Expanded hexanucleotide repeats in the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) gene are the most common genetic cause of ALS and frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). Here, we identify nuclear RNA foci containing the hexanucleotide expansion (GGGGCC) in patient cells, including white blood cells, fibroblasts, glia, and multiple neuronal cell types (spinal motor, cortical, hippocampal, and cerebellar neurons). RNA foci are not present in sporadic ALS, familial ALS/FTD caused by other mutations (SOD1, TDP-43, or tau), Parkinson disease, or nonneurological controls. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are identified that reduce GGGGCC-containing nuclear foci without altering overall C9orf72 RNA levels. By contrast, siRNAs fail to reduce nuclear RNA foci despite marked reduction in overall C9orf72 RNAs. Sustained ASO-mediated lowering of C9orf72 RNAs throughout the CNS of mice is demonstrated to be well tolerated, producing no behavioral or pathological features characteristic of ALS/FTD and only limited RNA expression alterations. Genome-wide RNA profiling identifies an RNA signature in fibroblasts from patients with C9orf72 expansion. ASOs targeting sense strand repeat-containing RNAs do not correct this signature, a failure that may be explained, at least in part, by discovery of abundant RNA foci with C9orf72 repeats transcribed in the antisense (GGCCCC) direction, which are not affected by sense strand-targeting ASOs. Taken together, these findings support a therapeutic approach by ASO administration to reduce hexanucleotide repeat-containing RNAs and raise the potential importance of targeting expanded RNAs transcribed in both directions.E xpanded hexanucleotide repeats in the first intron of the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) gene were recently identified (1, 2) as the most common genetic cause of ALS, frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), or concomitant ALS/ FTD (3, 4). The mechanisms by which the expanded repeats cause neurodegeneration are unknown, but leading candidate mechanisms are RNA-mediated toxicity, loss of the C9orf72 gene function (from reduced C9orf72 produced by the allele with the expansion), or a combination of the two.RNA-mediated toxicity from nucleotide repeat expansion was initially described for CUG expansion in the RNA encoded by the DMPK gene in myotonic muscular dystrophy (5). A consensus view is that RNA toxicity plays a crucial role in a variety of repeat expansion disorders (6). A hallmark of these disorders is the accumulation of expanded transcripts into nuclear RNA foci (7). RNAs harboring a long stretch of repeats are thought to fold into stable structures and sequester RNA binding proteins, which, in turn, sets off a molecular cascade leading to neurodegeneration (7). In myotonic dystrophy, sequestration and functional disruption of the muscleblind-like family of RNA binding proteins are associated with specific splicing and expression changes in affected tissues (5,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12).Sequestration of one or more RNA binding proteins into pathological RNA foci has ...

Cancer and other cells residing in the same niche engage various modes of interactions to synchronize and to buffer the negative effects of environmental changes. Extracellular miRNAs have been recently implicated in the intercellular crosstalk. Here we show a mechanistic model involving breast-cancer-secreted, extracellular-vesicle-encapsulated miR-105, which is induced by the oncoprotein MYC in cancer cells and in turn activates MYC signaling in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to induce a metabolic program. This results in CAFs’ capacity to display different metabolic features in response to changes in the metabolic environment. When nutrients are sufficient, miR-105-reprogrammed CAFs enhance glucose and glutamine metabolism to fuel adjacent cancer cells. When nutrients are deprived whereas metabolic byproducts are accumulated, these CAFs detoxify metabolic wastes, including lactic acid and ammonium, by converting them into energy-rich metabolites. Thus, the miR-105-mediated metabolic reprogramming of stromal cells contributes to sustained tumour growth by conditioning the shared metabolic environment.

High fat diets and obesity pose serious health problems, such as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Impaired cognitive function is also associated with high fat intake. In this study, we show that just four weeks of feeding a diet rich in fat ad libitum decreased hippocampal neurogenesis in male, but not female, rats. There was no obesity, but male rats fed a diet rich in fat exhibited elevated serum corticosterone levels compared to those fed standard rat chow. These data indicate that high dietary fat intake can disrupt hippocampal neurogenesis, probably through an increase in serum corticosterone levels, and that males are more susceptible than females.

