A conserved cell-type gradient across the human mediodorsal and paraventricular thalamus.

The mediodorsal thalamus (MD) and adjacent midline nuclei are important for cognition and mental illness, but their cellular composition is not well defined. Using single-nucleus and spatial transcriptomics, we identified a conserved excitatory neuron gradient, with distinct spatial mapping of individual clusters. One end of the gradient was expanded in human MD compared to mice, which may be related to the expansion of granular prefrontal cortex in hominids.

The Megacomplex protects ER-alpha from degradation by Fulvestrant in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer, a significant contributor to cancer-related mortality, exhibits limited responsiveness to hormonal therapies targeting the estrogen receptor (ERα). This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms behind ERα resistance to the therapeutic drug Fulvestrant (ICI182780 or ICI). Notably, compared to the cytoplasmic version, nuclear ERα was minimally degraded by ICI, suggesting a mechanism for drug resistance via the protective confines of the nuclear substructures.

Investigation of the Fasciola Cinereum, Absent in BTBR mice, and Comparison with the Hippocampal Area CA2.

The arginine vasopressin 1b receptor (Avpr1b) plays an important role in social behaviors including social learning, memory, and aggression, and is known to be a specific marker for the cornu ammonis area 2 (CA2) regions of the hippocampus. The fasciola cinereum (FC) is an anatomical region in which Avpr1b expressing neurons are prominent, but the functional roles of the FC have yet to be investigated. Surprisingly, the FC is absent in the inbred BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) mouse strain used to study core behavioral deficits of autism.

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor RapGEF2 is required for ERK-dependent immediate-early gene (Egr1) activation during fear memory formation.

The MAP kinase ERK is important for neuronal plasticity underlying associative learning, yet specific molecular pathways for neuronal ERK activation are undetermined. RapGEF2 is a neuron-specific cAMP sensor that mediates ERK activation. We investigated whether it is required for cAMP-dependent ERK activation leading to other downstream neuronal signaling events occurring during associative learning, and if RapGEF2-dependent signaling impairments affect learned behavior.