Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p>Neurogenesis is restricted in the adult mammalian brain; most neurons are neither exchanged during normal life nor replaced in pathological situations. We report that stroke elicits a latent neurogenic program in striatal astrocytes in mice. Notch1 signaling is reduced in astrocytes after stroke, and attenuated Notch1 signaling is necessary for neurogenesis by striatal astrocytes. Blocking Notch signaling triggers astrocytes in the striatum and the medial cortex to enter a neurogenic program, even in the absence of stroke, resulting in 850 ± 210 (mean ± SEM) new neurons in a mouse striatum. Thus, under Notch signaling regulation, astrocytes in the adult mouse brain parenchyma carry a latent neurogenic program that may potentially be useful for neuronal replacement strategies.</jats:p>

<jats:p>In 2010, the international community, under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity, agreed on 20 biodiversity-related “Aichi Targets” to be achieved within a decade. We provide a comprehensive mid-term assessment of progress toward these global targets using 55 indicator data sets. We projected indicator trends to 2020 using an adaptive statistical framework that incorporated the specific properties of individual time series. On current trajectories, results suggest that despite accelerating policy and management responses to the biodiversity crisis, the impacts of these efforts are unlikely to be reflected in improved trends in the state of biodiversity by 2020. We highlight areas of societal endeavor requiring additional efforts to achieve the Aichi Targets, and provide a baseline against which to assess future progress.</jats:p>

<jats:p> During animal cell division, the cleavage furrow is positioned by microtubules that signal to the actin cortex at the cell midplane. We developed a cell-free system to recapitulate cytokinesis signaling using cytoplasmic extract from <jats:italic>Xenopus</jats:italic> eggs. Microtubules grew out as asters from artificial centrosomes and met to organize antiparallel overlap zones. These zones blocked the interpenetration of neighboring asters and recruited cytokinesis midzone proteins, including the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) and centralspindlin. The CPC was transported to overlap zones, which required two motor proteins, Kif4A and a Kif20A paralog. Using supported lipid bilayers to mimic the plasma membrane, we observed the recruitment of cleavage furrow markers, including an active RhoA reporter, at microtubule overlaps. This system opens further approaches to understanding the biophysics of cytokinesis signaling. </jats:p>

<jats:p>Production of healthy gametes requires a reductional meiosis I division in which replicated sister chromatids comigrate, rather than separate as in mitosis or meiosis II. Fusion of sister kinetochores during meiosis I may underlie sister chromatid comigration in diverse organisms, but direct evidence for such fusion has been lacking. We used laser trapping and quantitative fluorescence microscopy to study native kinetochore particles isolated from yeast. Meiosis I kinetochores formed stronger attachments and carried more microtubule-binding elements than kinetochores isolated from cells in mitosis or meiosis II. The meiosis I–specific monopolin complex was both necessary and sufficient to drive these modifications. Thus, kinetochore fusion directs sister chromatid comigration, a conserved feature of meiosis that is fundamental to Mendelian inheritance.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Spatial and temporal dissection of the genomic changes occurring during the evolution of human non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may help elucidate the basis for its dismal prognosis. We sequenced 25 spatially distinct regions from seven operable NSCLCs and found evidence of branched evolution, with driver mutations arising before and after subclonal diversification. There was pronounced intratumor heterogeneity in copy number alterations, translocations, and mutations associated with APOBEC cytidine deaminase activity. Despite maintained carcinogen exposure, tumors from smokers showed a relative decrease in smoking-related mutations over time, accompanied by an increase in APOBEC-associated mutations. In tumors from former smokers, genome-doubling occurred within a smoking-signature context before subclonal diversification, which suggested that a long period of tumor latency had preceded clinical detection. The regionally separated driver mutations, coupled with the relentless and heterogeneous nature of the genome instability processes, are likely to confound treatment success in NSCLC.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Cancers are composed of populations of cells with distinct molecular and phenotypic features, a phenomenon termed intratumor heterogeneity (ITH). ITH in lung cancers has not been well studied. We applied multiregion whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 11 localized lung adenocarcinomas. All tumors showed clear evidence of ITH. On average, 76% of all mutations and 20 out of 21 known cancer gene mutations were identified in all regions of individual tumors, which suggested that single-region sequencing may be adequate to identify the majority of known cancer gene mutations in localized lung adenocarcinomas. With a median follow-up of 21 months after surgery, three patients have relapsed, and all three patients had significantly larger fractions of subclonal mutations in their primary tumors than patients without relapse. These data indicate that a larger subclonal mutation fraction may be associated with increased likelihood of postsurgical relapse in patients with localized lung adenocarcinomas.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Clinical research providers who investigate unknown genetic disorders have an unprecedented opportunity to gather and examine large-scale genetic information to seek the underlying variation that could potentially explain a given condition. The use of exome sequencing to inform disease characterization and treatment in the future, while not yet very widely accessible, is increasing. However, the availability of exome and genome scale data have presented the broader community with questions about reproducibility and scalability of DNA sequencing and interpretation processes, the importance of integrating relevant phenotypic information, and the ability to provide statements about “significance” in an environment where new knowledge about variants is being acquired on a daily basis.</jats:p> <jats:p>In this webinar, our expert speakers will highlight both the opportunities and the questions that powerful NGS technologies raise, and how best to address them with new approaches that have been developed based on the needs of the clinical research community, including but not limited to the use of orthogonal platforms and focused interpretation to provide the most relevant results quickly.</jats:p>

<jats:p>On this week's show: Our relationships with robots and a daily news roundup.</jats:p>

<jats:p>A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.</jats:p>