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the Node is a community blog for and by developmental biologists.
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- May 10, 2012
- 04:02 PM
- 86 views
Smart signaling in the developing brain
by Erin Campbell in the Node
The WNT pathway functions in so many processes during development that it is easy to be jealous of its multi-tasking abilities. A recent paper in Development describes the role of WNT signaling in neural stem cell proliferation. WNT signaling plays an important role in neural development, axon guidance, cell polarity, and stem cell biology. WNT [...]... Read more »
Pei, Y., Brun, S., Markant, S., Lento, W., Gibson, P., Taketo, M., Giovannini, M., Gilbertson, R., & Wechsler-Reya, R. (2012) WNT signaling increases proliferation and impairs differentiation of stem cells in the developing cerebellum. Development, 139(10), 1724-1733. DOI: 10.1242/dev.050104
- April 27, 2012
- 04:09 AM
- 72 views
Interview with Beddington Medal winner Boyan Bonev
Each year, the British Society for Developmental Biology awards the Beddington Medal for the best PhD thesis in developmental biology. At the 2012 BSDB meeting, this award went to Boyan Bonev, who completed his PhD in Nancy Papalopulu’s lab at the University of Manchester. At the conference, Boyan gave a talk about his PhD work, [...]... Read more »
Bonev, B., Pisco, A., & Papalopulu, N. (2011) MicroRNA-9 Reveals Regional Diversity of Neural Progenitors along the Anterior-Posterior Axis. Developmental Cell, 20(1), 19-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2010.11.018
Dajas-Bailador, F., Bonev, B., Garcez, P., Stanley, P., Guillemot, F., & Papalopulu, N. (2012) microRNA-9 regulates axon extension and branching by targeting Map1b in mouse cortical neurons. Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 697-699. DOI: 10.1038/nn.3082
- April 12, 2012
- 02:23 PM
- 107 views
Stem cells at home
by Erin Campbell in the Node
We depend on our own comfort zones to keep us grounded, and stem cells are no different. A recent paper in Development describes how the adhesion that keeps a stem cell in its niche is regulated. A stem cell’s niche is important in maintaining its long-term undifferentiated state. A great model of stem cell niche [...]... Read more »
Srinivasan, S., Mahowald, A., & Fuller, M. (2012) The receptor tyrosine phosphatase Lar regulates adhesion between Drosophila male germline stem cells and the niche. Development, 139(8), 1381-1390. DOI: 10.1242/dev.070052
- April 3, 2012
- 12:57 AM
- 123 views
Photo-Morpholinos
by Philip Washbourne in the Node
In the study of the roles of genes during development, one problem that is often faced by researchers examining ‘late’ roles of genes is one of obscuration by temporal pleiotropy. That is: gene mutations and gene knock-down obscure late roles in development, because early phenotypes, such as cell death or malformed embryos, make it impossible [...]... Read more »
Alexandra Tallafuss, Dan Gibson, Paul Morcos, Yongfu Li, Steve Seredick, Judith Eisen, & Philip Washbourne. (2012) Turning gene function ON and OFF using sense and antisense photo-morpholinos in zebrafish. Development, 139(9), 1691-1699. info:/10.1242/dev.075390
- March 8, 2012
- 11:33 AM
- 212 views
Differences between mammals begin early in development
by Erin Campbell in the Node
The progress of stem cell research depends on the ability to grow stem cells in culture. Embryonic stem (ES) cells from some organisms, such as humans, have proven difficult to culture. While it is known that there are differences in early development between even closely-related species, understanding where these differences begin will help biologists understand [...]... Read more »
Kuijk, E., van Tol, L., Van de Velde, H., Wubbolts, R., Welling, M., Geijsen, N., & Roelen, B. (2012) The roles of FGF and MAP kinase signaling in the segregation of the epiblast and hypoblast cell lineages in bovine and human embryos. Development, 139(5), 871-882. DOI: 10.1242/dev.071688
- February 10, 2012
- 03:06 PM
