Click & Detect

Click3D: a method using click chemistry (a class of reactions that make molecules observable) that achieves high-resolution 3D fluorescence imaging of whole organs at unprecedented depth – for example, imaging hypoxia (inadequate tissue oxygen) in a tumour (as shown here) or in the mouse whole brain

Read the published research article here

• Video from work by Iori Tamura and colleagues
• Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
• Published in Science Advances, July 2024

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Schizophrenia Brain Differences

Cross-sectional brain images from individuals with schizophrenia and healthy subjects analysed using the Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn) algorithm identifies neuro-structural differences between the two. Two distinct subtypes of grey matter change revealed among brains from individuals with schizophrenia

Read the published research article here

Today – 25th July – is Schizophrenia Awareness Day

• Image from work by Yuchao Jiang and colleagues
• Institute of Science and Technology for Brain Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, July 2024

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Erm…Not Macrophages

Differing from other cell types investigated, proteins of the ERM family, (ezrin, radixin, and moesin) that link the cell's outer membrane with its inner protein scaffold don’t have a role in the migratory capacity of the large immune cells called macrophages found in most tissues

Read the published research article here

• Still from video from work by Perrine Verdys and colleagues
• Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale (IPBS)Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Toulouse, France
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in The EMBO Journal, July 2024

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Resulting from Mutation

A study in mice uncovers the gene CDK13’s key role in craniofacial and neural development – insight into mechanisms underlying the genetic disorder CHDFIDD which is associated with mutations in CDK13 affecting development of the face and heart, and intellectual abilityRead the published research article here

• Image from work by Marek Hampl and colleagues
• Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, July 2024

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Heartfelt Consequence

The heart beat’s mechanical forces remodel the developing heart's extracellular matrix – cells’ supporting substrate important for their growth, shape and movement – this study in zebrafish shows

Read the published research article here

• Image from work by Alessandra Gentile and Marga Albu, and colleagues
• Department of Developmental Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim; Institute of Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Development, July 2024

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Parasite Division

The single cell parasite that causes toxoplasmosis – spread for example in cat faeces – divides in a way that’s different to bacteria, fungi and animals. Rather than splitting into two free daughter cells, the daughters first form within a mother cell. This study identifies the molecular mechanisms of the subsequent emergence from the mother cell of two parasites each with their own membrane

Read the published research article here

• Image from work by Jean-Baptiste Marq and colleagues
• Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in The EMBO Journal, July 2024

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Mutational Impact

Impact of ENL – a DNA modifying (epigenetic) regulator protein – mutation associated with the childhood kidney cancer Wilm’s tumour on the developing kidney’s gene regulatory landscape before and after birth revealed in mice

Read the published research article here

• Image from work by Lele Song and Qinglan Li, and colleagues
• Department of Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, July 2024

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Major in Melanoma

A zebrafish model reveals how the growth factor TGF-β plays a pivotal role in the progression and spread of the aggressive skin cancer melanoma, including how it affects the immune response

Read the published research article here

• Image from work by Haley R Noonan and Alexandra M Thornock, and colleagues
• Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, June 2024

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Heart Stirring

Generating lab-grown heart cells [cardiomyocytes] and heart organoids from human iPSCs (a kind of stem cell) by culturing them as a suspension with stirring rather than as a monolayer – a new reproducible, scaleable and efficient approach

Read the published research article here

• Image from work by Maksymilian Prondzynski and colleagues
• Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, July 2024

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Seeing Progress

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most intractable and fatal type of brain tumour and models to aid study towards better treatment are urgently needed. Here, a genetically-relevant zebrafish model of aggressive human GBM which, thanks to the transparency of the developing fish body, enables live imaging and presents a means of high-throughput genetic and molecular manipulations towards therapeutic discovery

Read the published research article here

Today – 17th July 2024 – is Glioblastoma Awareness Day

Read here about the OurBrainBank initiative, the research and data collection community with a mission to turn GBM from terminal to treatable

• Image from work by Alex Weiss and colleagues
• Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife (reviewed reprint), July 2024

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