Identification and dynamic regulation of tight junction protein expression in human neural stem cells.

Recent reports indicate that neural stem cells (NSCs) exist in a cluster-like formation in close proximity to cerebral microvessels. Similar appearing clusters can be seen ex vivo in NSC cultures termed neurospheres. It is known that this neurosphere configuration is important for preserving stemness and a proliferative state.

Time-lapse in vivo imaging of dorsal root nerve regeneration in mice.

Primary sensory axon injury is common after spinal cord and root injuries and causes patients to suffer chronic pain and persistent loss of sensation and motor coordination. The devastating consequences of such injuries are due primarily to the failure of severed axons to regenerate within the damaged CNS. Our understanding of the molecular and cellular events that play key roles in preventing or promoting functional regeneration is far from complete, in part because complex and dynamic changes associated with nerve injury have had to be deduced from comparisons of static images obtained from multiple animals after their death.

Sensory Axon Regeneration: A Review from an in vivo Imaging Perspective.

Injured primary sensory axons fail to regenerate into the spinal cord, leading to chronic pain and permanent sensory loss. Re-entry is prevented at the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ), the CNS-PNS interface. Why axons stop or turn around at the DREZ has generally been attributed to growth-repellent molecules associated with astrocytes and oligodendrocytes/myelin.

Activation of cannabinoid receptor 2 attenuates leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions and blood-brain barrier dysfunction under inflammatory conditions.

Previous studies have shown that modulation of the receptor-mediated cannabinoid system during neuroinflammation can produce potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. However, in this context, little is known about how selective activation of the cannabinoid type-2 receptor (CB2R) affects the activated state of the brain endothelium and blood-brain barrier (BBB) function. Using human brain tissues and primary human brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVECs), we demonstrate that the CB2R is highly upregulated during inflammatory insult.

Live imaging of dorsal root axons after rhizotomy.

The primary sensory axons injured by spinal root injuries fail to regenerate into the spinal cord, leading to chronic pain and permanent sensory loss. Regeneration of dorsal root (DR) axons into spinal cord is prevented at the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ), the interface between the CNS and PNS. Our understanding of the molecular and cellular events that prevent regeneration at DREZ is incomplete, in part because complex changes associated with nerve injury have been deduced from postmortem analyses.

In vivo imaging of dorsal root regeneration: rapid immobilization and presynaptic differentiation at the CNS/PNS border.

Dorsal root (DR) axons regenerate in the PNS but turn around or stop at the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ), the entrance into the CNS. Earlier studies that relied on conventional tracing techniques or postmortem analyses attributed the regeneration failure to growth inhibitors and lack of intrinsic growth potential. Here, we report the first in vivo imaging study of DR regeneration.