The IBEX Imaging Knowledge-Base: A Community Resource Enabling Adoption and Development of Immunofluoresence Imaging Methods.

The iterative bleaching extends multiplexity (IBEX) Knowledge-Base is a central portal for researchers adopting IBEX and related 2D and 3D immunofluorescence imaging methods. The design of the Knowledge-Base is modeled after efforts in the open-source software community and includes three facets: a development platform (GitHub), static website, and service for data archiving. The Knowledge-Base facilitates the practice of open science throughout the research life cycle by providing validation data for recommended and non-recommended reagents, e.

TGFβ signaling sensitizes MEKi-resistant human melanoma to targeted therapy-induced apoptosis.

The TGFβ signaling pathway is known for its pleiotropic functions in a plethora of biological processes. In melanoma, TGFβ signaling promotes invasiveness and metastasis formation. However, its involvement in the response to therapy is controversial.

The IBEX Knowledge-Base: Achieving more together with open science.

Iterative Bleaching Extends multipleXity (IBEX) is a versatile method for highly multiplexed imaging of diverse tissues. Based on open science principles, we created the IBEX Knowledge-Base, a resource for reagents, protocols and more, to empower innovation.

Characterization of the structure and control of the blood-nerve barrier identifies avenues for therapeutic delivery.

The blood barriers of the nervous system protect neural environments but can hinder therapeutic accessibility. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is well characterized, consisting of endothelial cells with specialized tight junctions and low levels of transcytosis, properties conferred by contacting pericytes and astrocytes. In contrast, the blood-nerve barrier (BNB) of the peripheral nervous system is poorly defined.

Escape from NK cell tumor surveillance by NGFR-induced lipid remodeling in melanoma.

Metastatic disease is a major cause of death for patients with melanoma. Melanoma cells can become metastatic not only due to cell-intrinsic plasticity but also due to cancer-induced protumorigenic remodeling of the immune microenvironment. Here, we report that innate immune surveillance by natural killer (NK) cells is bypassed by human melanoma cells expressing the stem cell marker NGFR.

Neural crest cells hijack pluripotent stem cell factors to realize their developmental potential.

Neural crest cells arise in the neurectoderm of vertebrate embryos, but their developmental potential goes way beyond neurectodermal derivatives. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Hovland et al. reveal that neural crest cells re-employ embryonic stem cell factors in combination with specific transcription factors to enable their broad potential.

Schwann cell precursors: a hub of neural crest development.

Schwann cell precursors (SCPs) are transient glial progenitors that are important for the formation of late neural crest derivatives, yet their heterogeneity and developmental potential remain incompletely understood. In this issue, Kastriti, Faure, von Ahsen et al (2022) use comprehensive single-cell RNA sequencing analyses to identify a transient "hub" state common to SCPs and neural crest cells (NCCs), revealing a striking similarity of SCPs to late migrating NCCs. These results raise important questions about the potential role of such a state in adult tissue regeneration and tumourigenesis.

Epigenetic control of melanoma cell invasiveness by the stem cell factor SALL4.

Melanoma cells rely on developmental programs during tumor initiation and progression. Here we show that the embryonic stem cell (ESC) factor Sall4 is re-expressed in the Tyr::Nras; Cdkn2a melanoma model and that its expression is necessary for primary melanoma formation. Surprisingly, while Sall4 loss prevents tumor formation, it promotes micrometastases to distant organs in this melanoma-prone mouse model.

Schwann cell plasticity-roles in tissue homeostasis, regeneration, and disease.

How tissues are maintained over a lifetime and repaired following injury are fundamental questions in biology with a disruption to these processes underlying pathologies such as cancer and degenerative disorders. It is becoming increasingly clear that each tissue has a distinct mechanism to maintain homeostasis and respond to injury utilizing different types of stem/progenitor cell populations depending on the insult and/or with a contribution from more differentiated cells that are able to dedifferentiate to aid tissue regeneration. Peripheral nerves are highly quiescent yet show remarkable regenerative capabilities.

The regulation of the homeostasis and regeneration of peripheral nerve is distinct from the CNS and independent of a stem cell population.

Peripheral nerves are highly regenerative, in contrast to the poor regenerative capabilities of the central nervous system (CNS). Here, we show that adult peripheral nerve is a more quiescent tissue than the CNS, yet all cell types within a peripheral nerve proliferate efficiently following injury. Moreover, whereas oligodendrocytes are produced throughout life from a precursor pool, we find that the corresponding cell of the peripheral nervous system, the myelinating Schwann cell (mSC), does not turn over in the adult.