Search results for "Neuroblast"
showing 10 items of 348 documents
Cell cycle independent role of Cyclin E during neural cell fate specification in Drosophila is mediated by its regulation of Prospero function
2009
AbstractDuring development, neural progenitor cells or neuroblasts generate a great intra- and inter-segmental diversity of neuronal and glial cell types in the nervous system. In thoracic segments of the embryonic central nervous system of Drosophila, the neuroblast NB6-4t undergoes an asymmetric first division to generate a neuronal and a glial sublineage, while abdominal NB6-4a divides once symmetrically to generate only 2 glial cells. We had earlier reported a critical function for the G1 cyclin, CyclinE (CycE) in regulating asymmetric cell division in NB6-4t. Here we show that (i) this function of CycE is independent of its role in cell cycle regulation and (ii) the two functions are m…
Curcumin Affects HSP60 Folding Activity and Levels in Neuroblastoma Cells.
2020
The fundamental challenge in fighting cancer is the development of protective agents able to interfere with the classical pathways of malignant transformation, such as extracellular matrix remodeling, epithelial−mesenchymal transition and, alteration of protein homeostasis. In the tumors of the brain, proteotoxic stress represents one of the main triggering agents for cell transformation. Curcumin is a natural compound with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties with promising potential for the development of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of cancer as well as neurodegenerative diseases. Among the mediators of cancer development, HSP60 is a key factor for the maintenance of…
PDGFRα-Positive B Cells Are Neural Stem Cells in the Adult SVZ that Form Glioma-like Growths in Response to Increased PDGF Signaling
2006
Neurons and oligodendrocytes are produced in the adult brain subventricular zone (SVZ) from neural stem cells (B cells), which express GFAP and have morphological properties of astrocytes. We report here on the identification B cells expressing the PDGFRalpha in the adult SVZ. Specifically labeled PDGFRalpha expressing B cells in vivo generate neurons and oligodendrocytes. Conditional ablation of PDGFRalpha in a subpopulation of postnatal stem cells showed that this receptor is required for oligodendrogenesis, but not neurogenesis. Infusion of PDGF alone was sufficient to arrest neuroblast production and induce SVZ B cell proliferation contributing to the generation of large hyperplasias wi…
The differentiation of the serotonergic neurons in the Drosophila ventral nerve cord depends on the combined function of the zinc finger proteins Eag…
1997
ABSTRACT The Drosophila ventral nerve cord (vNC) derives from a stereotyped population of neural stem cells, neuroblasts (NBs), each of which gives rise to a characteristic cell lineage. The mechanisms leading to the specification and differentiation of these lineages are largely unknown. Here we analyse mechanisms leading to cell differentiation within the NB 7-3 lineage. Analogous to the grasshopper, NB 7-3 is the progenitor of the Drosophila vNC serotonergic neurons. The zinc finger protein Eagle (Eg) is expressed in NB 7-3 just after delamination and is present in all NB 7-3 progeny until late stage 17. DiI cell lineage tracing and immunocytochemistry reveal that eg is required for norm…
Hypermethylation of apoptotic genes as independent prognostic factor in neuroblastoma disease
2010
Neuroblastoma (NB) is an embryonal tumour of neuroectodermal cells, and its prognosis is based on patient age at diagnosis, tumour stage and MYCN amplification, but it can also be classified according to their degree of methylation. Considering that epigenetic aberrations could influence patient survival, we studied the methylation status of a series of 17 genes functionally involved in different cellular pathways in patients with NB and their impact on survival. We studied 82 primary NB tumours and we used methylation-specific-PCR to perform the epigenetic analysis. We evaluated the putative association among the evidence of hypermethylation with the most important NB prognostic factors, a…
Single cell 3’UTR analysis identifies changes in alternative polyadenylation throughout neuronal differentiation and in autism
2020
SUMMARYAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disease affecting social behavior. Many of the high-confident ASD risk genes relate to mRNA translation. Specifically, many of these genes are involved in regulation of gene expression for subcellular compartmentalization of proteins1. Cis-regulatory motifs that often localize to 3’- and 5’-untranslated regions (UTRs) offer an additional path for posttranscriptional control of gene expression. Alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) affect 3’UTR length thereby influencing the presence or absence of regulatory elements. However, APA has not yet been addressed in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders. Here we used sing…
Connecting temporal identity to mitosis: the regulation of Hunchback in Drosophila neuroblast lineages.
2006
Both in vertebrates and invertebrates, neural stem cells generate different cell types at different times during development. It has been suggested that this process depends on temporal identity transitions of neural progenitors, but the underlying mechanism has not been resolved, yet. Recently, Drosophila neuroblasts (NBs) have been shown to be an excellent model system to investigate this subject. Here, changes in temporal identity are regulated by sequential and transient expression of transcription factors in the NB, such as Hunchback (Hb) and Kruppel (Kr). The temporal expression profile is maintained in the progeny. Hb is expressed first and thus defines the earliest identity in a giv…
The topology of vitronectin: A complementary feature for neuroblastoma risk classification based on computer‐aided detection
2019
Tumors are complex networks of constantly interacting elements: tumor cells, stromal cells, immune and stem cells, blood/lympathic vessels, nerve fibers and extracellular matrix components. These elements can influence their microenvironment through mechanical and physical signals to promote tumor cell growth. To get a better understanding of tumor biology, cooperation between multidisciplinary fields is needed. Diverse mathematic computations and algorithms have been designed to find prognostic targets and enhance diagnostic assessment. In this work, we use computational digital tools to study the topology of vitronectin, a glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix. Vitronectin is linked to…
Non-response bias as a likely cause of the association between young maternal age at the time of delivery and the risk of cancer in the offspring.
2003
Some epidemiological studies have shown an association between young maternal age at the time of delivery and risk of cancer in the offspring. In a recent German case-control study, there was a twofold increase in the leukaemia risk for children whose mothers were aged < 20 years at the time of delivery. As the prevalence of younger mothers among control families was particularly low, data on maternal age distributions for the general population of Germany were obtained in order to examine the representativeness of the control sample. Despite the excellent sampling frame based on data from complete and up-to-date population registries and a satisfactory response rate among controls ( approx…
Decreased Proliferation in the Neurogenic Niche, Disorganized Neuroblast Migration, and Increased Oligodendrogenesis in Adult Netrin-5-Deficient Mice.
2020
In the adult mouse brain, neurogenesis mainly occurs in the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) and the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Neuroblasts generated in the V-SVZ migrate to the olfactory bulb via the rostral migratory stream in response to guidance molecules, such as netrin-1. We previously showed that the related netrin-5 (NTN5) is expressed in Mash1-positive transit-amplifying cells and doublecortin-positive neuroblasts in the granule cell layer of the olfactory bulb, the rostral migratory stream, and the subgranular zone of the adult mouse brain. However, the precise role of NTN5 in adult neurogenesis has not been investigated. In this study, we show that …