A molecular single-cell lung atlas of lethal COVID-19.

Respiratory failure is the leading cause of death in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the host response at the lung tissue level is poorly understood. Here we performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing of about 116,000 nuclei from the lungs of nineteen individuals who died of COVID-19 and underwent rapid autopsy and seven control individuals. Integrated analyses identified substantial alterations in cellular composition, transcriptional cell states, and cell-to-cell interactions, thereby providing insight into the biology of lethal COVID-19.

Neuroinflammatory changes of the normal brain tissue in cured mice following combined radiation and anti-PD-1 blockade therapy for glioma.

The efficacy of combining radiation therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor blockade to treat brain tumors is currently the subject of multiple investigations and holds significant therapeutic promise. However, the long-term effects of this combination therapy on the normal brain tissue are unknown. Here, we examined mice that were intracranially implanted with murine glioma cell line and became long-term survivors after treatment with a combination of 10 Gy cranial irradiation (RT) and anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade (aPD-1).

Neuroregenerative and protective functions of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor in perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy remains the most important neurological problem of the newborn. Delays in diagnosing perinatal brain injuries are common, preventing access to acute therapies. Therefore, there is a critical need for therapeutic strategies that are beneficial when delivered beyond 24 h after birth.

Repolarized macrophages, induced by intermediate stereotactic dose radiotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade, contribute to long-term survival in glioma-bearing mice.

Introduction: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a deadly brain tumor with a short expected median survival, despite current standard-of-care treatment. We explored the combination of intermediate stereotactic dose radiation therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy as a novel treatment strategy for GBM.

Methods: Glioma xenograft-bearing mice were exposed to high dose brain-directed radiation (10 Gy single exposure) as well as mouse anti-PD-1 antibody.

Mitigation of radiation myelopathy and reduction of microglial infiltration by Ramipril, ACE inhibitor.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor Ramipril, as a mitigator of radiation-induced spinal cord injury.

Setting: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.

FTY720/fingolimod, an oral S1PR modulator, mitigates radiation induced cognitive deficits.

Purpose: This study evaluates FTY720/Fingolimod, modulator of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor, as a potential mitigator of radiation-induced neurocognitive dysfunction.

Methods And Materials: To study radiation-induced neurocognitive deficits, 6 week-old C57/Bl/6J mice received 0 or 7Gy cranial irradiation and were treated with FTY720 or vehicle for seven weeks. Fear conditioning and Morris water maze were then employed to test learning and memory.

Unmasking the responses of the stem cells and progenitors in the subventricular zone after neonatal and pediatric brain injuries.

There is great interest in the regenerative potential of the neural stem cells and progenitors that populate the subventricular zone (SVZ). However, a comprehensive understanding of SVZ cell responses to brain injuries has been hindered by the lack of sensitive approaches to study the cellular composition of this niche. Here we review progress being made in deciphering the cells of the SVZ gleaned from the use of a recently designed flow cytometry panel that allows SVZ cells to be parsed into multiple subsets of progenitors as well as putative stem cells.