Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Autosomal dominant progranulin (GRN) mutations are a common genetic cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Though clinical trials for GRN-related therapies are underway, there is an unmet need for biomarkers that can predict symptom onset and track disease progression. We previously showed that presymptomatic GRN carriers exhibit thalamocortical hyperconnectivity that increases with age when they are presumably closer to symptom onset.

Senescent cell clearance ameliorates temporal lobe epilepsy and associated spatial memory deficits in mice.

Current therapies for the epilepsies only treat the symptoms, but do not prevent epileptogenesis (the process in which epilepsy develops). Many cellular responses during epileptogenesis are also common hallmarks of , which halts proliferation of damaged cells. Clearing senescent cells (SCs) restores function in several age-associated and neurodegenerative disease models.

Early life phenobarbital exposure dysregulates the hippocampal transcriptome.

Phenobarbital (PB) and levetiracetam (LEV) are the first-line therapies for neonates with diagnosed seizures, however, a growing body of evidence shows that these drugs given during critical developmental windows trigger lasting molecular changes in the brain. While the targets and mechanism of action of these drugs are well understood-what is not known is how these drugs alter the transcriptomic landscape, and therefore molecular profile/gene expression during these critical windows of neurodevelopment. PB is associated with a range of neurotoxic effects in developing animals, from cell death to altered synaptic development to lasting behavioral impairment.

Inhibition of sphingolipid synthesis improves outcomes and survival in GARP mutant mice, a model of motor neuron degeneration.

Numerous mutations that impair retrograde membrane trafficking between endosomes and the Golgi apparatus lead to neurodegenerative diseases. For example, mutations in the endosomal retromer complex are implicated in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and mutations of the Golgi-associated retrograde protein (GARP) complex cause progressive cerebello-cerebral atrophy type 2 (PCCA2). However, how these mutations cause neurodegeneration is unknown.

The Mesenchymal State Predicts Poor Disease-Free Survival in Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is thought to contribute to the overall invasiveness of malignant cells. Expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 44 and CD90 mark the mesenchymal state in multiple epithelial malignancies. Their role in lung cancer remains unclear, however.