碱中毒对小鼠皮质GABA能神经元特性和编码能力的影响

目的:研究碱中毒对小鼠皮质GABA能神经元内在特性和编码能力的影响,探讨碱中毒引起大脑功能障碍的机制。方法:选择17-22天FVB-Tg小鼠行脑片体外培养,实验对象分为碱中毒组和对照组。DIC光学显微镜下选择皮层II-III层GABA神经元,运用Axo Patch 200 B放大器全细胞模式,记录并分析神经元内在特性(包括阈电位、绝对不应期)的改变;记录与去极化脉冲相对应的峰值,分析GABA能神经元的编码能力。结果:1.阈电位峰值在对照组分别是24.58±0.68,25.44±0.82,27.02±0.78,27.55±0.74和28.66±0.79毫伏,碱中毒组分别是28.32±0.78,30.10±0.91,32.22±0.80,32.88±0.76和33.54±0.74毫伏,碱中毒组阈电位升高;绝对不应期在对照组和碱中毒组分别是4.15±0.06和5.09±0.08毫秒,碱中毒绝对不应期延长。2.两组在相同去极化刺激下诱发的连续峰值波形发生明显改变,碱中毒组产生峰值的能力下降。结论:1、碱中毒使皮质GABA能神经元动阈电位升高和绝对不应期延长;2、碱中毒降低皮质GABA能神经元编码峰值能力。     

Benchmarking sample preparation/digestion protocols reveals tube‐gel being a fast and repeatable method for quantitative proteomics

Sample preparation, typically by in‐solution or in‐gel approaches, has a strong influence on the accuracy and robustness of quantitative proteomics workflows. The major benefit of in‐gel procedures is their compatibility with detergents (such as SDS) for protein solubilization. However, SDS‐PAGE is a time‐consuming approach. Tube‐gel (TG) preparation circumvents this drawback as it involves directly trapping the sample in a polyacrylamide gel matrix without electrophoresis. We report here the first global label‐free quantitative comparison between TG, stacking gel (SG), and basic liquid digestion (LD). A series of UPS1 standard mixtures (at 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 25 fmol) were spiked in a complex yeast lysate background. TG preparation allowed more yeast proteins to be identified than did the SG and LD approaches, with mean numbers of 1979, 1788, and 1323 proteins identified, respectively. Furthermore, the TG method proved equivalent to SG and superior to LD in terms of the repeatability of the subsequent experiments, with mean CV for yeast protein label‐free quantifications of 7, 9, and 10%. Finally, known variant UPS1 proteins were successfully detected in the TG‐prepared sample within a complex background with high sensitivity. All the data from this study are accessible on ProteomeXchange (PXD003841).     

Feeder-free Derivation of Melanocytes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) represent a platform to study human development in vitro under both normal and disease conditions. Researchers can direct the differentiation of hPSCs into the cell type of interest by manipulating the culture conditions to recapitulate signals seen during development. One such cell type is the melanocyte, a pigment-producing cell of neural crest (NC) origin responsible for protecting the skin against UV irradiation. This protocol presents an extension of a currently available in vitro Neural Crest differentiation protocol from hPSCs to further differentiate NC into fully pigmented melanocytes. Melanocyte precursors can be enriched from the Neural Crest protocol via a timed exposure to activators of WNT, BMP, and EDN3 signaling under dual-SMAD-inhibition conditions. The resultant melanocyte precursors are then purified and matured into fully pigmented melanocytes by culture in a selective medium. The resultant melanocytes are fully pigmented and stain appropriately for proteins characteristic of mature melanocytes.     

