The central nervous system contains a daunting number of different cell types. Understanding how each cell acquires its fate remains a major challenge for neurobiology. The developing embryonic ventral nerve cord (VNC) of Drosophila melanogaster has been a powerful model system for unraveling the basic principles of cell fate specification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA striking feature of the nervous system pertains to the appearance of different neural cell subtypes at different axial levels. Studies in the Drosophila central nervous system reveal that one mechanism underlying such segmental differences pertains to the segment-specific removal of cells by programmed cell death (PCD). One group of genes involved in segment-specific PCD is the Hox homeotic genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA prominent aspect of most, if not all, central nervous systems (CNSs) is that anterior regions (brain) are larger than posterior ones (spinal cord). Studies in Drosophila and mouse have revealed that Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2), a protein complex responsible for applying key repressive histone modifications, acts by several mechanisms to promote anterior CNS expansion. However, it is unclear what the full spectrum of PRC2 action is during embryonic CNS development and how PRC2 intersects with the epigenetic landscape.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Cochlear implants (CIs) are a well-known hearing restoration option for patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS) in cases of neurofibromatosis type-2 and, more recently, for patients with sporadic VS. One of the main limitations when performing CI during VS surgery is the capability to preserve the acoustic nerve (AN) anatomically and functionally. Significant efforts have been directed toward developing an intraoperative testing method for monitoring the AN function to determine if, after tumor removal, it is suitable for conducting stimuli delivered by a CI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInverted papilloma (IP) is a benign tumor remarkable for its tendency toward recurrence. Local relapse implicates incomplete resection concerning the bone adjacent to tumor base. The high false negative rates on biopsies, mainly when nasal polyps coexist, may affect the surgical management and outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF