#nerve cells

[mindblowingscience]

New Mouse Study Challenges Current Theory on The Cause of Alzheimer's

A new study on mice suggests the cause of Alzheimer's disease may not be the buildup of beta-amyloid clumps in the brain but rather breaks i

A new study on mice suggests the cause of Alzheimer's disease may not be the buildup of beta-amyloid clumps in the brain but rather breaks in the connections (synapses) between brain cells. By manipulating the natural processes of RNA editing in mice modelled to reflect Alzheimer's symptoms, researchers prevented the connections in their brains from breaking down. Memory was restored without removing the protein clumps that are thought to cause the disease, suggesting damage between neurons was a critical problem. The finding provides a new understanding of Alzheimer's disease and an approach that could potentially address memory loss in Alzheimer's patients.

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[cuicuit]

A scale from the Linea Lateralis (lateral line organ)

Some fishes have a row of tiny scales on each side of their body, which works as a sensory organ, detecting vibrations in water. The little hole in the middle of the scale let the water penetrate under the scale, into a tiny canal which conducts the liquid in contact with the external structure of a sensory cells' group, connected to a nerve. The impulse that the nerve record depends on the pressure of the fluid : it can detect very low pressure variations, which allow the fish to perceive movements of other fishes around or to regulate its own swimming speed.

[bpod-bpod]

Transport of Delight

Just like a postal service relies on roads and trucks to collect and deliver letters and packages, the cells in our bodies have a complex transport network that moves molecules wherever they need to go. Nowhere is this more challenging than in nerve cells, which are covered with long spindly branches known as dendrites. Within each dendrite are ‘roads’ made of bundles of thin microtubules, like the ones in these images of a rat nerve cell dendrite. The ‘trucks’ are motor proteins, travelling along the microtubule highways as they collect and deliver their molecular cargo. Microtubules can be chemically modified in different ways, which affects how stable they are and the kinds of motor proteins that run along them. By using a new high-powered microscopy technique, researchers are now able to visualise these different types of microtubules, creating a detailed ‘road map’ of the transport network inside nerve cells.

Written by Kat Arney

Image from work by Eugene A Katrukha and colleagues

Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in eLife, July 2021

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[intelligentliving]

Activating This Nerve Cell Molecule Could Help Treat Spinal Cord Injury

Aberdeen University researchers – Dr. Wenlong Huang, Dr. Derryck Shewan, and Dr. Alba Guijarro-Belmar – found a novel way to repair injured spinal nerves. In experiments with rats, they achieved significant regrowth of the animals’ severed nerves when they activated a molecule found in nerve cells called Epac2. When nerves...

[specialtycarelive020]

Absence seizures include brief, sudden lapses of consciousness. If you or anyone you know is suffering from absence seizures, call 469-8054561 to schedule a tele-visit.

Absence seizures include brief, sudden lapses of consciousness. They are more common in youngsters than in adults.

Someone having an absence seizure might look like he or she is staring blankly into space for a few moments. Then, there is a swift return to a normal level of alertness. This kind of seizure generally does not lead to physical injury.

Absence seizures generally could be controlled with anti-seizure medications. Some youngsters who have them also develop other seizures. Many youngsters outgrow absence seizures in their teens.

[er-cryptid]

Potentials in Neurons

-- potential = difference in electrical charges

-- two kinds of neural potential      -- resting potential      -- action potential

-- resting potential      -- maintained by inactive neuron      -- negative electric charge of 70 millivolts      -- present in unstimulated neuron

-- once neuron is stimulated, action potential is produced

-- resting potential changes to action potential if stimulation reaches the neural threshold

-- neural threshold = limit below which neuron is unable to fire

-- stimulation must be able to alter membrane permeability through neuron firing

-- polarization = change in membrane permeability

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[sciencenewsforstudents]

A new 3-D map illuminates the 'little brain' within the heart

Microscopy and genetic studies yield a comprehensive map of the nerve cells found in the heart of a rat.

The heart has its own “brain.” Now, scientists have drawn a detailed map of this little brain, called the intracardiac nervous system, in rat hearts.

The heart’s big boss is the brain, but nerve cells in the heart have a say, too. These neurons are thought to play a crucial role in heart health, helping to fine-tune heart rhythms and perhaps protecting people against certain kinds of heart disease.

But so far, this local control system hasn’t been mapped in great detail.

To make their map, systems biologist James Schwaber at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and colleagues imaged male and female rat hearts with a method called knife-edge scanning microscopy, creating detailed pictures of heart anatomy. Those images could then be built into a 3-D model of the heart. The scientists also plucked out individual neurons and measured the amount of gene activity within each cell.  

These measurements helped sort the heart’s neurons into discrete groups. Most of these neuron clusters dot the top of the heart, where blood vessels come in and out. Some of these clusters spread down the back of the heart, and were particularly abundant on the left side. With this new view of the individual clusters, scientists can begin to study whether these groups have distinct jobs.

The comprehensive, 3-D map of the heart’s little brain could ultimately lead to targeted therapies that could treat or prevent heart diseases, the authors write online May 26 in iScience.

[vanekitanekita]

MACRÓFAGOS

#VanekitaNekita

Éstas células constituyen la segunda población celular del sistema inmune, y son parte crucial de la inmunidad innata. Son capaces de secretar más de 100 productos biológicamente activos, hasta actividades muy evolucionadas como la presentación de antígenos.

Los macrófagos son células del sistema mononuclear fagocítico (SMF) que se originan en la médula ósea y de ahí migran y se localizan al interior y fuera de los órganos linfáticos, su periodo de vida y fenotipo dependen de su origen y microambiente.

En la actualidad se considera que intervienen en tres funciones preponderantes del hospedero: inflamación-regeneración de tejidos, procesos inmunológicos y homeostasis. Para ello, llevan a cabo siete funciones:

1) Fagocitosis de microorganismos y algunas células.

2) Eliminación de células viejas, detritus y cuerpos extraños.

3) Regulación de hematopoyesis.

4) Interacción bidireccional con linfocitos.

5) Presentación de antígenos para montar respuesta inmune específica.

6) Secreción de productos biológicamente activos.

7) Actividad antitumoral.

Fuente: Los macrófagos, ángeles o demonios (Macrophages, angels or demons). Francisco Javier Ochoa-Carrilloa, Alejandro Bravo-Cuellar. Gaceta Mexicana de Oncología. Vol. 12. Núm. 1, pp. 1-3. Enero 2013.

Crédito de la imagen: a quien corresponda.