Role of flow-cytometric immunophenotyping in prediction of BCR/ABL1 gene rearrangement in adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

We performed a retrospective analysis of 88 adult patients with B-ALL diagnosed in our center by a flow-cytometric assessment. Immunophenotypic expression of leukemic cells was explored by simultaneous evaluation of positivity, percentage of expressing cells and median fluorescence intensity (MFI). BCR/ABL1 fusion transcripts were assessed by RT-PCR analysis and were identified in 36 patients (40.

Extraction of Synaptic Input Properties in Vivo.

Knowledge of synaptic input is crucial for understanding synaptic integration and ultimately neural function. However, in vivo, the rates at which synaptic inputs arrive are high, so that it is typically impossible to detect single events. We show here that it is nevertheless possible to extract the properties of the events and, in particular, to extract the event rate, the synaptic time constants, and the properties of the event size distribution from in vivo voltage-clamp recordings.

Dendritic excitation-inhibition balance shapes cerebellar output during motor behaviour.

Feedforward excitatory and inhibitory circuits regulate cerebellar output, but how these circuits interact to shape the somatodendritic excitability of Purkinje cells during motor behaviour remains unresolved. Here we perform dendritic and somatic patch-clamp recordings in vivo combined with optogenetic silencing of interneurons to investigate how dendritic excitation and inhibition generates bidirectional (that is, increased or decreased) Purkinje cell output during self-paced locomotion. We find that granule cells generate a sustained depolarization of Purkinje cell dendrites during movement, which is counterbalanced by variable levels of feedforward inhibition from local interneurons.

AMP-activated Protein Kinase Deficiency Blocks the Hypoxic Ventilatory Response and Thus Precipitates Hypoventilation and Apnea.

Rationale: Modulation of breathing by hypoxia accommodates variations in oxygen demand and supply during, for example, sleep and ascent to altitude, but the precise molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon remain controversial. Among the genes influenced by natural selection in high-altitude populations is one for the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) α1-catalytic subunit, which governs cell-autonomous adaptations during metabolic stress.

Objectives: We investigated whether AMPK-α1 and/or AMPK-α2 are required for the hypoxic ventilatory response and the mechanism of ventilatory dysfunctions arising from AMPK deficiency.

Cellular mechanisms underlying behavioral state-dependent bidirectional modulation of motor cortex output.

Neuronal activity in primary motor cortex (M1) correlates with behavioral state, but the cellular mechanisms underpinning behavioral state-dependent modulation of M1 output remain largely unresolved. Here, we performed in vivo patch-clamp recordings from layer 5B (L5B) pyramidal neurons in awake mice during quiet wakefulness and self-paced, voluntary movement. We show that L5B output neurons display bidirectional (i.