In an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish. The study provides an important proof of principle that functional motor circuits can be created outside the body using these neurons and cells and that the level of communication, or synaptic activity, between them can be accurately measured by stimulating the motor neurons with an electrode and then tracking the transfer of electrical activity into the muscle cells to which the neurons are connected. When motor neurons are stimulated, they release neurotransmitters that depolarize the membranes of muscle cells. This allows calcium and other ions to enter the cells, causing them to contract. By measuring the strength of this activity, one can get a good estimation of the overall health of motor neurons. That estimation could shed light on a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), in which communication between motor neurons and muscle cells is thought to unravel, said the study's senior author, Bennett G. Novitch, an … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (May 4, 2012) Fibroid uterine tumors affect an estimated 15 million women in the United States, causing irregular bleeding, anemia, pain and infertility. Despite the high prevalence of the tumors, which occur in 60 percent of women by age 45, the molecular cause has been unknown. New Northwestern Medicine preclinical research has for the first time identified the molecular trigger of the tumor -- a single stem cell that develops a mutation, starts to grow uncontrollably and activates other cells to join its frenzied expansion. "It loses its way and goes wild," said Serdar Bulun, M.D., the chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "No one knew how these came about before. The stem cells make up only 1 percent of the cells in the tumor, yet they are the essential drivers of its growth." The paper is published in the journal PLoS ONE. Masanori Ono, M.D., a post-doctoral student in Bulun's lab, is the lead author. The stem cell initiating the tumor carries a mutation called MED12. Recently, mutations in the MED12 gene have been reported in the majority of uterine fibroid tissues. Once the mutation kicks off the … Continue reading →

Public release date: 4-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Marla Paul Marla-Paul@northwestern.edu 312-503-8928 Northwestern University CHICAGO --- Fibroid uterine tumors affect an estimated 15 million women in the United States, causing irregular bleeding, anemia, pain and infertility. Despite the high prevalence of the tumors, which occur in 60 percent of women by age 45, the molecular cause has been unknown. New Northwestern Medicine preclinical research has for the first time identified the molecular trigger of the tumor --- a single stem cell that develops a mutation, starts to grow uncontrollably and activates other cells to join its frenzied expansion. "It loses its way and goes wild," said Serdar Bulun, M.D., the chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "No one knew how these came about before. The stem cells make up only 1 percent of the cells in the tumor, yet they are the essential drivers of its growth." The paper is published in the journal PLoS ONE. Masanori Ono, M.D., a post-doctoral student in Bulun's lab, is the lead author. The stem cell initiating the tumor carries a mutation called MED12. Recently, mutations in the MED12 gene have … Continue reading →