The Pioneer in Reproductive Biology

pus, the center of the brain that is responsible for learning and memory. In the study, the research team found that the electric spikes are delivered as analog signals whose shape impacts the magnitude of chemical neurotransmitter released across the synapses. This mechanism functions similar to a light dimmer ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes the first study of how the shapes of electrical signals contribute to the functioning of synapses. The research focused on the hippocamwith variable settings. Previous research considered the spikes to be delivered as a digital signal, more akin to a light switch that operates only in the “on” and “off” positions.

How the brain remembers right place, right time

neurons known as “time cells” was discovered in rats. These cells appear to play a unique role in recording when events take place, allowing the brain to correctly mark the order of what happens in an episodic memory. Located in the brain’s hippocampus, these cells show a characteris-

Two studies led by UT South- tic activity pattern while the aniwestern researchers shed new mals are encoding and recalling light on how the brain encodes events, explains Bradley Lega, time and place into memories. M.D., associate professor of neuThe findings, published recently in rological surgery at UTSW and PNAS and Science, not only add senior author of the PNAS study. to the body of fundamental re- By firing in a reproducible sesearch on memory, but could quence, they allow the brain to eventually provide the basis for organize when events happen, new treatments to combat mem- Lega says. The timing of their firory loss from conditions such as ing is controlled by 5 Hz brain traumatic brain injury or Alzheim- waves, called theta oscillations, in er’s disease. a process known as precession. About a decade ago, a group of Lega investigated whether hu-

mans also have time cells by using a memory task that makes strong demands on time-related information. Lega and his colleagues recruited volunteers from the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at UT Southwestern’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, where epilepsy patients stay for several

heart failure

days before surgery to remove damaged parts of their brains that spark seizures. Electrodes implanted in these patients’ brains help their surgeons precisely identify the seizure foci and also provide valuable information on the brain’s inner workings, Lega

Novel biomarkers predict the development of incident

says.

Researchers at the University of were associated with the developEastern Finland and Kuopio ment of incident heart failure in a University Hospital have discov- follow-up that lasted for 8.8 years. ered several new biomarkers that These new biomarkers included are associated with incident heart adiponectin, high?sensitivity C?refailure. In a new study, several in- active protein, the chronic inflamflammatory biomarkers and cell mation biomarker GlycA, the amienergy metabolites were linked to no acids alanine and an increased risk of incident heart phenylalanine, as well as glycerol failure. and pyruvate, which the heart The study used a random selection of 10,106 men participating in the Metabolic Syndrome in Men (METSIM) study, who at baseline did not have a diagnosis of incident heart failure. Elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers muscle uses for energy. After adjustment for age, BMI, diabetes and statin medication, adiponectin, pyruvate and urinary albumin excretion rate were associated with the development of incident heart failure. and several biomarkers associated In this study, the most common with heart metabolism, which heart diseases underlying incident were measured by NMR analysis, heart failure were elevated blood pressure, coronary artery disease and especially previous myocardial infarction. More rarely, incident heart failure was caused by cardiomyopathy or valvular heart disease. Diabetes, systolic blood pressure, age, overweight, high insulin levels, declining kidney function and microalbuminuria, which are well? established risk

factors for heart failure, were also be linked to different courses of associated with the development the disease. Four of these of incident heart failure. components were statistically The researchers used principal component analysis to classify incident heart failure associated risk factors and biomarkers into components that could possibly significant for the development of incident heart failure. Three of the components contained a different inflammatory biomarker and one contained cell energy metabolites.

Potential treatment approach kills lymphoma while sparing healthy cells

from B cells, an important type of lymphocyte whose primary function is to make antibodies. Some existing lymphoma treatments, including B-cell-killing antibodies and so-called CAR-T cell therapies, work by targeting B cells indiscriminately, largely wiping Scientists at Scripps Research have demonstrated a promising new strategy for treating lymphomas, a group of cancers that begin in infection-fighting cells of them out. However, this strategy brings many adverse side effects, including months of immunosuppression due to low antibody levels. the immune system called lym- Wu, Paulson and their teams have phocytes. developed a more specific apThe new approach uses natural cancer-targeting immune cells, known as natural killer cells, that have been modified to selectively target lymphoma. As described in their study, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the modified natural killer cells brought about a dramatic reduction of lymphoma in a mouse. proach using natural killer cells, which are immune cells that normally patrol the bloodstream and tissues, seeking and destroying virus-infected or cancerous cells. These immune-system warriors, also known as NK cells, are able to recognize certain tell-tale surface molecules that signify serious damage or malignancy within a cell; they can then kill that target More than 20,000 people in the cell through a variety of means, United States die of lymphomas including by secreting proteins annually, while approximately that punch holes in the cell’s out85,000 people are newly diag- er membrane. nosed. Most lymphomas arise (Courtesy : Science Daily)