conclusions our results suggest that human exposure to mcpyv occurs throughout life. the mcpyv antibody levels remained high among older adults in our population, consistent with reports from other populations. patients and methods in this cross-sectional study, we collected 440 serum samples from healthy individuals 2 to 78 years of age who visited the pasteur institute’s clinic in tehran, ira...

The generation of morphological diversity among segmental units of the nervous system is crucial for correct matching of neurons with their targets and for formation of functional neuromuscular networks. However, the mechanisms leading to segment diversity remain largely unknown. We report here that the Hox genes Ultrabithorax (Ubx) and Antennapedia (Antp) regulate segment-specific survival of ...

host genetic factors play a central role in determining the clinical phenotype of human diseases. association between two polymorphic loci in human genome, human leukocyte antigen (hla) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (kirs), and genetically complex infectious disease, particularly those of viral etiology, have been historically elusive. hence, defining the influence of genetic di...

Motoneurons are traditionally viewed as the output of the spinal cord that do not influence locomotor rhythmogenesis. We assessed the role of motoneuron firing during ongoing locomotor-like activity in neonatal mice expressing archaerhopsin-3 (Arch), halorhodopsin (eNpHR), or channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in Choline acetyltransferase neurons (ChAT+) or Arch in LIM-homeodomain transcription factor I...

Rekling, Jens C. and Jack L. Feldman. Bidirectional electrical was cut on a Vibratome. The rostral cut was placed 150 mm caudal to the rostral boundary of the compact formation of nucleus ambicoupling between inspiratory motoneurons in the newborn mouse nucleus ambiguus. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 3508–3510, 1997. Some guus. The preparation was transferred to a 0.2-ml recording chamber and was superf...

One of the earliest guidance decisions for spinal cord motoneurons occurs when pools of motoneurons orient their growth cones towards a common, segmental exit point. In contrast to later events, remarkably little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying intraspinal motor axon guidance. In zebrafish sidetracked (set) mutants, motor axons exit from the spinal cord at ectopic positions. ...

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disease produced by low levels of Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) protein that affects alpha motoneurons in the spinal cord. Notch signaling is a cell-cell communication system well known as a master regulator of neural development, but also with important roles in the adult central nervous system. Aberrant Notch function is associated with sever...

This study aims to address if phosphorylation of the transcription factor c-Jun is associated with lesion-induced death of spinal motoneurons, and if this cellular response is modulated by glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). We found that after both distal axotomy and root avulsion, spinal motoneurons in neonatal rats expressed phosphorylated c-Jun (p-c-Jun) and almost all injur...

The effect of early postnatal blockade of neuromuscular transmission using botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) type A on motoneuron gap junctional coupling was studied by means of intracellular recordings and biocytin labeling using the in vitro hemisected spinal cord preparation of neonatal rats. The somata of tibialis anterior (TA) motoneurons were retrogradely labeled at birth (P0) by intramuscular ...

Synapse elimination in the adult central nervous system can be modelled by axotomy of spinal motoneurons which triggers removal of synapses from the cell surface of lesioned motoneurons by processes that remain elusive. Proposed candidate mechanisms are removal of synapses by reactive microglia and astrocytes, based on the remarkable activation of these cell types in the vicinity of motoneurons...