0000000000083875
AUTHOR
Carmen Ramírez-castillejo
PSA-NCAM immunocytochemistry in the cerebral cortex and other telencephalic areas of the lizard Podarcis hispanica: differential expression during medial cortex neuronal regeneration.
The lizard medial cortex, a region homologous to the mammalian dentate gyrus, shows postnatal neurogenesis and the surprising ability to replace its neurons after being lesioned specifically with the neurotoxin 3-acetylpyridine. As the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) is expressed during neuronal migration and differentiation, we have studied its distribution in adult lizards and also during the lesion-regeneration process. In the medial cortex of control animals, many labeled fusiform somata, presumably corresponding to migratory neuroblasts, appeared in the inner plexiform layer. There were also scattered immunoreactive granule neurons in the cell layer.…
Pigment epithelium-derived factor is a niche signal for neural stem cell renewal.
Adult stem cells are characterized by self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, and these properties seem to be regulated by signals from adjacent differentiated cell types and by extracellular matrix molecules, which collectively define the stem cell "niche." Self-renewal is essential for the lifelong persistence of stem cells, but its regulation is poorly understood. In the mammalian brain, neurogenesis persists in two germinal areas, the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the hippocampus, where continuous postnatal neuronal production seems to be supported by neural stem cells (NSCs). Here we show that pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is secreted by components of the murine SVZ a…
Attenuation of disease phenotype through alternative translation initiation in low-penetrance retinoblastoma
Hereditary predisposition to retinoblastoma (RB) is caused by germline mutations in the retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) gene and transmits as an autosomal dominant trait. In the majority of cases disease develops in greater than 90% of carriers. However, reduced penetrance with a large portion of disease-free carrier is seen in some families. Unambiguous identification of the predisposing mutation in these families is important for accurate risk prediction in relatives and their genetic counseling but also provides conceptual information regarding the relationship between the RB1 genotype and the disease phenotype. In this study we report a novel mutation detected in 10 individuals of an extended fa…