Huntington disease (HD) is characterized by the preferential loss of striatal medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs) in the brain. Because MSNs receive abundant glutamatergic input, their vulnerability to excitotoxicity may be largely influenced by the capacity of glial cells to remove extracellular glutamate. However, little is known about the role of glia in HD neuropathology. Here, we report that mutant huntingtin accumulates in glial nuclei in HD brains and decreases the expression of glutamate transporters. As a result, mutant huntingtin (htt) reduces glutamate uptake in cultured astrocytes and HD mouse brains. In a neuron–glia coculture system, wild-type glial cells protected neurons against mutant htt-mediated neurotoxicity, whereas glial cells expressing mutant htt increased neuronal vulnerability. Mutant htt in cultured astrocytes decreased their protection of neurons against glutamate excitotoxicity. These findings suggest that decreased glutamate uptake caused by glial mutant htt may critically contribute to neuronal excitotoxicity in HD.

Circadian rhythms are endogenous oscillations of physiological and behavioral phenomena with period length of approximately 24 hr. A mutation in human Period 2 (hPER2), a gene crucial for resetting the central clock in response to light, is associated with familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS), an autosomal dominant condition with early morning awakening and early sleep times. The FASPS hPER2 S662G mutation resulted in PER2 being hypophosphorylated by casein kinase I (CKI) in vitro. We generated transgenic mice carrying the FASPS hPER2 S662G mutation and faithfully recapitulate the human phenotype. We show that phosphorylation at S662 leads to increased PER2 transcription and suggest that phosphorylation at another site leads to PER2 degradation. Altering CKIdelta dosage modulates the S662 phenotype demonstrating that CKIdelta can regulate period through PER2 in vivo. Modeling a naturally occurring human variant in mice has yielded novel insights into PER2 regulation.

Objective-MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression and have many roles in the brain, but a role in oligodendrocyte (OL) function has not been demonstrated.Methods-A Dicer floxed conditional allele was crossed with the proteolipid protein promoterdriven inducible Cre allele to generate inducible, OL-specific Dicer-floxed mice. Results-OL-specificDicer mutants show demyelination, oxidative damage, inflammatory astrocytosis and microgliosis in the brain, and eventually neuronal degeneration and shorter lifespan. miR-219 and its target ELOVL7 (elongation of very long chain fatty acids protein 7) were identified as the main molecular components that are involved in the development of the phenotype in these mice. Overexpressing ELOVL7 results in lipid accumulation, which is suppressed by miR-219 cooverexpression. In Dicer mutant brain, excess lipids accumulate in myelin-rich brain regions, and the peroxisomal β-oxidation activity is dramatically reduced. Interpretation-PostnatalDicer ablation in mature OLs results in inflammatory neuronal degeneration through increased demyelination, lipid accumulation, and peroxisomal and oxidative damage, and therefore indicates that miRNAs play an essential role in the maintenance of lipids and redox homeostasis in mature OLs that are necessary for supporting axonal integrity as well as the formation of compact myelin.Dicer is essential for generation of functional micro-RNAS (miRNAs), and Dicer knockout is embryonic lethal at E7.5. 1 Using a floxed conditional Dicer allele crossed with various tissuespecific Cre alleles, Dicer-mediated miRNAs have been demonstrated to regulate the development of skin progenitors, immune cells, limb outgrowth, chondrocytes, lung, retina, and various neurons.2 -8 It has been estimated that 70% of miRNAs are expressed in the brain, 9 ,10 but little is known about the functions of these brain-specific/enriched miRNAs. Oligodendrocytes (OLs) are glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that synthesize myelin, the multilamellar membrane ensheathing axons. Myelin is required for the saltatory conduction of neuronal action potentials and for the maintenance of axonal integrity. Myelin also increases electrical resistance across the cell membrane to prevent the electrical current

Despite promising results from the therapeutic use of stem cells for treating ischemic diseases, the poor survival of cells transplanted into ischemic regions is one of the major problems that undermine the efficacy of stem cell therapy. Cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMNCs) are an alternative source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) without disadvantages, such as the painful and invasive harvesting procedure, of MSCs derived from bone marrow or adipose tissue. In the present study, we investigated whether the angiogenic efficacy of cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (CBMSCs) can be enhanced by grafting as spheroids in a mouse hindlimb ischemia model. Human CBMSC (hCBMSC) spheroids were prepared by using the hanging-drop method. Mouse hindlimb ischemia was induced by excising the femoral artery and its branches. After surgery, the animals were divided into no-treatment, dissociated hCBMSC, and spheroid hCBMSC groups (n=8 per group) and received corresponding hCBMSC treatments. After surgery, the ischemic hindlimbs were monitored for 4 weeks, and then, the ischemic hindlimb muscles were harvested for histological analysis. Apoptotic signaling, angiogenesis-related signal pathways, and blood vessel formation were investigated in vitro and/or in vivo. The transplantation of hCBMSCs as spheroids into mouse ischemic hindlimbs significantly improved the survival of the transplanted cells by suppressing apoptotic signaling while activating antiapoptotic signaling. Furthermore, the transplantation of hCBMSCs as spheroids significantly increased the number of microvessels and smooth muscle α-actin-positive vessels in the ischemic limbs of mice, and attenuated limb loss and necrosis. Human CBMNC can be considered an alternative source of MSC, and spheroid-based hCBMSC delivery can be considered a simple and effective strategy for enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of hCBMSCs.

Therapeutic growth factor delivery typically requires supraphysiological dosages, which can cause undesirable off-target effects. The aim of this study was to 3D bioprint implants containing spatiotemporally defined patterns of growth factors optimized for coupled angiogenesis and osteogenesis. Using nanoparticle functionalized bioinks, it was possible to print implants with distinct growth factor patterns and release profiles spanning from days to weeks. The extent of angiogenesis in vivo depended on the spatial presentation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Higher levels of vessel invasion were observed in implants containing a spatial gradient of VEGF compared to those homogenously loaded with the same total amount of protein. Printed implants containing a gradient of VEGF, coupled with spatially defined BMP-2 localization and release kinetics, accelerated large bone defect healing with little heterotopic bone formation. This demonstrates the potential of growth factor printing, a putative point of care therapy, for tightly controlled tissue regeneration.