- 283 views
Wrap your brain around precursor cells
by Erin Campbell in the Node
A fully differentiated cell took a fascinating journey to become its present self. For every cell, a precursor cell existed that gave rise to it. And for every precursor cell, a stem cell existed that gave rise to it. Understanding precursor cells is an important part in understanding stem cell biology. Today’s image is from [...]... Read more »
Mairet-Coello, G., Tury, A., Van Buskirk, E., Robinson, K., Genestine, M., & DiCicco-Bloom, E. (2012) p57KIP2 regulates radial glia and intermediate precursor cell cycle dynamics and lower layer neurogenesis in developing cerebral cortex. Development, 139(3), 475-487. DOI: 10.1242/dev.067314
- January 10, 2012
- 03:28 PM
- 359 views
Shaggy hairs and stem cells
by Erin Campbell in the Node
Our intestinal tissue doesn’t need a New Year’s resolution to keep up its amazing productivity. Our intestinal epithelium is replenished at breakneck speed in an assembly line that begins with stem cells. Today’s image is from a recent Development paper that discusses the importance of Notch signaling in stem cell self-renewal and intestinal homeostasis. Our [...]... Read more »
VanDussen, K., Carulli, A., Keeley, T., Patel, S., Puthoff, B., Magness, S., Tran, I., Maillard, I., Siebel, C., Kolterud, A.... (2011) Notch signaling modulates proliferation and differentiation of intestinal crypt base columnar stem cells. Development, 139(3), 488-497. DOI: 10.1242/dev.070763
- December 20, 2011
- 07:07 AM
- 446 views
Eye-ing the body electric
How do you make an eye? One early trigger for eye formation in Xenopus, as a new Development paper from Michael Levin’s lab shows, is a small change in bioelectric signals. In fact, that trigger alone is enough to induce eye development in other parts of the body. In an experiment that measured regions of [...]... Read more »
Pai, V., Aw, S., Shomrat, T., Lemire, J., & Levin, M. (2011) Transmembrane voltage potential controls embryonic eye patterning in Xenopus laevis. Development. DOI: 10.1242/dev.073759
- December 7, 2011
- 02:50 PM
- 435 views
Repulsive signals: bad breath, rude manners, and ephrin ligands
by Erin Campbell in the Node
Satellite cells are muscle stem cells that regenerate injured muscle (remember this earlier post?). They are highly motile cells that may be able to travel in order to repair injured muscle far away, and a recent paper in Development describes the role of Eph/ephrin signaling in satellite cell motility and patterning. One of the most [...]... Read more »
Stark, D., Karvas, R., Siegel, A., & Cornelison, D. (2011) Eph/ephrin interactions modulate muscle satellite cell motility and patterning. Development, 138(24), 5279-5289. DOI: 10.1242/dev.068411
- December 2, 2011
- 11:07 PM
- 352 views
Senescent cell rejuvenation – you(r cells) are never too old for pluripotency!
by Sasha Terashima in the Node
In 2007, a group let by Takahashi and Yamanaka from Kyoto University successfully generated pluripotent cells from human adult fibroblasts. They were able to induce a pluripotent state in differentiated cells by introducing four transcription factors, OCT4, SOX2, c-MYC, and KLF4 by retroviral infection, hence the name “induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).” Although the [...]... Read more »
Lapasset L, Milhavet O, Prieur A, Besnard E, Babled A, Aït-Hamou N, Leschik J, Pellestor F, Ramirez JM, De Vos J.... (2011) Rejuvenating senescent and centenarian human cells by reprogramming through the pluripotent state. Genes , 25(21), 2248-53. PMID: 22056670
- November 22, 2011
- 08:34 PM
- 479 views
Spatial range of a morphogen gradient
by stas in the Node
Estimating the range of a morphogen gradient Morphogen gradient, defined as a concentration field of a chemical factor that acts as a dose-dependent regulator of cell differentiation, is an established concept in developmental biology. However, morphogen gradients in real systems are difficult to measure and mechanisms by which they control patterns of cell fates are [...]... Read more »
