolar (protein kinase C isomer α, PKCα), amacrine (cellular retinoic acid-binding protein I, CRABPI), and neural progenitor (NESTIN) cells were sought, and the amount of mRNA was quantified using real-time PCR. Treating RPE cells with HAF led to a significant decrease in the number of RPE65-positive cells, while PKCα- and CRABPI-positive cells were detected in the cultures. Compared with the fetal bovine serum-treated cultures, the levels of mRNAs quantitatively increased by 2-, 20- and 22-fold for NESTIN, PKCα, and CRABPI, respectively. The RPE cultures treated with HAF established spheres containing both pigmented and nonpigmented cells, which expressed neural progenitor markers such as NESTIN. This study showed that HAF can induce RPE cells to transdifferentiate into retinal neurons and progenitor cells, and that it provides a potential source for cell-based therapies to treat retinal diseases.

Neural principles of memory and a neural theory of analogical insight

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Lawson, David I.; Lawson, Anton E.

1993-12-01

Grossberg's principles of neural modeling are reviewed and extended to provide a neural level theory to explain how analogies greatly increase the rate of learning and can, in fact, make learning and retention possible. In terms of memory, the key point is that the mind is able to recognize and recall when it is able to match sensory input from new objects, events, or situations with past memory records of similar objects, events, or situations. When a match occurs, an adaptive resonance is set up in which the synaptic strengths of neurons are increased; thus a long term record of the new input is formed in memory. Systems of neurons called outstars and instars are presumably the underlying units that enable this to occur. Analogies can greatly facilitate learning and retention because they activate the outstars (i.e., the cells that are sampling the to-be-learned pattern) and cause the neural activity to grow exponentially by forming feedback loops. This increased activity insures the boost in synaptic strengths of neurons, thus causing storage and retention in long-term memory (i.e., learning).

Artificial Astrocytes Improve Neural Network Performance

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Porto-Pazos, Ana B.; Veiguela, Noha; Mesejo, Pablo; Navarrete, Marta; Alvarellos, Alberto; Ibáñez, Oscar; Pazos, Alejandro; Araque, Alfonso

2011-01-01

Compelling evidence indicates the existence of bidirectional communication between astrocytes and neurons. Astrocytes, a type of glial cells classically considered to be passive supportive cells, have been recently demonstrated to be actively involved in the processing and regulation of synaptic information, suggesting that brain function arises from the activity of neuron-glia networks. However, the actual impact of astrocytes in neural network function is largely unknown and its application in artificial intelligence remains untested. We have investigated the consequences of including artificial astrocytes, which present the biologically defined properties involved in astrocyte-neuron communication, on artificial neural network performance. Using connectionist systems and evolutionary algorithms, we have compared the performance of artificial neural networks (NN) and artificial neuron-glia networks (NGN) to solve classification problems. We show that the degree of success of NGN is superior to NN. Analysis of performances of NN with different number of neurons or different architectures indicate that the effects of NGN cannot be accounted for an increased number of network elements, but rather they are specifically due to astrocytes. Furthermore, the relative efficacy of NGN vs. NN increases as the complexity of the network increases. These results indicate that artificial astrocytes improve neural network performance, and established the concept of Artificial Neuron-Glia Networks, which represents a novel concept in Artificial Intelligence with implications in computational science as well as in the understanding of brain function. PMID:21526157

Artificial astrocytes improve neural network performance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana B Porto-Pazos

Full Text Available Compelling evidence indicates the existence of bidirectional communication between astrocytes and neurons. Astrocytes, a type of glial cells classically considered to be passive supportive cells, have been recently demonstrated to be actively involved in the processing and regulation of synaptic information, suggesting that brain function arises from the activity of neuron-glia networks. However, the actual impact of astrocytes in neural network function is largely unknown and its application in artificial intelligence remains untested. We have investigated the consequences of including artificial astrocytes, which present the biologically defined properties involved in astrocyte-neuron communication, on artificial neural network performance. Using connectionist systems and evolutionary algorithms, we have compared the performance of artificial neural networks (NN and artificial neuron-glia networks (NGN to solve classification problems. We show that the degree of success of NGN is superior to NN. Analysis of performances of NN with different number of neurons or different architectures indicate that the effects of NGN cannot be accounted for an increased number of network elements, but rather they are specifically due to astrocytes. Furthermore, the relative efficacy of NGN vs. NN increases as the complexity of the network increases. These results indicate that artificial astrocytes improve neural network performance, and established the concept of Artificial Neuron-Glia Networks, which represents a novel concept in Artificial Intelligence with implications in computational science as well as in the understanding of brain function.

Artificial astrocytes improve neural network performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Porto-Pazos, Ana B; Veiguela, Noha; Mesejo, Pablo; Navarrete, Marta; Alvarellos, Alberto; Ibáñez, Oscar; Pazos, Alejandro; Araque, Alfonso

2011-04-19

Compelling evidence indicates the existence of bidirectional communication between astrocytes and neurons. Astrocytes, a type of glial cells classically considered to be passive supportive cells, have been recently demonstrated to be actively involved in the processing and regulation of synaptic information, suggesting that brain function arises from the activity of neuron-glia networks. However, the actual impact of astrocytes in neural network function is largely unknown and its application in artificial intelligence remains untested. We have investigated the consequences of including artificial astrocytes, which present the biologically defined properties involved in astrocyte-neuron communication, on artificial neural network performance. Using connectionist systems and evolutionary algorithms, we have compared the performance of artificial neural networks (NN) and artificial neuron-glia networks (NGN) to solve classification problems. We show that the degree of success of NGN is superior to NN. Analysis of performances of NN with different number of neurons or different architectures indicate that the effects of NGN cannot be accounted for an increased number of network elements, but rather they are specifically due to astrocytes. Furthermore, the relative efficacy of NGN vs. NN increases as the complexity of the network increases. These results indicate that artificial astrocytes improve neural network performance, and established the concept of Artificial Neuron-Glia Networks, which represents a novel concept in Artificial Intelligence with implications in computational science as well as in the understanding of brain function.

Neural networks within multi-core optic fibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Eyal; Malka, Dror; Shemer, Amir; Shahmoon, Asaf; Zalevsky, Zeev; London, Michael

2016-07-07

Hardware implementation of artificial neural networks facilitates real-time parallel processing of massive data sets. Optical neural networks offer low-volume 3D connectivity together with large bandwidth and minimal heat production in contrast to electronic implementation. Here, we present a conceptual design for in-fiber optical neural networks. Neurons and synapses are realized as individual silica cores in a multi-core fiber. Optical signals are transferred transversely between cores by means of optical coupling. Pump driven amplification in erbium-doped cores mimics synaptic interactions. We simulated three-layered feed-forward neural networks and explored their capabilities. Simulations suggest that networks can differentiate between given inputs depending on specific configurations of amplification; this implies classification and learning capabilities. Finally, we tested experimentally our basic neuronal elements using fibers, couplers, and amplifiers, and demonstrated that this configuration implements a neuron-like function. Therefore, devices similar to our proposed multi-core fiber could potentially serve as building blocks for future large-scale small-volume optical artificial neural networks.

Google matrix analysis of C.elegans neural network

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Kandiah, V., E-mail: kandiah@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr; Shepelyansky, D.L., E-mail: dima@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr

2014-05-01

We study the structural properties of the neural network of the C.elegans (worm) from a directed graph point of view. The Google matrix analysis is used to characterize the neuron connectivity structure and node classifications are discussed and compared with physiological properties of the cells. Our results are obtained by a proper definition of neural directed network and subsequent eigenvector analysis which recovers some results of previous studies. Our analysis highlights particular sets of important neurons constituting the core of the neural system. The applications of PageRank, CheiRank and ImpactRank to characterization of interdependency of neurons are discussed.

Google matrix analysis of C.elegans neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandiah, V.; Shepelyansky, D.L.

