Characterization of the canine rostral ventricular-subventricular zone: Morphological, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and neurosphere assay studies.

The mammalian ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) presents the highest neurogenic potential in the brain of the adult individual. In rodents, it is mainly composed of chains of neuroblasts. In humans, it is organized in layers where neuroblasts do not form chains.

7,8-dihydroxyflavone ameliorates cognitive and motor deficits in a Huntington's disease mouse model through specific activation of the PLCγ1 pathway.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with motor, cognitive and psychiatric impairment. Dysfunctions in HD models have been related to reduced levels of striatal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and imbalance between its receptors TrkB and p75(NTR). Thus, molecules with activity on the BDNF/TrkB/p75 system can have therapeutic potential.

Genetic Rescue of Mitochondrial and Skeletal Muscle Impairment in an Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Model of Coenzyme Q Deficiency.

Coenzyme Q (CoQ ) plays a crucial role in mitochondria as an electron carrier within the mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) and is an essential antioxidant. Mutations in genes responsible for CoQ biosynthesis (COQ genes) cause primary CoQ deficiency, a rare and heterogeneous mitochondrial disorder with no clear genotype-phenotype association, mainly affecting tissues with high-energy demand including brain and skeletal muscle (SkM). Here, we report a four-year-old girl diagnosed with minor mental retardation and lethal rhabdomyolysis harboring a heterozygous mutation (c.

Fast and efficient neural conversion of human hematopoietic cells.

Neurons obtained directly from human somatic cells hold great promise for disease modeling and drug screening. Available protocols rely on overexpression of transcription factors using integrative vectors and are often slow, complex, and inefficient. We report a fast and efficient approach for generating induced neural cells (iNCs) directly from human hematopoietic cells using Sendai virus.

Increased opioid dependence in a mouse model of panic disorder.

Panic disorder is a highly prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder that shows co-occurrence with substance abuse. Here, we demonstrate that TrkC, the high-affinity receptor for neurotrophin-3, is a key molecule involved in panic disorder and opiate dependence, using a transgenic mouse model (TgNTRK3). Constitutive TrkC overexpression in TgNTRK3 mice dramatically alters spontaneous firing rates of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons and the response of the noradrenergic system to chronic opiate exposure, possibly related to the altered regulation of neurotrophic peptides observed.