Kanodia, J., Kim, Y., Tomer, R., Khan, Z., Chung, K., Storey, J., Lu, H., Keller, P., & Shvartsman, S. (2011) A computational statistics approach for estimating the spatial range of morphogen gradients. Development, 138(22), 4867-4874. DOI: 10.1242/dev.071571
- November 9, 2011
- 09:38 PM
- 554 views
Hair follicle stem cells – the hairy truth
by Erin Campbell in the Node
Next time you curse your hair for your bad hair day, consider thanking it instead. The hair follicle has populations of stem cells that aid in skin regeneration after injury, and a recent Development paper unravels a new role for the transcription factor Lhx2 in this process. Populations of epithelial stem cells in hair follicles [...]... Read more »
Mardaryev, A., Meier, N., Poterlowicz, K., Sharov, A., Sharova, T., Ahmed, M., Rapisarda, V., Lewis, C., Fessing, M., Ruenger, T.... (2011) Lhx2 differentially regulates Sox9, Tcf4 and Lgr5 in hair follicle stem cells to promote epidermal regeneration after injury. Development, 138(22), 4843-4852. DOI: 10.1242/dev.070284
- October 12, 2011
- 09:00 AM
- 589 views
Aging stem cells
by Erin Campbell in the Node
There are so many factors for a stem cell to consider when deciding cell fates. A recent paper from Development discusses how the age of a stem cell can affect its future. Neurons and glial cells are two major cell types in the nervous system, and both come from the many divisions of neural stem [...]... Read more »
Flici, H., Erkosar, B., Komonyi, O., Karatas, O., Laneve, P., & Giangrande, A. (2011) Gcm/Glide-dependent conversion into glia depends on neural stem cell age, but not on division, triggering a chromatin signature that is conserved in vertebrate glia. Development, 138(19), 4167-4178. DOI: 10.1242/dev.070391
- October 3, 2011
- 07:30 AM
- 654 views
Today’s Nobel Prize is not immune to developmental biology
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has just been announced, and the winners are Bruce Beutler (The Scripps Research Institute), Jules Hoffmann (University of Strasbourg) and Ralph Steinman (Rockefeller University), for their research on the immune system. Steinman discovered dendritic cells, while Beutler and Hoffmann studied the genetics behind immunity. At first glance, [...]... Read more »
LEMAITRE, B., NICOLAS, E., MICHAUT, L., REICHHART, J., & HOFFMANN, J. (1996) The Dorsoventral Regulatory Gene Cassette Controls the Potent Antifungal Response in Drosophila Adults. Cell, 86(6), 973-983. DOI: 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80172-5
Siggs, O., Arnold, C., Huber, C., Pirie, E., Xia, Y., Lin, P., Nemazee, D., & Beutler, B. (2011) The P4-type ATPase ATP11C is essential for B lymphopoiesis in adult bone marrow. Nature Immunology, 12(5), 434-440. DOI: 10.1038/ni.2012
- September 8, 2011
- 09:45 AM
- 776 views
Satellite cells muscle their way into the stem cell spotlight
by Erin Campbell in the Node
Researchers have long known about regeneration of injured muscles, and have debated about the exact source of the muscle stem cells that perform this amazing feat. A group of papers in a recent issue of Development shine a stem cell spotlight on satellite cells. Following injury, skeletal muscles are regenerated by muscle stem cells, but [...]... Read more »
Lepper, C., Partridge, T., & Fan, C. (2011) An absolute requirement for Pax7-positive satellite cells in acute injury-induced skeletal muscle regeneration. Development, 138(17), 3639-3646. DOI: 10.1242/dev.067595
- September 8, 2011
- 02:27 AM
- 813 views
Optical clearing with Scale
by Paul O'Neill in the Node
Transparency. A desirable virtue in many walks of life, and a particularly useful trait in developmental biology. Model organisms that are see-through offer unique advantages, especially when it comes to detailed 3D imaging. A new report in Nature Neuroscience offers a potential advance in this area. Researchers from Japan have stumbled upon a novel aqueous [...]... Read more »