2014-01-01

We study the structural properties of the neural network of the C.elegans (worm) from a directed graph point of view. The Google matrix analysis is used to characterize the neuron connectivity structure and node classifications are discussed and compared with physiological properties of the cells. Our results are obtained by a proper definition of neural directed network and subsequent eigenvector analysis which recovers some results of previous studies. Our analysis highlights particular sets of important neurons constituting the core of the neural system. The applications of PageRank, CheiRank and ImpactRank to characterization of interdependency of neurons are discussed.

Cell reprogramming by 3D bioprinting of human fibroblasts in polyurethane hydrogel for fabrication of neural-like constructs.

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Ho, Lin; Hsu, Shan-Hui

2018-04-01

3D bioprinting is a technique which enables the direct printing of biodegradable materials with cells into 3D tissue. So far there is no cell reprogramming in situ performed with the 3D bioprinting process. Forkhead box D3 (FoxD3) is a transcription factor and neural crest marker, which was reported to reprogram human fibroblasts into neural crest stem-like cells. In this study, we synthesized a new biodegradable thermo-responsive waterborne polyurethane (PU) gel as a bioink. FoxD3 plasmids and human fibroblasts were co-extruded with the PU hydrogel through the syringe needle tip for cell reprogramming. The rheological properties of the PU hydrogel including the modulus, gelation time, and shear thinning were optimized for the transfection effect of FoxD3 in situ. The corresponding shear rate and shear stress were examined. Results showed that human fibroblasts could be reprogrammed into neural crest stem-like cells with high cell viability during the extrusion process under an average shear stress ∼190 Pa. We further translated the method to the extrusion-based 3D bioprinting, and demonstrated that human fibroblasts co-printed with FoxD3 in the thermo-responsive PU hydrogel could be reprogrammed and differentiated into a neural-tissue like construct at 14 days after induction. The neural-like tissue construct produced by 3D bioprinting from human fibroblasts may be applied to personalized drug screening or neuroregeneration. There is no study so far on cell reprogramming in situ with 3D bioprinting. In this manuscript, a new thermoresponsive polyurethane bioink was developed and employed to deliver FoxD3 plasmid into human fibroblasts by the extrusion-based bioprinting. When the polyurethane gel was extruded through the syringe tip, the shear stress generated may have caused the transient membrane permeability for transfection. The shear stress was optimized for transfection in situ by 3D bioprinting. We demonstrated that human fibroblasts could be

Neuronal coupling by endogenous electric fields: cable theory and applications to coincidence detector neurons in the auditory brain stem.

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Goldwyn, Joshua H; Rinzel, John

2016-04-01

The ongoing activity of neurons generates a spatially and time-varying field of extracellular voltage (Ve). This Ve field reflects population-level neural activity, but does it modulate neural dynamics and the function of neural circuits? We provide a cable theory framework to study how a bundle of model neurons generates Ve and how this Ve feeds back and influences membrane potential (Vm). We find that these "ephaptic interactions" are small but not negligible. The model neural population can generate Ve with millivolt-scale amplitude, and this Ve perturbs the Vm of "nearby" cables and effectively increases their electrotonic length. After using passive cable theory to systematically study ephaptic coupling, we explore a test case: the medial superior olive (MSO) in the auditory brain stem. The MSO is a possible locus of ephaptic interactions: sounds evoke large (millivolt scale)Vein vivo in this nucleus. The Ve response is thought to be generated by MSO neurons that perform a known neuronal computation with submillisecond temporal precision (coincidence detection to encode sound source location). Using a biophysically based model of MSO neurons, we find millivolt-scale ephaptic interactions consistent with the passive cable theory results. These subtle membrane potential perturbations induce changes in spike initiation threshold, spike time synchrony, and time difference sensitivity. These results suggest that ephaptic coupling may influence MSO function. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

The CREST reactive-burn model for explosives

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Maheswaran M-A.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available CREST is an innovative reactive-burn model that has been developed at AWE for simulating shock initiation and detonation propagation behaviour in explosives. The model has a different basis from other reactive-burn models in that its reaction rate is independent of local flow variables behind the shock wave e.g. pressure and temperature. The foundation for CREST, based on a detailed analysis of data from particle-velocity gauge experiments, is that the reaction rate depends only on the local shock strength and the time since the shock passed. Since a measure of shock strength is the entropy of the non-reacted explosive, which remains constant behind a shock, CREST uses an entropy-dependent reaction rate. This paper will provide an overview of the CREST model and its predictive capability. In particular, it will be shown that the model can predict a wide range of experimental phenomena for both shock initiation (e.g. the effects of porosity and initial temperature on sustained-shock and thin-flyer initiation and detonation propagation (e.g. the diameter effect curve and detonation failure cones using a single set of coefficients.

Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis in a patient with CREST syndrome.

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Hurst, Rebecca L; Berianu, Florentina; Ginsburg, William W; Klein, Christopher J; Englestad, Janean K; Kennelly, Kathleen D

2014-10-01

Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis is a rare entity. Although it has been reported in diffuse systemic sclerosis, it has not been reported in calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly and telangiectasia (CREST) syndrome. We report a patient with cryoglobulinemic vasculitis with CREST syndrome who did not have typical clinical features of vasculitis. This 58-year-old woman presented with mild generalized weakness and a diagnosis of CREST syndrome, which included Raynaud's syndrome, dysphagia and telangiectasias. She was positive for serum cryoglobulins, which led to a sural nerve biopsy. The biopsy results were consistent with cryoglobulinemic vasculitis. Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis has not been previously reported in CREST syndrome to our knowledge. Additionally, the patient also had limited clinical symptoms. Our patient displays the importance of checking for cryoglobulins and obtaining a nerve biopsy when the serum is positive. Both of these diagnostic tests were integral for directing appropriate treatment for this patient. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inter-progenitor pool wiring: An evolutionarily conserved strategy that expands neural circuit diversity.

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Suzuki, Takumi; Sato, Makoto

2017-11-15

Diversification of neuronal types is key to establishing functional variations in neural circuits. The first critical step to generate neuronal diversity is to organize the compartmental domains of developing brains into spatially distinct neural progenitor pools. Neural progenitors in each pool then generate a unique set of diverse neurons through specific spatiotemporal specification processes. In this review article, we focus on an additional mechanism, 'inter-progenitor pool wiring', that further expands the diversity of neural circuits. After diverse types of neurons are generated in one progenitor pool, a fraction of these neurons start migrating toward a remote brain region containing neurons that originate from another progenitor pool. Finally, neurons of different origins are intermingled and eventually form complex but precise neural circuits. The developing cerebral cortex of mammalian brains is one of the best examples of inter-progenitor pool wiring. However, Drosophila visual system development has revealed similar mechanisms in invertebrate brains, suggesting that inter-progenitor pool wiring is an evolutionarily conserved strategy that expands neural circuit diversity. Here, we will discuss how inter-progenitor pool wiring is accomplished in mammalian and fly brain systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design Guidelines for Low Crested Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burcharth, H. F.; Lamberti, Alberto

2004-01-01

1998-2002. The Guidelines comprise engineering aspects related to morphological impact and structure stability, biological aspects related to ecological impact, and socio-economical aspects related to the implementation of LCS-schemes. The guidelines are limited to submerged and regularly overtopped......The paper presents an overview of the design guidelines for low crested structures (LCS's) to be applied in coastal protection schemes. The design guidelines are formulated as a part of the research project: Environmental Design of Low Crested Coastal Defence Structures (DELOS) within the EC 5FP...

Single neuron computation

CERN Document Server

McKenna, Thomas M; Zornetzer, Steven F

1992-01-01

This book contains twenty-two original contributions that provide a comprehensive overview of computational approaches to understanding a single neuron structure. The focus on cellular-level processes is twofold. From a computational neuroscience perspective, a thorough understanding of the information processing performed by single neurons leads to an understanding of circuit- and systems-level activity. From the standpoint of artificial neural networks (ANNs), a single real neuron is as complex an operational unit as an entire ANN, and formalizing the complex computations performed by real n

Mesmerising mirror neurons.

