Faculty Bibliography

The total synthesis of the molluscan polypropionate (-)-crispatene is described. The synthesis features a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling to establish a sensitive conjugated tetraene and its Lewis acid-catalyzed cycloisomerization to yield the bicyclo[3.1.0]hexene core of the natural product. The absolute configuration of (-)-crispatene and related molecules is established.

Distribution of ascorbate into tissues is an essential process in ascorbate antioxidant defense. Hibernating animals are studied as a model of tolerance to ischemia-reperfusion because of their tolerance to fluctuations in blood flow associated with prolonged torpor and periodic arousal episodes. Throughout hibernation, plasma ascorbate concentration ([Asc](p)) repetitively increases during torpor, then falls during periodic arousal bouts. We previously proposed that high [Asc](p) provides a ready source of antioxidant protection for distribution to the central nervous system and peripheral tissues during arousal. Here we tested whether deliberate oxidation of plasma ascorbate by intravenous administration of ascorbate oxidase (AO), prior to arousal, compromised tissue levels of ascorbate or the other water-soluble antioxidants, glutathione (GSH) and urate. Although AO decreased [Asc](p) to below the level of detection during torpor and after arousal, ascorbate oxidation did not decrease post-arousal tissue levels of reduced ascorbate, glutathione, or urate in any tissue examined, except liver. The data imply that ascorbate is taken up equally well into brain and other tissues as either ascorbate or its oxidized product dehydroascorbate, with subsequent intracellular reduction of dehydroascorbate. Lack of effect of ascorbate oxidation on tissue levels of GSH or urate indicates that dehydroascorbate uptake and reduction do not compromise tissue concentrations of these other water-soluble antioxidants. Thus, we show equal availability of reduced and oxidized plasma ascorbate during metabolically demanding thermogenesis and reperfusion associated with arousal from hibernation

The development of catalytic asymmetric Nazarov reactions that require only 10 mol % of chiral Lewis acid and proceed with ee's between 72% and 97% is described.

Brain structures derived from the mesencephalon (mes) and rhombomere 1 (r1) modulate distinct motor and sensory modalities. The precise origin and cellular behaviors underpinning the cytoarchitectural organization of the mes and r1, however, are unknown. Using a novel inducible genetic fate mapping approach in mouse, we determined the fate and lineage relationships of mes/r1 cells with fine temporal and spatial resolution. We demonstrate that the mes and r1 are neuromeres that along with the isthmic organizer are partitioned along the anterior-posterior axis by lineage restriction boundaries established sequentially between E8.5 and E9.5. Furthermore, a small group of cells originating from the most posterior mes exhibit anterior intracompartmental expansion and contribute throughout the inferior colliculus. Finally, we also uncovered transient and differential genetic lineages of ventral midbrain dopaminergic and ventral hindbrain serotonergic neuronal precursors with respect to Wnt1 and Gli1 expression

Several human channelopathies result from mutations in alpha1A, the pore-forming subunit of P/Q-type Ca2+ channels, conduits of presynaptic Ca2+ entry for evoked neurotransmission. We found that wild-type human alpha1A subunits supported transmission between cultured mouse hippocampal neurons equally well as endogenous mouse alpha1A, whereas introduction of impermeant human alpha1A hampered the effect of endogenous subunits. Thus, presynaptic P/Q-type channels may compete for channel type-preferring 'slots' that limit their synaptic effectiveness. The existence of slots generates predictions for how neurotransmission might be affected by changes in Ca2+ channel properties, which we tested by studying alpha1A mutations that are associated with familial hemiplegic migraine type 1 (FHM1). Mutant human P/Q-type channels were impaired in contributing to neurotransmission in precise accord with their deficiency in supporting whole-cell Ca2+ channel activity. Expression of mutant channels in wild-type neurons reduced the synaptic contribution of P/Q-type channels, suggesting that competition for type-preferring slots might support the dominant inheritance of FHM1

This paper addresses stochastic correlative learning as the basis for a broadly defined class of statistical learning algorithms known collectively as the algorithm of pattern extraction (ALOPEX) family. Starting with the neurobiologically motivated Hebb's rule, the two conventional forms of the ALOPEX algorithm,are derived, followed by a modified variant designed to improve the convergence speed. We next describe two more elaborate versions of the ALOPEX algorithm, which incorporate particle filtering that exemplifies a form of Monte Carlo simulation, to exchange computational complexity for an improved convergence and tracking behavior. In support of the different forms of the ALOPEX algorithm developed herein, we present three different experiments using synthetic and real-life data on binocular fusion of stereo images, on-line prediction, and system identification.

