Development

A unique set of features and characteristics of species of the Cnidaria phylum is the one reason that makes them a model for a various studies. The plasticity of a life cycle and the processes of cell differentiation and development of an integral multicellular organism associated with it are of a specific scientific interest.

Our primary goal was to determine if leukocytes are a source of nerve growth factor (NGF) in mouse spleen. Noradrenergic nerves were localized to arteries and white pulp in normal spleens but only to arteries in ultra-immunodeficient R2G2 mice that lack leukocytes. NGF mRNA was detected in vascular cells and leukocytes of normal spleen, and several of the latter were T cells based on double labeling for NGF mRNA and CD3.

Proper thyroid hormone signaling via the TRα1 nuclear receptor is required for normal neurodevelopmental processes. The specific downstream mechanisms mediated by TRα1 that impact brain development remain to be investigated.In this study, the structure, function, and transcriptome of hippocampal tissue in a mouse model expressing the first RTHα mutation discovered in a patient, THRAE403X, were analyzed. RNAscope was used to visualize the spatial and temporal expression of Thra1 mRNA in the hippocampus of wild-type mice, which corresponds to THRA1 mRNA in humans.

The kidney plays a central role in body fluid homeostasis. Cells in the glomeruli and juxtaglomerular apparatus sense mechanical forces and modulate glomerular filtration and renin release. However, details of mechanosensory systems in these cells are unclear. Piezo2 is a recently identified mechanically activated ion channel found in various tissues, especially sensory neurons. Herein, we examined Piezo2 expression and regulation in mouse kidneys.

Vertebrate lonesome kinase (VLK) is the only known extracellular tyrosine kinase, but its physiological functions are largely unknown. We show that VLK is highly expressed in hepatocytes of neonatal mice, but down-regulated during adulthood. To determine the role of VLK in liver homeostasis and regeneration we generated mice with a hepatocyte-specific knockout of the VLK gene (Pkdcc). Cultured progenitor cells established from primary hepatocytes of Pkdcc knockout mice produced a secretome, which promoted their own proliferation in 3D spheroids and proliferation of cultured fibroblasts.

During mammalian brain development, how different astrocytes are specified from progenitor cells is not well understood. In particular, whether astrocyte progenitor cells (APCs) start as a relatively homogenous population or whether there is early heterogeneity remains unclear. Here, we have dissected subpopulations of embryonic mouse forebrain progenitors using single-cell transcriptome analyses. Our sequencing data revealed two molecularly distinct APC subgroups at the start of gliogenesis from both dorsal and ventral forebrains.

The ventricular zone (VZ) of the nervous system contains radial glia cells that were originally considered relatively homogenous in their gene expression, but a detailed characterization of transcriptional diversity in these VZ cells has not been reported. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize transcriptional heterogeneity of neural progenitors within the VZ and subventricular zone (SVZ) of the ganglionic eminences (GEs), the source of all forebrain GABAergic neurons.

In the neocortex, functionally distinct areas process specific types of information. Area identity is established by morphogens and transcriptional master regulators, but downstream mechanisms driving area-specific neuronal specification remain unclear. Here, we reveal a role for RNA-binding proteins in defining area-specific cytoarchitecture.

This study aimed to undertake a multidisciplinary characterization of the phenotype associated with SOX11 variants.Individuals with protein altering variants in SOX11 were identified through exome and genome sequencing and international data sharing. Deep clinical phenotyping was undertaken by referring clinicians. Blood DNA methylation was assessed using Infinium MethylationEPIC array. The expression pattern of SOX11 in developing human brain was defined using RNAscope.We reported 38 new patients with SOX11 variants.

The mechanisms coupling fate specification of distinct tissues to their physical separation remain to be understood. The trachea and esophagus differentiate from a single tube of definitive endoderm, requiring the transcription factors SOX2 and NKX2-1, but how the dorsoventral site of tissue separation is defined to allocate tracheal and esophageal cell types is unknown. Here, we show that the EPH/EPHRIN signaling gene Efnb2 regulates tracheoesophageal separation by controlling the dorsoventral allocation of tracheal-fated cells.