蛙类声音通讯研究进展

声音通讯包含鸣声的产生、传播及对鸣声的感知与行为响应。对大多数无尾两栖类而言,雄性个体间的竞争(即雄雄竞争)、雌性配偶识别与选择几乎完全依赖声音通讯,因此准确及时的声音信息传递与接收对蛙类的生存和繁殖起着决定性作用。本文总结了蛙类鸣叫特征及其产生机制,归纳了声音通讯在蛙类性选择中的功能及协同进化,探讨了鸣声感知的神经机制及声音通讯的内分泌机制。最后对蛙类声音通讯研究方向进行了展望,并提出了可能的解决方案。     

Multipotent cells from mammalian iris pigment epithelium

The regeneration of lens tissue from the iris of newts has become a classical model of developmental plasticity, although little is known about the corresponding plasticity of the mammalian iris. We here demonstrate and characterize multipotent cells within the iris pigment epithelium (IPE) of postnatal and adult rodents. Acutely-isolated IPE cells were morphologically homogeneous and highly pigmented, but some produced neurospheres which expressed markers characteristic of neural stem/progenitor cells. Stem/progenitor cell markers were also expressed in the IPE in vivo both neonatally and into adulthood. Inner and outer IPE layers differentially expressed Nestin (Nes) in a manner suggesting that they respectively shared origins with neural retina (NR) and pigmented epithelial (RPE) layers. Transgenic marking enabled the enrichment of Nes-expressing IPE cells ex vivo, revealing a pronounced capacity to form neurospheres and differentiate into photoreceptor cells. IPE cells that did not express Nes were less able to form neurospheres, but a subset initiated the expression of pan-neural markers in primary adherent culture. These data collectively suggest that discrete populations of highly-pigmented cells with heterogeneous developmental potencies exist postnatally within the IPE, and that some of them are able to differentiate into multiple neuronal cell types.     

The Drosophila RNA-binding protein ELAV is required for commissural axon midline crossing via control of commissureless mRNA expression in neurons

Drosophila ELAV is the founding member of an evolutionarily conserved family of RNA-binding proteins considered as key inducers of neuronal differentiation. Although several ELAV-specific targets have been identified, little is known about the role of elav during neural development. Here, we report a detailed characterization of the elav mutant commissural phenotype. The reduced number of commissures in elav mutant embryos is not due to loss or misspecification of neural cells but results from defects in commissural axon projections across the midline. We establish a causal relationship between the elav mutant commissural phenotype and a reduction in the expression of commissureless, a key component of the Robo/Slit growth cone repulsive signalling pathway. In the nerve cord of elav mutant embryos, comm mRNA expression is strongly reduced in neurons, but not in midline glial cells. Furthermore, specific expression of an elav transgene in posterior neurons of each segment of an elav mutant nerve cord restores comm mRNA expression in these cells, as well as the formation of posterior commissures. Finally, forced expression of comm in specific commissural neuron subsets rescues the midline crossing defects of these neurons in elav mutant embryos, further indicating that elav acts cell autonomously on comm expression.     

c-kit marks late retinal progenitor cells and regulates their differentiation in developing mouse retina

Retinal progenitor cells are believed to display altered proliferation and differentiation during retinal development, suggesting that retinal progenitor cell populations are not homogeneous. However, the composition of progenitor cell populations is not known, due in part to the lack of known surface markers identifying distinct stages of retinal progenitor cells. We found a dramatic change in the expression profile of the cell surface antigens c-kit and stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1) in retinal progenitor cells during development. While SSEA-1 was expressed early in development, c-kit expression peaked in late stage progenitor cells. The identification of these developmental markers enabled us to characterize distinct sub-populations of retinal progenitor cells. Progenitor cell subpopulations expressing either SSEA-1, c-kit, or both showed different proliferation and differentiation abilities. Although SSEA-1-positive cells were augmented by beta-catenin signaling, c-kit-positive cells were positively regulated by Notch signaling. Taken together, our data suggest that c-kit and SSEA-1 can be used to spatiotemporally differentiate retinal progenitor populations that have intrinsically distinct characteristics. Prolonged expression of c-kit by a retrovirus resulted in the promotion of proliferation and the appearance of nestin-positive cells in the presence of the c-kit ligand, stem cell factor (SCF). This suggests a role for c-kit, Notch, and the beta-catenin signaling network in retinal development.