The neuronal lysosomal system is a major degradative pathway, induced by cell stress and closely linked to Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we show that mutations of presenilin (PS) 1 and 2, which cause familial early-onset AD (FAD), induce more severe lysosomal system neuropathology in humans than does sporadic AD (SAD). Cathepsin D and B levels were higher in PS-FAD neocortex than in SAD and, unlike neurons in SAD, expressed higher levels of the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor. Lysosomal pathology was also evident in more populations of neurons in PS-FAD brains, including the less vulnerable neurons in laminae II and IV and affected neurons contained high numbers of hydrolase-positive vesicular compartments with a broader range of abnormal morphology. In transgenic mice expressing mutant amyloid precursor protein (APPswe), introducing mutant PSI significantly upregulated the lysosomal system in neocortical and hippocampal neurons. This upregulation, though milder in severity, resembled that seen in human PS-FAD. Accumulation of hydrolases in dystrophic neurites in senile plaques was particularly strong, suggesting that amyloid deposition may be a stimulus for local mobilization of the lysosomal system. PS1 mice lacking the APPswe transgene also had a mild lysosomal response in some neuronal populations, which was not seen in the APPswe mice. Our findings suggest that presenilin mutations have amyloid-independent effects on the lysosomal system, which are synergistic with the lysosomal system pathology that is associated with beta-amyloid

In this study we present data on the spatial relationship between neural crest-derived cells (NCC) and the specialized cardiac conduction system (CCS) in the developing murine heart. Using Wnt1-Cre/R26R conditional reporter mice that express beta-galactosidase from ROSA26 upon Cre-mediated recombination, two populations of NCC are seen: one migrates through the arterial pole and contributes to the bundle branches, whereas the second population enters by way of the venous pole and provides cells to the sinoatrial and atrioventricular node areas. The CCS/ lacZ construct is found in the myocardium of the early embryonic heart and afterward only persists in the definitive CCS and is acknowledged as a reporter for the developing conduction system. The contiguous expression of both reporters is suggestive for a potential role of cardiac NCC in the induction of the final differentiation of the CCS

The use of five histochemical stains (cresyl violet, thionin, hematoxylin & eosin, silver stain, and acridine orange) was evaluated in combination with an expression profiling paradigm that included regional and single cell analyses within the hippocampus of post-mortem human brains and adult mice. Adjacent serial sections of human and mouse hippocampus were labeled by histochemistry or neurofilament immunocytochemistry. These tissue sections were used as starting material for regional and single cell microdissection followed by a newly developed RNA amplification procedure (terminal continuation (TC) RNA amplification) and subsequent hybridization to custom-designed cDNA arrays. Results indicated equivalent levels of global hybridization signal intensity and relative expression levels for individual genes for hippocampi stained by cresyl violet, thionin, and hematoxylin & eosin, and neurofilament immunocytochemistry. Moreover, no significant differences existed between the Nissl stains and neurofilament immunocytochemistry for individual CA1 neurons obtained via laser capture microdissection. In contrast, a marked decrement was observed in adjacent hippocampal sections stained for silver stain and acridine orange, both at the level of the regional dissection and at the CA1 neuron population level. Observations made on the cDNA array platform were validated by real-time qPCR using primers directed against beta-actin and glyceraldehyde-3 phosphate dehydrogenase. Thus, this report demonstrated the utility of using specific Nissl stains, but not stains that bind RNA species directly, in both human and mouse brain tissues at the regional and cellular level for state-of-the-art molecular fingerprinting studies