Jan 8 :

Organizational meeting:

Links to files for:  1) List of topics for this quarter.

2) Guide for student presentations.

Jan 16:   David,

Week 1:  Re-programing Differentiated Cells into Pluripotent Stem Cells:

Takahashi et al., 2007 Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells from adult human fibroblasts by defined factors. Cell 131: 861-872

Yu et al., 2007 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Somatic Cells. Science 318:1917-1920.

Week 2:  Neuroligin/Neurexins and Autism:

Tabuchi K, Blundell J, Etherton MR, Hammer RE, Liu X, Powell CM, Südhof TC.A neuroligin-3 mutation implicated in autism increases inhibitory synaptic transmission in mice. Science. 2007 Oct 5;318(5847):71-6.

Background Information on this topic: Autism Review: Garber K.Neuroscience. Autism's cause may reside in abnormalities at the synapse. Science. 2007 Jul 13;317(5835):190-1.

Review on Structure:  Levinson JN, El-Husseini A. A crystal-clear interaction: relating neuroligin/neurexin complex structure to function at the synapse. Neuron. 2007 Dec 20;56(6):937-9.  

Background: Also 2 recent structure papers on Neuroligin/Neurexins

Jan 30 :  Qiang, Zach

Week 3:  Autophagy and Neurodegeneration

Hara et al., 2006 Suppression of Basal Autophagy in Neural Cells causes neurodegenerative disease in mice. Nature 441:885-889

Komatsu et al., 2006 Loss of autophagy in the central nervous system causes neurodegeneration in mice. Nature 441:880-885

Commentary: Klionsky 2006 Good riddance to bad rubbish. Nature News and Views 441:819-820.

Feb 6 : Rebekah

Week 4: Mechanisms of Tau-Mediated Neuronal Cell Death 

Steinhilb et al., 2007 Tau phosphorylation sites work in concert to promote neurotoxicity in vivo. Mol Biol Cell.18:5060-5068.

Feb 13 :  Julianna

Week 5: Amyloid beta Signaling  

Chong et al. 2006 ERK 1/2 activation mediates Abeta oligomer-induced neurotoxicity via caspase-3 activation and tau cleavage in rat organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 20315

Feb 20: Sierra, Anna

Week 6:  Developmental Role of a Key Alzheimer’s Protein

Young-Pierce et al., 2007 Critical Function for b-Amyloid Precursor Protein in Neuronal Migration Revealed by In Utero RNA Interference. Journal of Neuroscience 27:14459-14469.

Feb 27: Andy

Week 7:  Gene Therapy and Retinal Disease I

Kjellstrom et al., 2007 Retinoschisin Gene Therapy and Natural History in the Rs1b-KO Mouse: Long-term Rescue from Retinal Degeneration. IOVS 48:3837-3845.

March 5 :

Week 8: 

No Meeting Today--Postponed until Next Week.

March 12 :

Ethan, Jessica

Week 9:Gene Therapy and Retinal Disease II  

.Molday et al., 2007 Retinoschisin (RSI), the Protein encoded by the X-linked Retinoschisis Gene, Is Anchored to the Surface of Retinal Photoreceptors and Bipolar Cells through its interactions with a Na/K ATPase-SARM1 Complex. Journal of Biological Chemistry 282:32792-32801.