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Astrocytic Piezo1-mediated mechanotransduction determines adult neurogenesis and cognitive functions 08/12/2022
Chi et al. find that astrocytes utilize the specialized mechanosensor Piezo1 to convert mechanical forces into Ca2+ and ATP signaling, which regulates adult neurogenesis and cognitive functions, conceptually highlighting the importance of mechanotransduction in brain structure and function.
Task specificity in mouse parietal cortex 08/12/2022
Lee et al. trained the same mice to perform two or even three visual decision tasks involving different apparatuses. They discovered that neurons in parietal cortex exhibit strong task specificity: different parietal neurons are active in different physical contexts.
Neuroinflammatory disease disrupts the blood-CNS barrier via crosstalk between proinflammatory and endothelial-to-mesenchymal-transition signaling 08/11/2022
Loss of blood-CNS barrier (BCNSB) function is a hallmark of neuroinflammatory diseases, including MS. Sun et al. show that ARF6-mediated crosstalk between IL-1β and ALK signaling induces presymptomatic endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), causing BCNSB disruption and disease progression in a mouse MS model. Inhibiting this pathway reverses EndoMT and disease severity, suggesting a new therapeutic strategy to […]
Glial control of sphingolipid levels sculpts diurnal remodeling in a circadian circuit 08/11/2022
Vaughen et al. find that brain sphingolipids are degraded by glial-derived glucocerebrosidase (GBA). Glial gba1b knockout in Drosophila causes selective sphingolipid and phospholipid alterations, cyclic protein aggregates, and sleep loss. Specific sphingolipids fluctuate diurnally in the brain, and sphingolipid metabolism instructs structural remodeling of a key circadian circuit.