Targeting Topics

Gene therapy has been proposed for a variety of genetic disorders, including severe combined immunodeficiency, but it has not yet found routine use in the clinic, in part because of potential complications. To help pave the way for safer translation of such gene therapy, Schiroli et al. studied potential approaches to gene therapy in mouse […]

Congratulations to winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017: Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, Michael W. Young for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. Circadian aspects of adipokine regulation in rodents. Challet E, Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2017), doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2017.09.003. This paper reviews reciprocal links between the

Changes in the Secretory Activity of Organs Producing Noradrenaline Upon Inhibition of Its Synthesis in Neonatal Rat Brain. Murtazina, AR, Dilmukhametova, LK, Nikishina, YO, Sapronova, AY, Volina, EV, & Ugrumov, MV. (2017). Russian Journal of Developmental Biology, 48 (5):295-300. This study demonstrates that synthesis of noradrenaline after destruction of noradrenergic neurons was switched off by stereotactically

Two posters using ATS products are being presented this week at SENC (17 Congreso Nacional de Sociedad Española de Neurociencia). LEARNING AND MEMORY IMPAIRMENT IN RATS WITH CHOLINERGIC BASAL FOREBRAIN LESION IS RELATED TO CB1 CANNABINNOID RECEPTORS UP REGULATION  Moreno-Rodríguez M., Villanueva D., Martínez-Gardeazabal J., Llorente-Ovejero A., Manuel I., Rodríguez-Puertas R. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty

3D Visualization of Individual Regenerating Retinal Ganglion Cell Axons Reveals Surprisingly Complex Growth Paths. Bray, ER, Noga, M, Thakor, K, et al. (2017). eNeuro eNeuro doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0093-17.2017 PMID: 28856242 “Our study demonstrates extensive and circuitous RGC axon elongation both in pre- and post-lesion regions, highlighting the need to better understand the factors that inhibit direct

Itch Induces Conditioned Place Aversion in Mice. Mu, D, & Sun, Y-G. (2017). Neuroscience Letters, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2017.08.046 “Consistently, ablation of itch‐specific neurons that express gastrin‐releasing peptide receptor in the spinal cord also abolished itch‐induced Conditioned Place Aversion (CPA), confirming that itch‐induced CPA is dependent on the spinal itch circuit.” Mice were given a single intrathecal injection

Phrenic long-term facilitation following intrapleural CTB-SAP-induced respiratory motor neuron death. Nichols NL, Craig TA, & Tanner MA. Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2018 Oct;256:43-49. doi: 10.1016/j.resp.2017.08.003. Epub 2017 Aug 16. There are currently no approved treatment options to significantly preserve/restore breathing capacity in patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Intrapleural CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14) mimics aspects of ALS. This

Selective Cholinergic Depletion of Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus Aggravates Freezing of Gait in Parkinsonian Rats.  Xiao, H, Li, M, Cai, J, et al. (2017). Neurosci Lett [Epub 10 August 2017]. PMID: 28803956 Many patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease suffer from gait and postural impairments.  The authors used Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42) to specifically lesion neurons in the Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus (PPTg) to examine the

Blocking microglial pannexin-1 channels alleviates morphine withdrawal in rodents.  Burma, N.E., R.P. Bonin, H. Leduc-Pessah, et al.  Nat Med, 2017. 23(3): p. 355-360. PMID: 28134928 The authors investigated the mechanisms underlying opiate withdrawal in rat.  Depletion of spinal lumbar microglia by intrathecal injections of Mac-1–SAP (Cat. #IT-33; 20 mcg) decreased withdrawal behaviors and attenuated the severity of

The rostromedial tegmental nucleus and alcohol addiction. Ye J-H, Fu R, He W. (2017). Impact Journals. 2017;8(12):18624-18625. The authors discuss their work (1) with Dermorphin-SAP (Cat. #IT-12) and their demonstration that damage of RMTg MOR-expressing GABAergic neurons by Dermorphin-SAP increased the intake and preference for alcohol, boosted the expression and slowed down the extinction of alcohol