Engrailed-2 and inflammation convergently and independently impinge on cerebellar Purkinje cell differentiation.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a complex pathogenesis thought to include both genetic and extrinsic factors. Among the latter, inflammation of the developing brain has recently gained growing attention. However, how genetic predisposition and inflammation might converge to precipitate autistic behavior remains elusive.

Anti-inflammatory activity of low molecular weight polysialic acid on human macrophages.

Oligosialic and polysialic acid (oligoSia and polySia) of the glycocalyx of neural and immune cells are linear chains, in which the sialic acid monomers are α2.8-glycosidically linked. Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin-11 (SIGLEC-11) is a primate-lineage specific receptor of human tissue macrophages and microglia that binds to α2.

Single-molecule imaging of hyaluronan in human synovial fluid.

Human synovial fluid contains a high concentration of hyaluronan, a high molecular weight glycosaminoglycan that provides viscoelasticity and contributes to joint lubrication. In osteoarthritis synovial fluid, the concentration and molecular weight of hyaluronan decrease, thus impairing shock absorption and lubrication. Consistently, substitution of hyaluronan (viscosupplementation) is a widely used treatment for osteoarthritis.

Nanofibers in a hyaluronan-based pericellular matrix.

The extracellular matrix of the brain is a highly organized hyaluronan-based supramolecular assembly that is involved in neuronal pathfinding, cell migration, synaptogenesis and neuronal plasticity. Here, we analyze the structure of the hyaluronan-rich pericellular matrix of an oligodendroglial precursor cell line using helium ion beam scanning microscopy at a subnanometer resolution. We find that thin nanofibers are the ultimate building elements of this oligodendroglial pericellular matrix.

CD44 and hyaluronan promote invasive growth of B35 neuroblastoma cells into the brain.

Hyaluronan and its receptor CD44 are known to contribute to the invasive growth of different tumors of the central nervous system. It is not known, however, if CD44 is sufficient to activate invasive growth into the brain tissue. This study examines how CD44 regulates the motility and invasive growth of B35 neuroblastoma cells into a hyaluronan-rich environment.

CaMKII phosphorylates collapsin response mediator protein 2 and modulates axonal damage during glutamate excitotoxicity.

Intracellular calcium influx through NMDA receptors triggers a cascade of deleterious signaling events which lead to neuronal death in neurological conditions such as stroke. However, it is not clear as to the molecular mechanism underlying early damage response from axons and dendrites which are important in maintaining a network essential for the survival of neurons. Here, we examined changes of axons treated with glutamate and showed the appearance of betaIII-tubulin positive varicosities on axons before the appearance of neuronal death.

Transport of a hyaluronan-binding protein in brain tissue.

Hyaluronan is an unsulfated linear glycosaminoglycan with the ability to nucleate extracellular matrices by the formation of aggregates with lecticans. These matrices are essential during development of the central nervous system. In the prospective white matter of the developing brain hyaluronan is organized into fiber-like structures according to confocal microscopy of fixed slices which may guide the migration of neural precursor cells [Baier, C.

Image analysis of time-lapse movies--a precision control guided approach to correct motion artefacts.

In long-term time-lapse studies of cell migration, it is often important to distinguish active movement of individual cells from global tissue motion caused, for instance, by morphogenetic changes, or due to artefacts. We have developed a method to define and correct global movements. This is realized by the sequential morphing of image sequences to the initial image based on the position of immobile reference objects.

Imaging and tracking of single hyaluronan molecules diffusing in solution.

Hyaluronan is an important soluble component of the extracellular matrix of many tissues with well known space-filling, lubricating and signaling functions. As such, hyaluronan can regulate cell adhesion, migration, differentiation and proliferation. Ultrastructural studies showed the existence of fibers and networks of hyaluronan molecules at surfaces, while bulk studies of hyaluronan in solution indicated that the polymer forms random coils.

Calpain cleavage of collapsin response mediator proteins in ischemic mouse brain.

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) are important brain-specific proteins with distinct functions in modulating growth cone collapse and axonal guidance during brain development. Our previous studies have shown that calpain cleaves CRMP3 in the adult mouse brain during cerebral ischemia [S.T.

Cerebroside sulfotransferase forms homodimers in living cells.

Cerebroside sulfotransferase (CST) catalyzes the 3'-sulfation of galactose residues in several glycolipids. Its major product in the mammalian brain is sulfatide, which is an essential myelin component. Using epitope-tagged variants, murine CST was found to localize to the Golgi apparatus, but in contrast to previous assumptions, not to the trans-Golgi network.

Hyaluronan is organized into fiber-like structures along migratory pathways in the developing mouse cerebellum.

Hyaluronan is a free glycosaminoglycan which is abundant in the extracellular matrix of the developing brain. Although not covalently linked to any protein it can act as a backbone molecule forming aggregates with chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans of the lectican family and link proteins. Using neurocan-GFP as a direct histochemical probe we analyzed the distribution and organization of hyaluronan in the developing mouse cerebellum, and related its fine structure to cell types of specified developmental stages.