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Heyes, Cecilia

2010-06-01

Mirror neurons have been hailed as the key to understanding social cognition. I argue that three currents of thought-relating to evolution, atomism and telepathy-have magnified the perceived importance of mirror neurons. When they are understood to be a product of associative learning, rather than an adaptation for social cognition, mirror neurons are no longer mesmerising, but they continue to raise important questions about both the psychology of science and the neural bases of social cognition. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A chemically defined substrate for the expansion and neuronal differentiation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells.

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Tsai, Yihuan; Cutts, Josh; Kimura, Azuma; Varun, Divya; Brafman, David A

2015-07-01

Due to the limitation of current pharmacological therapeutic strategies, stem cell therapies have emerged as a viable option for treating many incurable neurological disorders. Specifically, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived neural progenitor cells (hNPCs), a multipotent cell population that is capable of near indefinite expansion and subsequent differentiation into the various cell types that comprise the central nervous system (CNS), could provide an unlimited source of cells for such cell-based therapies. However the clinical application of these cells will require (i) defined, xeno-free conditions for their expansion and neuronal differentiation and (ii) scalable culture systems that enable their expansion and neuronal differentiation in numbers sufficient for regenerative medicine and drug screening purposes. Current extracellular matrix protein (ECMP)-based substrates for the culture of hNPCs are expensive, difficult to isolate, subject to batch-to-batch variations, and, therefore, unsuitable for clinical application of hNPCs. Using a high-throughput array-based screening approach, we identified a synthetic polymer, poly(4-vinyl phenol) (P4VP), that supported the long-term proliferation and self-renewal of hNPCs. The hNPCs cultured on P4VP maintained their characteristic morphology, expressed high levels of markers of multipotency, and retained their ability to differentiate into neurons. Such chemically defined substrates will eliminate critical roadblocks for the utilization of hNPCs for human neural regenerative repair, disease modeling, and drug discovery. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A chemically defined substrate for the expansion and neuronal differentiation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yihuan Tsai

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Due to the limitation of current pharmacological therapeutic strategies, stem cell therapies have emerged as a viable option for treating many incurable neurological disorders. Specifically, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (hNPCs, a multipotent cell population that is capable of near indefinite expansion and subsequent differentiation into the various cell types that comprise the central nervous system (CNS, could provide an unlimited source of cells for such cell-based therapies. However the clinical application of these cells will require (i defined, xeno-free conditions for their expansion and neuronal differentiation and (ii scalable culture systems that enable their expansion and neuronal differentiation in numbers sufficient for regenerative medicine and drug screening purposes. Current extracellular matrix protein (ECMP-based substrates for the culture of hNPCs are expensive, difficult to isolate, subject to batch-to-batch variations, and, therefore, unsuitable for clinical application of hNPCs. Using a high-throughput array-based screening approach, we identified a synthetic polymer, poly(4-vinyl phenol (P4VP, that supported the long-term proliferation and self-renewal of hNPCs. The hNPCs cultured on P4VP maintained their characteristic morphology, expressed high levels of markers of multipotency, and retained their ability to differentiate into neurons. Such chemically defined substrates will eliminate critical roadblocks for the utilization of hNPCs for human neural regenerative repair, disease modeling, and drug discovery.

Renal excretion of iodine-131 labelled meta-iodobenzylguanidine and metabolites after therapeutic doses in patients suffering from different neural crest-derived tumours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wafelman, A.R.; Hoefnagel, C.A.; Maessen, H.J.M.; Maes, R.A.A.; Beijnen, J.H.

1997-01-01

Iodine-131 labelled meta-iodobenzylguanidine ([ 131 I[MIBG) is used for diagnostic scintigraphy and radionuclide therapy of neural crest-derived tumours. After administration of therapeutic doses of [ 131 I[MIBG (3.1-7.5 GBq) to 17 patients (n=32 courses), aged 2-73 years, 56%±10%, 73%±11%, 80%±10% and 83%±10% of the dose was cumulatively excreted as total radioactivity in urine at t=24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h, respectively. Except for two adult patients, who showed excretion of 14%-18% of [ 131 I[meta-iodohippuric acid ([ 131 I[MIHA), the cumulatively excreted radioactivity consisted of >85% [ 131 I[MIBG, with 6% of the dose excreted as free [ 131 I[iodide, 4% as [ 131 I[MIHA and 2.5% as an unknown iodine-131 labelled metabolite. Cumulative renal excretion rates of total radioactivity and of [ 131 I[MIBG appeared to be higher in neuroblastoma and phaeochromocytoma patients than in carcinoid patients. Based on the excretion of small amounts of [ 131 I[meta-iodobenzoic acid in two patients, a possible metabolic pathway for [ 131 I[MIBG is suggested. The degree of metabolism was not related to the extent of liver uptake of radioactivity. (orig.). With 2 figs., 5 tabs

Tumour necrosis factor-alpha impairs neuronal differentiation but not proliferation of hippocampal neural precursor cells: Role of Hes1.

Science.gov (United States)

Keohane, Aoife; Ryan, Sinead; Maloney, Eimer; Sullivan, Aideen M; Nolan, Yvonne M

2010-01-01

Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, which influences neuronal survival and function yet there is limited information available on its effects on hippocampal neural precursor cells (NPCs). We show that TNFalpha treatment during proliferation had no effect on the percentage of proliferating cells prepared from embryonic rat hippocampal neurosphere cultures, nor did it affect cell fate towards either an astrocytic or neuronal lineage when cells were then allowed to differentiate. However, when cells were differentiated in the presence of TNFalpha, significantly reduced percentages of newly born and post-mitotic neurons, significantly increased percentages of astrocytes and increased expression of TNFalpha receptors, TNF-R1 and TNF-R2, as well as expression of the anti-neurogenic Hes1 gene, were observed. These data indicate that exposure of hippocampal NPCs to TNFalpha when they are undergoing differentiation but not proliferation has a detrimental effect on their neuronal lineage fate, which may be mediated through increased expression of Hes1. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metabolic sensing neurons and the control of energy homeostasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Barry E

2006-11-30

The brain and periphery carry on a constant conversation; the periphery informs the brain about its metabolic needs and the brain provides for these needs through its control of somatomotor, autonomic and neurohumoral pathways involved in energy intake, expenditure and storage. Metabolic sensing neurons are the integrators of a variety of metabolic, humoral and neural inputs from the periphery. Such neurons, originally called "glucosensing", also respond to fatty acids, hormones and metabolites from the periphery. They are integrated within neural pathways involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Unlike most neurons, they utilize glucose and other metabolites as signaling molecules to regulate their membrane potential and firing rate. For glucosensing neurons, glucokinase acts as the rate-limiting step in glucosensing while the pathways that mediate responses to metabolites like lactate, ketone bodies and fatty acids are less well characterized. Many metabolic sensing neurons also respond to insulin and leptin and other peripheral hormones and receive neural inputs from peripheral organs. Each set of afferent signals arrives with different temporal profiles and by different routes and these inputs are summated at the level of the membrane potential to produce a given neural firing pattern. In some obese individuals, the relative sensitivity of metabolic sensing neurons to various peripheral inputs is genetically reduced. This may provide one mechanism underlying their propensity to become obese when exposed to diets high in fat and caloric density. Thus, metabolic sensing neurons may provide a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of obesity.

Information transmission and recovery in neural communications channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eguia, M. C.; Rabinovich, M. I.; Abarbanel, H. D. I.

2000-01-01

Biological neural communications channels transport environmental information from sensors through chains of active dynamical neurons to neural centers for decisions and actions to achieve required functions. These kinds of communications channels are able to create information and to transfer information from one time scale to the other because of the intrinsic nonlinear dynamics of the component neurons. We discuss a very simple neural information channel composed of sensory input in the form of a spike train that arrives at a model neuron, then moves through a realistic synapse to a second neuron where the information in the initial sensory signal is read. Our model neurons are four-dimensional generalizations of the Hindmarsh-Rose neuron, and we use a model of chemical synapse derived from first-order kinetics. The four-dimensional model neuron has a rich variety of dynamical behaviors, including periodic bursting, chaotic bursting, continuous spiking, and multistability. We show that, for many of these regimes, the parameters of the chemical synapse can be tuned so that information about the stimulus that is unreadable at the first neuron in the channel can be recovered by the dynamical activity of the synapse and the second neuron. Information creation by nonlinear dynamical systems that allow chaotic oscillations is familiar in their autonomous oscillations. It is associated with the instabilities that lead to positive Lyapunov exponents in their dynamical behavior. Our results indicate how nonlinear neurons acting as input/output systems along a communications channel can recover information apparently ''lost'' in earlier junctions on the channel. Our measure of information transmission is the average mutual information between elements, and because the channel is active and nonlinear, the average mutual information between the sensory source and the final neuron may be greater than the average mutual information at an earlier neuron in the channel. This

Statistical Physics of Neural Systems with Nonadditive Dendritic Coupling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Breuer

2014-03-01

Full Text Available How neurons process their inputs crucially determines the dynamics of biological and artificial neural networks. In such neural and neural-like systems, synaptic input is typically considered to be merely transmitted linearly or sublinearly by the dendritic compartments. Yet, single-neuron experiments report pronounced supralinear dendritic summation of sufficiently synchronous and spatially close-by inputs. Here, we provide a statistical physics approach to study the impact of such nonadditive dendritic processing on single-neuron responses and the performance of associative-memory tasks in artificial neural networks. First, we compute the effect of random input to a neuron incorporating nonlinear dendrites. This approach is independent of the details of the neuronal dynamics. Second, we use those results to study the impact of dendritic nonlinearities on the network dynamics in a paradigmatic model for associative memory, both numerically and analytically. We find that dendritic nonlinearities maintain network convergence and increase the robustness of memory performance against noise. Interestingly, an intermediate number of dendritic branches is optimal for memory functionality.

Creative Copper Crests

Science.gov (United States)

Knab, Thomas

2011-01-01

In this article, the author discusses how to create an art activity that would link the computer-created business cards of fourth-grade students with an upcoming school-wide medieval event. Creating family crests from copper foil would be a great connection, since they, like business cards, are an individual's way to identify themselves to others.…

An Overview of Bayesian Methods for Neural Spike Train Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhe Chen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Neural spike train analysis is an important task in computational neuroscience which aims to understand neural mechanisms and gain insights into neural circuits. With the advancement of multielectrode recording and imaging technologies, it has become increasingly demanding to develop statistical tools for analyzing large neuronal ensemble spike activity. Here we present a tutorial overview of Bayesian methods and their representative applications in neural spike train analysis, at both single neuron and population levels. On the theoretical side, we focus on various approximate Bayesian inference techniques as applied to latent state and parameter estimation. On the application side, the topics include spike sorting, tuning curve estimation, neural encoding and decoding, deconvolution of spike trains from calcium imaging signals, and inference of neuronal functional connectivity and synchrony. Some research challenges and opportunities for neural spike train analysis are discussed.

The role of BAF (mSWI/SNF) complexes in mammalian neural development.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Esther Y; Crabtree, Gerald R

2014-09-01

The BAF (mammalian SWI/SNF) complexes are a family of multi-subunit ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers that use ATP hydrolysis to alter chromatin structure. Distinct BAF complex compositions are possible through combinatorial assembly of homologous subunit families and can serve non-redundant functions. In mammalian neural development, developmental stage-specific BAF assemblies are found in embryonic stem cells, neural progenitors and postmitotic neurons. In particular, the neural progenitor-specific BAF complexes are essential for controlling the kinetics and mode of neural progenitor cell division, while neuronal BAF function is necessary for the maturation of postmitotic neuronal phenotypes as well as long-term memory formation. The microRNA-mediated mechanism for transitioning from npBAF to nBAF complexes is instructive for the neuronal fate and can even convert fibroblasts into neurons. The high frequency of BAF subunit mutations in neurological disorders underscores the rate-determining role of BAF complexes in neural development, homeostasis, and plasticity. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Optimal compensation for neuron loss

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, David GT; Denève, Sophie; Machens, Christian K

2016-01-01

The brain has an impressive ability to withstand neural damage. Diseases that kill neurons can go unnoticed for years, and incomplete brain lesions or silencing of neurons often fail to produce any behavioral effect. How does the brain compensate for such damage, and what are the limits of this compensation? We propose that neural circuits instantly compensate for neuron loss, thereby preserving their function as much as possible. We show that this compensation can explain changes in tuning curves induced by neuron silencing across a variety of systems, including the primary visual cortex. We find that compensatory mechanisms can be implemented through the dynamics of networks with a tight balance of excitation and inhibition, without requiring synaptic plasticity. The limits of this compensatory mechanism are reached when excitation and inhibition become unbalanced, thereby demarcating a recovery boundary, where signal representation fails and where diseases may become symptomatic. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12454.001 PMID:27935480

NeuronBank: a tool for cataloging neuronal circuitry

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Paul S Katz

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The basic unit of any nervous system is the neuron. Therefore, understanding the operation of nervous systems ultimately requires an inventory of their constituent neurons and synaptic connectivity, which form neural circuits. The presence of uniquely identifiable neurons or classes of neurons in many invertebrates has facilitated the construction of cellular-level connectivity diagrams that can be generalized across individuals within a species. Homologous neurons can also be recognized across species. Here we describe NeuronBank.org, a web-based tool that we are developing for cataloging, searching, and analyzing neuronal circuitry within and across species. Information from a single species is represented in an individual branch of NeuronBank. Users can search within a branch or perform queries across branches to look for similarities in neuronal circuits across species. The branches allow for an extensible ontology so that additional characteristics can be added as knowledge grows. Each entry in NeuronBank generates a unique accession ID, allowing it to be easily cited. There is also an automatic link to a Wiki page allowing an encyclopedic explanation of the entry. All of the 44 previously published neurons plus one previously unpublished neuron from the mollusc, Tritonia diomedea, have been entered into a branch of NeuronBank as have 4 previously published neurons from the mollusc, Melibe leonina. The ability to organize information about neuronal circuits will make this information more accessible, ultimately aiding research on these important models.

Rhesus monkey neural stem cell transplantation promotes neural regeneration in rats with hippocampal lesions

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Li-juan Ye

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Rhesus monkey neural stem cells are capable of differentiating into neurons and glial cells. Therefore, neural stem cell transplantation can be used to promote functional recovery of the nervous system. Rhesus monkey neural stem cells (1 × 105 cells/μL were injected into bilateral hippocampi of rats with hippocampal lesions. Confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated that green fluorescent protein-labeled transplanted cells survived and grew well. Transplanted cells were detected at the lesion site, but also in the nerve fiber-rich region of the cerebral cortex and corpus callosum. Some transplanted cells differentiated into neurons and glial cells clustering along the ventricular wall, and integrated into the recipient brain. Behavioral tests revealed that spatial learning and memory ability improved, indicating that rhesus monkey neural stem cells noticeably improve spatial learning and memory abilities in rats with hippocampal lesions.

