Radial glia in the developing optic tectum express the key guidance molecules responsible for topographic targeting of retinal axons. However, the extent to which the radial glia are themselves influenced by retinal inputs and visual experience remains unknown. Using multiphoton live imaging of radial glia in the optic tectum of intact Xenopus laevis tadpoles in conjunction with manipulations o...

Glia are the most abundant cell type in the mammalian nervous system and they have vital roles in neural development, function and health. However our understanding of the biology of glia is in its infancy. How do glia develop and interact with neurons? How diverse are glial populations? What are the primary functions of glia in the mature nervous system? These questions can be addressed incisi...

Radial glia are transiently present in the developing cerebral cortex, where they are thought to guide the migration of neurons from the proliferative zone to the forming cortical plate. To provide a framework for experimental studies of radial glia, we have defined morphological and immunocytochemical criteria to identify them in primary cultures of cortical cells obtained at embryonic day 13 ...

Müller glial cells are the major type of glia in the mammalian retina. To identify the molecular machinery that defines Müller glial cell identity and function, single cell gene expression profiling was performed on Affymetrix microarrays. Identification of a cluster of genes expressed at high levels suggests a Müller glia core transcriptome, which likely underlies many of the functions of Müll...

In the present paper, the controversial hypothesis suggesting ancient grains might show lower immunogenic properties and therefore the possibility to introduce them in the diet of wheat-sensitive people, including celiac patients, was investigated. The immunogenic potential of the ancient durum wheats Graziella Ra and Kamut was studied by comparison to the durum accessions Cappelli, Flaminio, G...

The evolutionary origins of glia are lost in time, as soft tissues rarely leave behind fossil footprints, and any molecular footprints they might have been left we have yet to decipher. Nevertheless, because of the growing realization of the importance glia plays in the development and functioning of the nervous system, lessons we can draw about commonalities among different taxa (including ver...

Neurons provide critical signals that regulate both the number and differentiation of glia. In addition, glia are attracted to and enwrap neuronal axonal processes. FGF-like signalling is thought to be one of the many potential axon-derived morphogenetic signals, however, the multiple roles of FGFs have made experimental tests of these signals difficult in vivo. In the Drosophila FGF receptor m...

Frontal and coronal sections of adult male and female canary brain were stained with a monoclonal antibody to vimentin using an immunoperoxidase technique; some sections were counterstained with cresyl violet. The position of radial glia cells was mapped using a computer-linked microscope. The telencephalon was found to have a rich set of radial glia. The long processes of these radial glia sho...

Glia play crucial roles in the development and homeostasis of the nervous system. While the GLIA in the Drosophila embryo have been well characterized, their study in the adult nervous system has been limited. Here, we present a detailed description of the glia in the adult nervous system, based on the analysis of some 500 glial drivers we identified within a collection of synthetic GAL4 lines....

Glia show marked heterogeneity in terms of electrophysiology in the developing brain, and two major types can be identified based on GFAP or NG2 expression. However, it remains to be determined if such an electrophysiological diversity holds for the adult brain and how GFAP and NG2 lineage glia are associated with different electrophysiological phenotypes during the course of development. To ad...