Chen S, Brunskill EW, Potter SS, Dexheimer PJ, Salomonis N, Aronow BJ, Hong CI, Zhang T, Kopan R. Intrinsic Age-Dependent Changes and Cell-Cell Contacts Regulate Nephron Progenitor Lifespan. Dev Cell. 2015 Oct;1235(1):49-62.
Chen et al. explored the control of nephron progenitor lifespan which determines the number of nephrons an individual has by single-cell transcription profiling and heterochronic cell transplantation. They observed progressive age-dependent changes with increasing heterogeneity in older populations. Young cells can ‘‘rejuvenate’’ older progenitors, and age dependent changes alter the niche environment, affect inter-progenitor interactions, and contribute to the cessation of nephrogenesis.
Hass MR, Liow HH, Chen X, Sharma A, Inoue YU, Inoue T, Reeb A, Martens A, Fulbright M, Raju S, Stevens M, Boyle S, Park JS, Weirauch MT, Brent MR, Kopan R. SpDamID: Marking DNA Bound by Protein Complexes Identifies Notch-Dimer Responsive Enhancers. Mol Cell. 2016 Oct 6:64(1):213.
Hass et al. developed SpDamID by splitting DAM into inactive halves. Proximity-enabled DAM reconstitution methylates adenine in GATC on genomic DNA bound in vivo by interacting or juxtapositioned transcription factors. SpDamID is a powerful tool that enables dynamic analysis of combinatorial protein interactions with DNA at a genome-wide level.
Imai F, Ladle DR, Leslie JR, Duan X, Rizvi TA, Ciraolo GM, Zheng Y, Yoshida Y. Synapse Formation in Monosynaptic Sensory-Motor Connections Is Regulated by Presynaptic Rho GTPase Cdc42. J Neurosci. 2016 May 25;36(21):5724-35.
This study shows that Cdc42 regulates synapse formation of monosynaptic sensory-motor circuits.
Rankin RA, Han L, McCracken KW, Kenny AP, Anglin CT, Grigg EA, Crawford CM, Wells JM, Shannon JM, Zorn AM. A Retinoic Acid - Hedgehog Cascade Coordinates Mesoderm Inducing Signals and Endoderm Competence During Lung Specification. Cell Rep. 2016  Jun 28;16(1):66-78.
The complex genetic networks controlling fetal lung development are poorly understood.  Rankin and Han et al., show that an evolutionarily conserved cell signaling cascade coordinates tissue interactions that are essential for initial development respiratory system in frogs, mice and human stem cells. This work informs our understanding of congenital birth defects and our ability to make human lung tissue in a dish for regenerative medicine.
Ueno M, Ueno-Nakamura Y, Niehaus J, Popovich PG, Yoshida Y. Silencing Spinal Interneurons Inhibits Immune Suppressive Autonomic Reflexes Caused by Spinal Cord Injury. Nat Neurosci. 2016 Jun;19(6):784-7.
This study shows reorganization of spleen-spinal cord circuitry after spinal cord injury, and inhibition of excitatory interneurons inhibits immune suppression.