SummaryBreast cancer and melanoma cells commonly metastasize to the brain using homing mechanisms that are poorly understood. Cancer patients with brain metastases display poor prognosis and survival due to the lack of effective therapeutics and treatment strategies. Recent work using intravital microscopy and preclinical animal models indicates that metastatic cells colonize the brain, specifically in close contact with the existing brain vasculature. However, it is not known how contact with the vascular niche promotes microtumor formation. Here, we investigate the role of connexins in mediating early events in brain colonization using transparent zebrafish and chicken embryo models of brain metastasis. We provide evidence that breast cancer and melanoma cells utilize connexin gap junction proteins (Cx43, Cx26) to initiate brain metastatic lesion formation in association with the vasculature. RNAi depletion of connexins or pharmacological blocking of connexin-mediated cell-cell communication with carbenoxolone inhibited brain colonization by blocking tumor cell extravasation and blood vessel co-option. Activation of the metastatic gene twist in breast cancer cells increased Cx43 protein expression and gap junction communication, leading to increased extravasation, blood vessel co-option and brain colonization. Conversely, inhibiting twist activity reduced Cx43-mediated gap junction coupling and brain colonization. Database analyses of patient histories revealed increased expression of Cx26 and Cx43 in primary melanoma and breast cancer tumors, respectively, which correlated with increased cancer recurrence and metastasis. Together, our data indicate that Cx43 and Cx26 mediate cancer cell metastasis to the brain and suggest that connexins might be exploited therapeutically to benefit cancer patients with metastatic disease.

Trophoblast is the primary epithelial cell type in the placenta, a transient organ required for proper fetal growth and development. Different trophoblast subtypes are responsible for gas/nutrient exchange (syncytiotrophoblasts, STBs) and invasion and maternal vascular remodeling (extravillous trophoblasts, EVTs). Studies of early human placental development are severely hampered by the lack of a representative trophoblast stem cell (TSC) model with the capacity for self-renewal and the ability to differentiate into both STBs and EVTs. Primary cytotrophoblasts (CTBs) isolated from early-gestation (6-8 wk) human placentas are bipotential, a phenotype that is lost with increasing gestational age. We have identified a CDX2 + /p63 + CTB subpopulation in the early postimplantation human placenta that is significantly reduced later in gestation. We describe a reproducible protocol, using defined medium containing bone morphogenetic protein 4 by which human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can be differentiated into CDX2 + /p63 + CTB stem-like cells. These cells can be replated and further differentiated into STB-and EVT-like cells, based on marker expression, hormone secretion, and invasive ability. As in primary CTBs, differentiation of hPSC-derived CTBs in low oxygen leads to reduced human chorionic gonadotropin secretion and STB-associated gene expression, instead promoting differentiation into HLA-G + EVTs in an hypoxiainducible, factor-dependent manner. To validate further the utility of hPSC-derived CTBs, we demonstrated that differentiation of trisomy 21 (T21) hPSCs recapitulates the delayed CTB maturation and blunted STB differentiation seen in T21 placentae. Collectively, our data suggest that hPSCs are a valuable model of human placental development, enabling us to recapitulate processes that result in both normal and diseased pregnancies.human pluripotent stem cells | cytotrophoblast | extravillous trophoblast | syncytiotrophoblast | placenta

Understanding the underlying mechanisms that drive alcoholic hepatitis is important for the development of new biomarkers and targeted therapies. Herein, we describe a molecule that is increased in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Modulating the molecular pathway of this molecule might lead to promising targets for the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis.

In this study we examined the developmental roles of acetylcholine (ACh) by establishing and analyzing mice lacking choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the biosynthetic enzyme for ACh. As predicted, ChAT-deficient embryos lack both spontaneous and nerve-evoked postsynaptic potentials in muscle and die at birth. In mutant embryos, abnormally increased nerve branching occurs on contact with muscle, and hyperinnervation continues throughout subsequent prenatal development. Postsynaptically, ACh receptor clusters are markedly increased in number and occupy a broader muscle territory in the mutants. Concomitantly, the mutants have significantly more motor neurons than normal. At an ultrastructural level, nerve terminals are smaller in mutant neuromuscular junctions, and they make fewer synaptic contacts to the postsynaptic muscle membrane, although all of the typical synaptic components are present in the mutant. These results indicate that ChAT is uniquely essential for the patterning and formation of mammalian neuromuscular synapses.

An increasing body of evidence points to significant spatio-temporal differences in early placental development between mouse and human, but a detailed comparison of placentae in these two species is missing. We set out to compare placentae from both species across gestation, with a focus on trophoblast progenitor markers. We found that CDX2 and ELF5, but not EOMES, are expressed in early post-implantation trophoblast subpopulations in both species. Genome-wide expression profiling of mouse and human placentae revealed clusters of genes with distinct co-expression patterns across gestation. Overall, there was a closer fit between patterns observed in the placentae when the inter-species comparison was restricted to human placentae through gestational week 16 (thus, excluding full-term samples), suggesting that the developmental timeline in mouse runs parallel to the first half of human placental development. In addition, we identified VGLL1 as a human-specific marker of proliferative cytotrophoblast, where it is co-expressed with the transcription factor TEAD4. As TEAD4 is involved in trophectoderm specification in the mouse, we posit a regulatory role for VGLL1 in early events during human placental development.