Hama, H., Kurokawa, H., Kawano, H., Ando, R., Shimogori, T., Noda, H., Fukami, K., Sakaue-Sawano, A., & Miyawaki, A. (2011) Scale: a chemical approach for fluorescence imaging and reconstruction of transparent mouse brain. Nature Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1038/nn.2928
- September 7, 2011
- 10:35 AM
- 770 views
Turtles in a nutshell
by Bruno Vellutini in the Node
Turtles are peculiar vertebrates. They have a compact skull with no temporal openings, a beak instead of teeth, a contractible neck, and a shell covering its trunk. The famous turtle shell is composed of two halves, a plastron (ventral) and a carapace (dorsal). The latter is an exquisite arrangement of vertebrae and fan-shaped ribs with [...]... Read more »
Kuratani, S., Kuraku, S., & Nagashima, H. (2011) Evolutionary developmental perspective for the origin of turtles: the folding theory for the shell based on the developmental nature of the carapacial ridge. Evolution , 13(1), 1-14. DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-142X.2010.00451.x
Nagashima, H., Sugahara, F., Takechi, M., Ericsson, R., Kawashima-Ohya, Y., Narita, Y., & Kuratani, S. (2009) Evolution of the Turtle Body Plan by the Folding and Creation of New Muscle Connections. Science, 325(5937), 193-196. DOI: 10.1126/science.1173826
Nagashima, H., Kuraku, S., Uchida, K., Ohya, Y., Narita, Y., & Kuratani, S. (2007) On the carapacial ridge in turtle embryos: its developmental origin, function and the chelonian body plan. Development, 134(12), 2219-2226. DOI: 10.1242/dev.002618
Li, C., Wu, X., Rieppel, O., Wang, L., & Zhao, L. (2008) An ancestral turtle from the Late Triassic of southwestern China. Nature, 456(7221), 497-501. DOI: 10.1038/nature07533
Reisz, R., & Head, J. (2008) Palaeontology: Turtle origins out to sea. Nature, 456(7221), 450-451. DOI: 10.1038/456450a
- August 15, 2011
- 03:59 PM
- 317 views
Embryonic stem cells – keeping a clean slate
by Erin Campbell in the Node
Do your ears perk up when you hear about embryonic stem cells? We all have heard and/or participated in the controversy surrounding the use of them, yet there is no debate over their biological importance and medical potential. A paper in Journal of Cell Science describes the newly-indentified role for Banf1 in ESC self-renewal. Embryonic [...]... Read more »
Cox JL, Mallanna SK, Ormsbee BD, Desler M, Wiebe MS, & Rizzino A. (2011) Banf1 is required to maintain the self-renewal of both mouse and human embryonic stem cells. Journal of cell science, 124(Pt 15), 2654-65. PMID: 21750191
- August 9, 2011
- 02:06 PM
- 774 views
Waves of early transcriptional activation and pluripotency program initiation during human preimplantation development
by izpisuabelmonte in the Node
Since I was an undergraduate student at the Veterinary School in Milan, and throughout the rest of my scientific career, I have been fascinated with the complexities of mammalian preimplantation development. That’s why the publication of our recent paper “Waves of early transcriptional activation and pluripotency program initiation during human preimplantation development” feels like the [...]... Read more »
Vassena, R., Boue, S., Gonzalez-Roca, E., Aran, B., Auer, H., Veiga, A., & Belmonte, J. (2011) Waves of early transcriptional activation and pluripotency program initiation during human preimplantation development. Development, 138(17), 3699-3709. DOI: 10.1242/dev.064741
- July 28, 2011
- 02:11 AM
- 462 views
Live imaging of stem cell maintenance, loss, and renewal in the Drosophila testis
by becca in the Node
Stem cells have often been imaged live in culture, but very few stem cell systems are conducive to live imaging within their native tissues. An essential property of adult stem cells that they are maintained at specific anatomical locations called niches. The interactions between stem cells and their niche are crucial, but are often disrupted [...]... Read more »
Sheng, X., & Matunis, E. (2011) Live imaging of the Drosophila spermatogonial stem cell niche reveals novel mechanisms regulating germline stem cell output. Development, 138(16), 3367-3376. DOI: 10.1242/dev.065797
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