Overflow Characteristic of Cylindrical Shape Crest Weirs Over Horizontal Bed

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Emad4 AbdulGabbar

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The most common types of weirs are the broad-crested weir, the sharp-crested weir, the circular crested weir and the ogee crested weir. Advantages of the cylindrical weir shape include the stable overflow pattern, the ease to pass floating debris, the simplicity of design compared to ogee crest design and the associated lower costs. In present study, it was investigated the overflow characteristics of circular weirs in laboratory for various cylinder radii of three sizes (11.4, 9.0, 6.3 cm, and the models fixed on the channel bed vertically to the direction of flow. The result shows that the increase in the ratio of head to weir radius ratio (Hw/R value causes an increase in discharge coefficient (Cd value for the same height of weir. It was observed that the cylinder size (i.e. radius of cylindrical weir (R has an effect on the (Cd. The flow magnification factor (qw/qs increases with an increase in (Hw/R value and values of (qw/qs were always higher than one for all values of (Hw/R, this means that weirs of cylindrical shape performed better than those of sharp crest for any value of weir radius tested in this study.

Upregulation of the Nr2f1-A830082K12Rik gene pair in murine neural crest cells results in a complex phenotype reminiscent of Waardenburg syndrome type 4.

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Bergeron, Karl-F; Nguyen, Chloé M A; Cardinal, Tatiana; Charrier, Baptiste; Silversides, David W; Pilon, Nicolas

2016-11-01

Waardenburg syndrome is a neurocristopathy characterized by a combination of skin and hair depigmentation, and inner ear defects. In the type 4 form, these defects show comorbidity with Hirschsprung disease, a disorder marked by an absence of neural ganglia in the distal colon, triggering functional intestinal obstruction. Here, we report that the Spot mouse line - obtained through an insertional mutagenesis screen for genes involved in neural crest cell (NCC) development - is a model for Waardenburg syndrome type 4. We found that the Spot insertional mutation causes overexpression of an overlapping gene pair composed of the transcription-factor-encoding Nr2f1 and the antisense long non-coding RNA A830082K12Rik in NCCs through a mechanism involving relief of repression of these genes. Consistent with the previously described role of Nr2f1 in promoting gliogenesis in the central nervous system, we further found that NCC-derived progenitors of the enteric nervous system fail to fully colonize Spot embryonic guts owing to their premature differentiation in glial cells. Taken together, our data thus identify silencer elements of the Nr2f1-A830082K12Rik gene pair as new candidate loci for Waardenburg syndrome type 4. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Upregulation of the Nr2f1-A830082K12Rik gene pair in murine neural crest cells results in a complex phenotype reminiscent of Waardenburg syndrome type 4

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Karl-F. Bergeron

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Waardenburg syndrome is a neurocristopathy characterized by a combination of skin and hair depigmentation, and inner ear defects. In the type 4 form, these defects show comorbidity with Hirschsprung disease, a disorder marked by an absence of neural ganglia in the distal colon, triggering functional intestinal obstruction. Here, we report that the Spot mouse line – obtained through an insertional mutagenesis screen for genes involved in neural crest cell (NCC development – is a model for Waardenburg syndrome type 4. We found that the Spot insertional mutation causes overexpression of an overlapping gene pair composed of the transcription-factor-encoding Nr2f1 and the antisense long non-coding RNA A830082K12Rik in NCCs through a mechanism involving relief of repression of these genes. Consistent with the previously described role of Nr2f1 in promoting gliogenesis in the central nervous system, we further found that NCC-derived progenitors of the enteric nervous system fail to fully colonize Spot embryonic guts owing to their premature differentiation in glial cells. Taken together, our data thus identify silencer elements of the Nr2f1-A830082K12Rik gene pair as new candidate loci for Waardenburg syndrome type 4.

Induction of specific neuron types by overexpression of single transcription factors.

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Teratani-Ota, Yusuke; Yamamizu, Kohei; Piao, Yulan; Sharova, Lioudmila; Amano, Misa; Yu, Hong; Schlessinger, David; Ko, Minoru S H; Sharov, Alexei A

2016-10-01

Specific neuronal types derived from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can facilitate mechanistic studies and potentially aid in regenerative medicine. Existing induction methods, however, mostly rely on the effects of the combined action of multiple added growth factors, which generally tend to result in mixed populations of neurons. Here, we report that overexpression of specific transcription factors (TFs) in ESCs can rather guide the differentiation of ESCs towards specific neuron lineages. Analysis of data on gene expression changes 2 d after induction of each of 185 TFs implicated candidate TFs for further ESC differentiation studies. Induction of 23 TFs (out of 49 TFs tested) for 6 d facilitated neural differentiation of ESCs as inferred from increased proportion of cells with neural progenitor marker PSA-NCAM. We identified early activation of the Notch signaling pathway as a common feature of most potent inducers of neural differentiation. The majority of neuron-like cells generated by induction of Ascl1, Smad7, Nr2f1, Dlx2, Dlx4, Nr2f2, Barhl2, and Lhx1 were GABA-positive and expressed other markers of GABAergic neurons. In the same way, we identified Lmx1a and Nr4a2 as inducers for neurons bearing dopaminergic markers and Isl1, Fezf2, and St18 for cholinergic motor neurons. A time-course experiment with induction of Ascl1 showed early upregulation of most neural-specific messenger RNA (mRNA) and microRNAs (miRNAs). Sets of Ascl1-induced mRNAs and miRNAs were enriched in Ascl1 targets. In further studies, enrichment of cells obtained with the induction of Ascl1, Smad7, and Nr2f1 using microbeads resulted in essentially pure population of neuron-like cells with expression profiles similar to neural tissues and expressed markers of GABAergic neurons. In summary, this study indicates that induction of transcription factors is a promising approach to generate cultures that show the transcription profiles characteristic of specific neural cell types.

A neuron-astrocyte transistor-like model for neuromorphic dressed neurons.

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Valenza, G; Pioggia, G; Armato, A; Ferro, M; Scilingo, E P; De Rossi, D

2011-09-01

Experimental evidences on the role of the synaptic glia as an active partner together with the bold synapse in neuronal signaling and dynamics of neural tissue strongly suggest to investigate on a more realistic neuron-glia model for better understanding human brain processing. Among the glial cells, the astrocytes play a crucial role in the tripartite synapsis, i.e. the dressed neuron. A well-known two-way astrocyte-neuron interaction can be found in the literature, completely revising the purely supportive role for the glia. The aim of this study is to provide a computationally efficient model for neuron-glia interaction. The neuron-glia interactions were simulated by implementing the Li-Rinzel model for an astrocyte and the Izhikevich model for a neuron. Assuming the dressed neuron dynamics similar to the nonlinear input-output characteristics of a bipolar junction transistor, we derived our computationally efficient model. This model may represent the fundamental computational unit for the development of real-time artificial neuron-glia networks opening new perspectives in pattern recognition systems and in brain neurophysiology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prion replication occurs in endogenous adult neural stem cells and alters their neuronal fate: involvement of endogenous neural stem cells in prion diseases.

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Aroa Relaño-Ginès

Full Text Available Prion diseases are irreversible progressive neurodegenerative diseases, leading to severe incapacity and death. They are characterized in the brain by prion amyloid deposits, vacuolisation, astrocytosis, neuronal degeneration, and by cognitive, behavioural and physical impairments. There is no treatment for these disorders and stem cell therapy therefore represents an interesting new approach. Gains could not only result from the cell transplantation, but also from the stimulation of endogenous neural stem cells (NSC or by the combination of both approaches. However, the development of such strategies requires a detailed knowledge of the pathology, particularly concerning the status of the adult neurogenesis and endogenous NSC during the development of the disease. During the past decade, several studies have consistently shown that NSC reside in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS and that adult neurogenesis occurs throughout the adulthood in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle or the Dentate Gyrus of the hippocampus. Adult NSC are believed to constitute a reservoir for neuronal replacement during normal cell turnover or after brain injury. However, the activation of this system does not fully compensate the neuronal loss that occurs during neurodegenerative diseases and could even contribute to the disease progression. We investigated here the status of these cells during the development of prion disorders. We were able to show that NSC accumulate and replicate prions. Importantly, this resulted in the alteration of their neuronal fate which then represents a new pathologic event that might underlie the rapid progression of the disease.