Aldolase C/zebrin II is released to the extracellular space after stroke and inhibits the network activity of cortical neurons.

Cell death after stroke involves apoptotic, autophagocytic and necrotic mechanisms which may cause the release of cytosolic proteins to the extracellular space. Aldolase C (AldC) is the brain specific isoform of the glycolytic enzyme fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. According to its characteristic striped expression pattern in the adult cerebellum AldC is also termed zebrin II.

Calpain-cleaved collapsin response mediator protein-3 induces neuronal death after glutamate toxicity and cerebral ischemia.

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) mediate growth cone collapse during development, but their roles in adult brains are not clear. Here we report the findings that the full-length CRMP-3 (p63) is a direct target of calpain that cleaves CRMP-3 at the N terminus (+76 amino acid). Interestingly, activated calpain in response to excitotoxicity in vitro and cerebral ischemia in vivo also cleaved CRMP-3, and the cleavage product of CRMP-3 (p54) underwent nuclear translocation during neuronal death.

A fast and robust quantitative time-lapse assay for cell migration.

We describe a simple and widely applicable method to measure cell migration in time-lapse sequences of fluorescently labeled cells in culture. Briefly, binarized cell images obtained after thresholding were cumulatively projected, and the covered areas were measured. This procedure determines the time course of the track area successively covered by the cell population.

Collapsin response mediator protein-4 regulates F-actin bundling.

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) form a family of cytosolic phosphoproteins which are involved in the signal transduction of semaphorin 3A leading to growth cone collapse. These proteins interact with a variety of cytosolic proteins including tubulin heterodimers. Here, we show that CRMP-4 co-localizes with F-actin in regular rib-like structures within lamellipodia of B35 neuroblastoma cells.

Reduction of hippocampal collapsin response mediated protein-2 in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Although the syndrome of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) associated with hippocampal sclerosis has been elaborated in recent years, pathogenesis and pathomechanisms are still elusive. Performing protein hunting in hippocampus of patients with MTLE we detected derangement of collapsin response mediated protein-2 (CRMP-2). Hippocampal tissue from controls and MTLEs was taken and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with subsequent MALDI-MS-characterisation was applied.

Neurocan-GFP fusion protein: a new approach to detect hyaluronan on tissue sections and living cells.

Hyaluronan is an unsulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) that is ubiquitously expressed in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of all vertebrates, where hyaluronan rich matrices constitute a particular permissive environment for the development of complex biological structures and also for tumor progression. Because of its conserved structure and ubiquitous expression, antibodies for its histochemical detection cannot be produced. We have engineered a fusion protein, neurocan-GFP, and expressed it as a secreted molecule in mammalian cells.

Dynamics of beta2-adrenergic receptor-ligand complexes on living cells.

The agonist-induced dynamic regulation of the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor (beta(2)-AR) on living cells was examined by means of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) using a fluorescence-labeled arterenol derivative (Alexa-NA) in hippocampal neurons and in alveolar epithelial type II cell line A549. Alexa-NA specifically bound to the beta(2)-AR of neurons with a K(D) value of 1.29 +/- 0.

Cartilage link protein interacts with neurocan, which shows hyaluronan binding characteristics different from CD44 and TSG-6.

The interaction of neurocan with hyaluronan was qualitatively characterized with alkaline phosphatase fusion proteins secreted by mammalian cells. The wild type neurocan hyaluronan binding domain fused to alkaline phosphatase bound to immobilized hyaluronan under physiological as well as moderately hypertonic conditions, whereas its ability to bind to immobilized chondroitin sulfate dropped rapidly with increasing salt concentration. Strong hyaluronan binding ability was still evident when in both link modules within the hyaluronan binding domain a basic amino acid was mutated, which is well conserved among link modules of hyaluronan binding proteins.

Expression patterns and different subcellular localization of the growth factors HDGF (hepatoma-derived growth factor) and HRP-3 (HDGF-related protein-3) suggest functions in addition to their mitogenic activity.

HDGF (hepatoma-derived growth factor) and the HRPs (HDGF-related proteins) comprise a family of six proteins which display high identity in their N-terminus, but differ at the C-terminus. Here we investigate the patterns of expression of HDGF and HRP-3, by generating antisera specifically recognizing each growth factor. Whereas HRP-3 protein is expressed only in brain, HDGF can be found in a broad range of tissues, with highest levels in brain, testis, lung and spleen.

Subcellular localization of collapsin response mediator proteins to lipid rafts.

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) are involved in signal transduction after exposure of neural cells to the axon guidance molecule Semaphorin 3A/collapsin. All five known CRMPs are expressed in the developing cerebral cortex and neocortical neurons are responsive to Semaphorin 3A. Here, we examine the expression and subcellular localization of CRMPs in neocortical neurons and in neonatal rat brain.