A novel culture method reveals unique neural stem/progenitors in mature porcine iris tissues that differentiate into neuronal and rod photoreceptor-like cells.

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Royall, Lars N; Lea, Daniel; Matsushita, Tamami; Takeda, Taka-Aki; Taketani, Shigeru; Araki, Masasuke

2017-11-15

Iris neural stem/progenitor cells from mature porcine eyes were investigated using a new protocol for tissue culture, which consists of dispase treatment and Matrigel embedding. We used a number of culture conditions and found an intense differentiation of neuronal cells from both the iris pigmented epithelial (IPE) cells and the stroma tissue cells. Rod photoreceptor-like cells were also observed but mostly in a later stage of culture. Neuronal differentiation does not require any additives such as fetal bovine serum or FGF2, although FGF2 and IGF2 appeared to promote neural differentiation in the IPE cultures. Furthermore, the stroma-derived cells were able to be maintained in vitro indefinitely. The evolutionary similarity between humans and domestic pigs highlight the potential for this methodology in the modeling of human diseases and characterizing human ocular stem cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neural plasticity and its initiating conditions in tinnitus.

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Roberts, L E

2018-03-01

Deafferentation caused by cochlear pathology (which can be hidden from the audiogram) activates forms of neural plasticity in auditory pathways, generating tinnitus and its associated conditions including hyperacusis. This article discusses tinnitus mechanisms and suggests how these mechanisms may relate to those involved in normal auditory information processing. Research findings from animal models of tinnitus and from electromagnetic imaging of tinnitus patients are reviewed which pertain to the role of deafferentation and neural plasticity in tinnitus and hyperacusis. Auditory neurons compensate for deafferentation by increasing their input/output functions (gain) at multiple levels of the auditory system. Forms of homeostatic plasticity are believed to be responsible for this neural change, which increases the spontaneous and driven activity of neurons in central auditory structures in animals expressing behavioral evidence of tinnitus. Another tinnitus correlate, increased neural synchrony among the affected neurons, is forged by spike-timing-dependent neural plasticity in auditory pathways. Slow oscillations generated by bursting thalamic neurons verified in tinnitus animals appear to modulate neural plasticity in the cortex, integrating tinnitus neural activity with information in brain regions supporting memory, emotion, and consciousness which exhibit increased metabolic activity in tinnitus patients. The latter process may be induced by transient auditory events in normal processing but it persists in tinnitus, driven by phantom signals from the auditory pathway. Several tinnitus therapies attempt to suppress tinnitus through plasticity, but repeated sessions will likely be needed to prevent tinnitus activity from returning owing to deafferentation as its initiating condition.

Nanoparticle-mediated transcriptional modification enhances neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells following transplantation in rat brain.

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Li, Xiaowei; Tzeng, Stephany Y; Liu, Xiaoyan; Tammia, Markus; Cheng, Yu-Hao; Rolfe, Andrew; Sun, Dong; Zhang, Ning; Green, Jordan J; Wen, Xuejun; Mao, Hai-Quan

2016-04-01

Strategies to enhance survival and direct the differentiation of stem cells in vivo following transplantation in tissue repair site are critical to realizing the potential of stem cell-based therapies. Here we demonstrated an effective approach to promote neuronal differentiation and maturation of human fetal tissue-derived neural stem cells (hNSCs) in a brain lesion site of a rat traumatic brain injury model using biodegradable nanoparticle-mediated transfection method to deliver key transcriptional factor neurogenin-2 to hNSCs when transplanted with a tailored hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel, generating larger number of more mature neurons engrafted to the host brain tissue than non-transfected cells. The nanoparticle-mediated transcription activation method together with an HA hydrogel delivery matrix provides a translatable approach for stem cell-based regenerative therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Death and rebirth of neural activity in sparse inhibitory networks

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Angulo-Garcia, David; Luccioli, Stefano; Olmi, Simona; Torcini, Alessandro

2017-05-01

Inhibition is a key aspect of neural dynamics playing a fundamental role for the emergence of neural rhythms and the implementation of various information coding strategies. Inhibitory populations are present in several brain structures, and the comprehension of their dynamics is strategical for the understanding of neural processing. In this paper, we clarify the mechanisms underlying a general phenomenon present in pulse-coupled heterogeneous inhibitory networks: inhibition can induce not only suppression of neural activity, as expected, but can also promote neural re-activation. In particular, for globally coupled systems, the number of firing neurons monotonically reduces upon increasing the strength of inhibition (neuronal death). However, the random pruning of connections is able to reverse the action of inhibition, i.e. in a random sparse network a sufficiently strong synaptic strength can surprisingly promote, rather than depress, the activity of neurons (neuronal rebirth). Thus, the number of firing neurons reaches a minimum value at some intermediate synaptic strength. We show that this minimum signals a transition from a regime dominated by neurons with a higher firing activity to a phase where all neurons are effectively sub-threshold and their irregular firing is driven by current fluctuations. We explain the origin of the transition by deriving a mean field formulation of the problem able to provide the fraction of active neurons as well as the first two moments of their firing statistics. The introduction of a synaptic time scale does not modify the main aspects of the reported phenomenon. However, for sufficiently slow synapses the transition becomes dramatic, and the system passes from a perfectly regular evolution to irregular bursting dynamics. In this latter regime the model provides predictions consistent with experimental findings for a specific class of neurons, namely the medium spiny neurons in the striatum.

In vitro evaluation of biocompatibility of uncoated thermally reduced graphene and carbon nanotube-loaded PVDF membranes with adult neural stem cell-derived neurons and glia

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Çagla Defterali

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Graphene, graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs and carbon nanotubes (CNTs are being investigated as potential substrates for the growth of neural cells. However, in most in vitro studies the cells were seeded on these materials coated with various proteins implying that the observed effects on the cells could not solely be attributed to the GBN and CNT properties. Here we studied the biocompatibility of uncoated thermally reduced graphene (TRG and poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF membranes loaded with multi walled CNTs (MWCNTs using neural stem cells (NSCs isolated from the adult mouse olfactory bulb (termed aOBSCs. When aOBSCs were induced to differentiate on coverslips treated with TRG or control materials (polyethyleneimine-PEI and polyornithine plus fibronectin-PLO/F in a serum-free medium, neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes were generated in all conditions, indicating that TRG permits the multi-lineage differentiation of aOBSCs. However, the total number of cells was reduced on both PEI and TRG. In a serum-containing medium, aOBSC-derived neurons and oligodendrocytes grown on TRG were more numerous than in controls; the neurons developed synaptic boutons and oligodendrocytes were more branched. In contrast, neurons growing on PVDF membranes had reduced neurite branching and on MWCNTs-loaded membranes, oligodendrocytes were lower in numbers than in controls. Overall, these findings indicate that uncoated TRG may be biocompatible with the generation, differentiation, and maturation of aOBSC-derived neurons and glial cells, implying a potential use for TRG to study functional neuronal networks.

Frequency-difference-dependent stochastic resonance in neural systems

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Guo, Daqing; Perc, Matjaž; Zhang, Yangsong; Xu, Peng; Yao, Dezhong

2017-08-01

Biological neurons receive multiple noisy oscillatory signals, and their dynamical response to the superposition of these signals is of fundamental importance for information processing in the brain. Here we study the response of neural systems to the weak envelope modulation signal, which is superimposed by two periodic signals with different frequencies. We show that stochastic resonance occurs at the beat frequency in neural systems at the single-neuron as well as the population level. The performance of this frequency-difference-dependent stochastic resonance is influenced by both the beat frequency and the two forcing frequencies. Compared to a single neuron, a population of neurons is more efficient in detecting the information carried by the weak envelope modulation signal at the beat frequency. Furthermore, an appropriate fine-tuning of the excitation-inhibition balance can further optimize the response of a neural ensemble to the superimposed signal. Our results thus introduce and provide insights into the generation and modulation mechanism of the frequency-difference-dependent stochastic resonance in neural systems.

Hopfield neural network in HEP track reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muresan, R.; Pentia, M.

1997-01-01

In experimental particle physics, pattern recognition problems, specifically for neural network methods, occur frequently in track finding or feature extraction. Track finding is a combinatorial optimization problem. Given a set of points in Euclidean space, one tries the reconstruction of particle trajectories, subject to smoothness constraints.The basic ingredients in a neural network are the N binary neurons and the synaptic strengths connecting them. In our case the neurons are the segments connecting all possible point pairs.The dynamics of the neural network is given by a local updating rule wich evaluates for each neuron the sign of the 'upstream activity'. An updating rule in the form of sigmoid function is given. The synaptic strengths are defined in terms of angle between the segments and the lengths of the segments implied in the track reconstruction. An algorithm based on Hopfield neural network has been developed and tested on the track coordinates measured by silicon microstrip tracking system

Complex dynamics of a delayed discrete neural network of two nonidentical neurons.

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Chen, Yuanlong; Huang, Tingwen; Huang, Yu

2014-03-01

In this paper, we discover that a delayed discrete Hopfield neural network of two nonidentical neurons with self-connections and no self-connections can demonstrate chaotic behaviors. To this end, we first transform the model, by a novel way, into an equivalent system which has some interesting properties. Then, we identify the chaotic invariant set for this system and show that the dynamics of this system within this set is topologically conjugate to the dynamics of the full shift map with two symbols. This confirms chaos in the sense of Devaney. Our main results generalize the relevant results of Huang and Zou [J. Nonlinear Sci. 15, 291-303 (2005)], Kaslik and Balint [J. Nonlinear Sci. 18, 415-432 (2008)] and Chen et al. [Sci. China Math. 56(9), 1869-1878 (2013)]. We also give some numeric simulations to verify our theoretical results.

The pre-vertebrate origins of neurogenic placodes.

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Abitua, Philip Barron; Gainous, T Blair; Kaczmarczyk, Angela N; Winchell, Christopher J; Hudson, Clare; Kamata, Kaori; Nakagawa, Masashi; Tsuda, Motoyuki; Kusakabe, Takehiro G; Levine, Michael

2015-08-27

The sudden appearance of the neural crest and neurogenic placodes in early branching vertebrates has puzzled biologists for over a century. These embryonic tissues contribute to the development of the cranium and associated sensory organs, which were crucial for the evolution of the vertebrate "new head". A previous study suggests that rudimentary neural crest cells existed in ancestral chordates. However, the evolutionary origins of neurogenic placodes have remained obscure owing to a paucity of embryonic data from tunicates, the closest living relatives to those early vertebrates. Here we show that the tunicate Ciona intestinalis exhibits a proto-placodal ectoderm (PPE) that requires inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and expresses the key regulatory determinant Six1/2 and its co-factor Eya, a developmental process conserved across vertebrates. The Ciona PPE is shown to produce ciliated neurons that express genes for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a G-protein-coupled receptor for relaxin-3 (RXFP3) and a functional cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGA), which suggests dual chemosensory and neurosecretory activities. These observations provide evidence that Ciona has a neurogenic proto-placode, which forms neurons that appear to be related to those derived from the olfactory placode and hypothalamic neurons of vertebrates. We discuss the possibility that the PPE-derived GnRH neurons of Ciona resemble an ancestral cell type, a progenitor to the complex neuronal circuit that integrates sensory information and neuroendocrine functions in vertebrates.

Intrinsically active and pacemaker neurons in pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal populations.

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Illes, Sebastian; Jakab, Martin; Beyer, Felix; Gelfert, Renate; Couillard-Despres, Sébastien; Schnitzler, Alfons; Ritter, Markus; Aigner, Ludwig

2014-03-11

Neurons generated from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) self-organize into functional neuronal assemblies in vitro, generating synchronous network activities. Intriguingly, PSC-derived neuronal assemblies develop spontaneous activities that are independent of external stimulation, suggesting the presence of thus far undetected intrinsically active neurons (IANs). Here, by using mouse embryonic stem cells, we provide evidence for the existence of IANs in PSC-neuronal networks based on extracellular multielectrode array and intracellular patch-clamp recordings. IANs remain active after pharmacological inhibition of fast synaptic communication and possess intrinsic mechanisms required for autonomous neuronal activity. PSC-derived IANs are functionally integrated in PSC-neuronal populations, contribute to synchronous network bursting, and exhibit pacemaker properties. The intrinsic activity and pacemaker properties of the neuronal subpopulation identified herein may be particularly relevant for interventions involving transplantation of neural tissues. IANs may be a key element in the regulation of the functional activity of grafted as well as preexisting host neuronal networks.

Neural System Prediction and Identification Challenge

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Ioannis eVlachos

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Can we infer the function of a biological neural network (BNN if we know the connectivity and activity of all its constituent neurons? This question is at the core of neuroscience and, accordingly, various methods have been developed to record the activity and connectivity of as many neurons as possible. Surprisingly, there is no theoretical or computational demonstration that neuronal activity and connectivity are indeed sufficient to infer the function of a BNN. Therefore, we pose the Neural Systems Identification and Prediction Challenge (nuSPIC. We provide the connectivity and activity of all neurons and invite participants (i to infer the functions implemented (hard-wired in spiking neural networks (SNNs by stimulating and recording the activity of neurons and, (ii to implement predefined mathematical/biological functions using SNNs. The nuSPICs can be accessed via a web-interface to the NEST simulator and the user is not required to know any specific programming language. Furthermore, the nuSPICs can be used as a teaching tool. Finally, nuSPICs use the crowd-sourcing model to address scientific issues. With this computational approach we aim to identify which functions can be inferred by systematic recordings of neuronal activity and connectivity. In addition, nuSPICs will help the design and application of new experimental paradigms based on the structure of the SNN and the presumed function which is to be discovered.

Neural system prediction and identification challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Vlachos, Ioannis; Zaytsev, Yury V; Spreizer, Sebastian; Aertsen, Ad; Kumar, Arvind

2013-01-01

Can we infer the function of a biological neural network (BNN) if we know the connectivity and activity of all its constituent neurons?This question is at the core of neuroscience and, accordingly, various methods have been developed to record the activity and connectivity of as many neurons as possible. Surprisingly, there is no theoretical or computational demonstration that neuronal activity and connectivity are indeed sufficient to infer the function of a BNN. Therefore, we pose the Neural Systems Identification and Prediction Challenge (nuSPIC). We provide the connectivity and activity of all neurons and invite participants (1) to infer the functions implemented (hard-wired) in spiking neural networks (SNNs) by stimulating and recording the activity of neurons and, (2) to implement predefined mathematical/biological functions using SNNs. The nuSPICs can be accessed via a web-interface to the NEST simulator and the user is not required to know any specific programming language. Furthermore, the nuSPICs can be used as a teaching tool. Finally, nuSPICs use the crowd-sourcing model to address scientific issues. With this computational approach we aim to identify which functions can be inferred by systematic recordings of neuronal activity and connectivity. In addition, nuSPICs will help the design and application of new experimental paradigms based on the structure of the SNN and the presumed function which is to be discovered.

The 'Unicorn' dinosaur that wasn't: a new reconstruction of the crest of Tsintaosaurus and the early evolution of the lambeosaurine crest and rostrum.

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Albert Prieto-Márquez

Full Text Available The lambeosaurine Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus has traditionally been reconstructed with an elevated, hollow, spike-like crest composed entirely of the nasal bones, although this has been disputed. Here, we provide a new reconstruction of the skull of this species based on reexamination and reinterpretation of the morphology and articular relationships of the type and Paratype skulls and a fragmentary crest. We confirm the presence of a supracranial crest composed of the elevated nasal bones, but also including the premaxillae. We hypothesize that the crest is a tall, lobate, hollow structure that projects dorsally and slightly caudally a distance greater than the height of the skull along the quadrate. In our reconstruction, the nasal passage passes through the crest, but enters the skull rostral to the tubular process of the nasals, not through it. Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus is rediagnosed on the basis of a suite of cranial autapomorphies including a circumnarial fossa subdivided into three accessory fossae, prefrontal with ascending rostral process and lateral flange, nasals fused sagittally to form elongate tubular process that rises dorsally from skull roof, each nasal being expanded rostrocaudally into a rhomboid distal process, and medial processes of premaxillae at the summit of the cranial crest inserted between rhomboid processes of nasals. Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus lacks characters that are present in more derived lambeosaurines (parasaurolophins and lambeosaurins, such as rotation of the caudal margin of the crest to an acute angle with the skull roof, lateral processes of the nasals that enclose part of the intracranial cavity and participate in the formation of the walls of the common median chamber, and a smooth narial fossa lacking ridges and accessory fossae. We hypothesize that ancestrally the rostrum of lambeosaurines may have been more similar to that in Saurolophinae, and became subsequently reduced in complexity during

The 'Unicorn' dinosaur that wasn't: a new reconstruction of the crest of Tsintaosaurus and the early evolution of the lambeosaurine crest and rostrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Prieto-Márquez, Albert; Wagner, Jonathan R

2013-01-01

The lambeosaurine Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus has traditionally been reconstructed with an elevated, hollow, spike-like crest composed entirely of the nasal bones, although this has been disputed. Here, we provide a new reconstruction of the skull of this species based on reexamination and reinterpretation of the morphology and articular relationships of the type and Paratype skulls and a fragmentary crest. We confirm the presence of a supracranial crest composed of the elevated nasal bones, but also including the premaxillae. We hypothesize that the crest is a tall, lobate, hollow structure that projects dorsally and slightly caudally a distance greater than the height of the skull along the quadrate. In our reconstruction, the nasal passage passes through the crest, but enters the skull rostral to the tubular process of the nasals, not through it. Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus is rediagnosed on the basis of a suite of cranial autapomorphies including a circumnarial fossa subdivided into three accessory fossae, prefrontal with ascending rostral process and lateral flange, nasals fused sagittally to form elongate tubular process that rises dorsally from skull roof, each nasal being expanded rostrocaudally into a rhomboid distal process, and medial processes of premaxillae at the summit of the cranial crest inserted between rhomboid processes of nasals. Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus lacks characters that are present in more derived lambeosaurines (parasaurolophins and lambeosaurins), such as rotation of the caudal margin of the crest to an acute angle with the skull roof, lateral processes of the nasals that enclose part of the intracranial cavity and participate in the formation of the walls of the common median chamber, and a smooth narial fossa lacking ridges and accessory fossae. We hypothesize that ancestrally the rostrum of lambeosaurines may have been more similar to that in Saurolophinae, and became subsequently reduced in complexity during evolution of the group.

Correction of Hirschsprung-Associated Mutations in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Via Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/Cas9, Restores Neural Crest Cell Function.

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Lai, Frank Pui-Ling; Lau, Sin-Ting; Wong, John Kwong-Leong; Gui, Hongsheng; Wang, Reeson Xu; Zhou, Tingwen; Lai, Wing Hon; Tse, Hung-Fat; Tam, Paul Kwong-Hang; Garcia-Barcelo, Maria-Mercedes; Ngan, Elly Sau-Wai

2017-07-01

Hirschsprung disease is caused by failure of enteric neural crest cells (ENCCs) to fully colonize the bowel, leading to bowel obstruction and megacolon. Heterozygous mutations in the coding region of the RET gene cause a severe form of Hirschsprung disease (total colonic aganglionosis). However, 80% of HSCR patients have short-segment Hirschsprung disease (S-HSCR), which has not been associated with genetic factors. We sought to identify mutations associated with S-HSCR, and used the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 gene editing system to determine how mutations affect ENCC function. We created induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from 1 patient with total colonic aganglionosis (with the G731del mutation in RET) and from 2 patients with S-HSCR (without a RET mutation), as well as RET +/- and RET -/- iPSCs. IMR90-iPSC cells were used as the control cell line. Migration and differentiation capacities of iPSC-derived ENCCs were analyzed in differentiation and migration assays. We searched for mutation(s) associated with S-HSCR by combining genetic and transcriptome data from patient blood- and iPSC-derived ENCCs, respectively. Mutations in the iPSCs were corrected using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. ENCCs derived from all iPSC lines, but not control iPSCs, had defects in migration and neuronal lineage differentiation. RET mutations were associated with differentiation and migration defects of ENCCs in vitro. Genetic and transcriptome analyses associated a mutation in the vinculin gene (VCL M209L) with S-HSCR. CRISPR/Cas9 correction of the RET G731del and VCL M209L mutations in iPSCs restored the differentiation and migration capacities of ENCCs. We identified mutations in VCL associated with S-HSCR. Correction of this mutation in iPSC using CRISPR/Cas9 editing, as well as the RET G731del mutation that causes Hirschsprung disease with total colonic aganglionosis, restored ENCC function. Our study demonstrates how human iPSCs can

Systematic Three-Dimensional Coculture Rapidly Recapitulates Interactions between Human Neurons and Astrocytes

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Robert Krencik

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Summary: Human astrocytes network with neurons in dynamic ways that are still poorly defined. Our ability to model this relationship is hampered by the lack of relevant and convenient tools to recapitulate this complex interaction. To address this barrier, we have devised efficient coculture systems utilizing 3D organoid-like spheres, termed asteroids, containing pre-differentiated human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC-derived astrocytes (hAstros combined with neurons generated from hPSC-derived neural stem cells (hNeurons or directly induced via Neurogenin 2 overexpression (iNeurons. Our systematic methods rapidly produce structurally complex hAstros and synapses in high-density coculture with iNeurons in precise numbers, allowing for improved studies of neural circuit function, disease modeling, and drug screening. We conclude that these bioengineered neural circuit model systems are reliable and scalable tools to accurately study aspects of human astrocyte-neuron functional properties while being easily accessible for cell-type-specific manipulations and observations. : In this article, Krencik and colleagues show that high-density cocultures of pre-differentiated human astrocytes with induced neurons, from pluripotent stem cells, elicit mature characteristics by 3–5 weeks. This provides a faster and more defined alternative method to organoid cultures for investigating human neural circuit function. Keywords: human pluripotent stem cells, neurons, astrocytes, synapses, coculture, three-dimensional spheres, organoids, disease modeling

Emulation of Neural Networks on a Nanoscale Architecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eshaghian-Wilner, Mary M; Friesz, Aaron; Khitun, Alex; Navab, Shiva; Parker, Alice C; Wang, Kang L; Zhou, Chongwu

2007-01-01

In this paper, we propose using a nanoscale spin-wave-based architecture for implementing neural networks. We show that this architecture can efficiently realize highly interconnected neural network models such as the Hopfield model. In our proposed architecture, no point-to-point interconnection is required, so unlike standard VLSI design, no fan-in/fan-out constraint limits the interconnectivity. Using spin-waves, each neuron could broadcast to all other neurons simultaneously and similarly a neuron could concurrently receive and process multiple data. Therefore in this architecture, the total weighted sum to each neuron can be computed by the sum of the values from all the incoming waves to that neuron. In addition, using the superposition property of waves, this computation can be done in O(1) time, and neurons can update their states quite rapidly

Hydraulic model tests of an innovative dike crest design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, H.J.; Kortenhaus, A.; Bollinger, K.; Dassayanake, D.

2007-01-01

Report on laboratory tests on a crest drainage dike; investigation if a channel in the crest of the dike is able to decrease the amount of overtopping over the dike. Chapter 2 provides details about findings from previous studies and the relevance of those findings to this research project.

Environmental CO2 inhibits Caenorhabditis elegans egg-laying by modulating olfactory neurons and evokes widespread changes in neural activity