The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and growth and differentiation factor (GDF) signaling pathways have well-established and essential roles within the developing skeleton in coordinating the formation of cartilaginous anlagen. However, the identification of bona fide targets that underlie the action of these signaling molecules in chondrogenesis has remained elusive. We have identified the gene for the retinoic acid (RA) synthesis enzyme Aldh1a2 as a principal target of BMP signaling; prochondrogenic BMPs or GDFs lead to attenuation of Aldh1a2 expression and, consequently, to reduced activation of the retinoid signaling pathway. Consistent with this, antagonism of retinoid signaling phenocopies BMP4 action, whereas RA inhibits the chondrogenic stimulatory activity of BMP4. BMP4 also down-regulates Aldh1a2 expression in organ culture and, consistent with this, Aldh1a2 is actively excluded from the developing cartilage anlagens. Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into BMP action and demonstrate that BMP signaling governs the fate of prechondrogenic mesenchyme, at least in part, through regulation of retinoid signaling.

Open Science has changed research by making data accessible and shareable, contributing to replicability to accelerate and disseminate knowledge. However, for rodent cognitive studies the availability of tools to share and disseminate data is scarce. Automated touchscreen-based tests enable systematic cognitive assessment with easily standardised outputs that can facilitate data dissemination. Here we present an integration of touchscreen cognitive testing with an open-access database public repository (mousebytes.ca), as well as a Web platform for knowledge dissemination (https://touchscreencognition.org). We complement these resources with the largest dataset of age-dependent high-level cognitive assessment of mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, expanding knowledge of affected cognitive domains from male and female mice of three strains. We envision that these new platforms will enhance sharing of protocols, data availability and transparency, allowing meta-analysis and reuse of mouse cognitive data to increase the replicability/reproducibility of datasets.

Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating disease with poorly defined aetiology. Multiple signals are involved in directing the formation of cartilage during development and the vitamin A derivatives, the retinoids, figure prominently in embryonic cartilage formation. In the present study, we examined the expression of a retinoid-regulated gene in murine models of OA.

Stress-inducible phosphoprotein I (STIP1, STI1 or HOP) is a co-chaperone intermediating Hsp70/Hsp90 exchange of client proteins, but it can also be secreted to trigger prion protein-mediated neuronal signaling. Some mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present antibodies against certain brain proteins, including antibodies against STIP1. Maternal antibodies can cross the fetus blood-brain barrier during pregnancy, suggesting the possibility that they can interfere with STIP1 levels and, presumably, functions. However, it is currently unknown whether abnormal levels of STIP1 have any impact in ASD-related behavior. Here, we used mice with reduced (50%) or increased STIP1 levels (fivefold) to test for potential ASD-like phenotypes. We found that increased STIP1 regulates the abundance of Hsp70 and Hsp90, whereas reduced STIP1 does not affect Hsp70, Hsp90 or the prion protein. Interestingly, BAC transgenic mice presenting fivefold more STIP1 show no major phenotype when examined in a series of behavioral tasks, including locomotor activity, elevated plus maze, Morris water maze and five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT). In contrast, mice with reduced STIP1 levels are hyperactive and have attentional deficits on the 5-CSRTT, but exhibit normal performance for the other tasks. We conclude that reduced STIP1 levels can contribute to phenotypes related to ASD. However, future experiments are needed to define whether it is decreased chaperone capacity or impaired prion protein signaling that contributes to these phenotypes.

We have previously reported long-term changes in the brains of non-concussed varsity rugby players using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic imaging (fMRI). Others have reported cognitive deficits in contact sport athletes that have not met the diagnostic criteria for concussion. These results suggest that repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries (rmTBIs) that are not severe enough to meet the diagnostic threshold for concussion, produce long-term consequences. We sought to characterize the neuroimaging, cognitive, pathological and metabolomic changes in a mouse model of rmTBI. Using a closed-skull model of mTBI that when scaled to human leads to rotational and linear accelerations far below what has been reported for sports concussion athletes, we found that 5 daily mTBIs triggered two temporally distinct types of pathological changes. First, during the first days and weeks after injury, the rmTBI produced diffuse axonal injury, a transient inflammatory response and changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) that resolved with time. Second, the rmTBI led to pathological changes that were evident months after the injury including: changes in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), altered levels of synaptic proteins, behavioural deficits in attention and spatial memory, accumulations of pathologically phosphorylated tau, altered blood metabolomic profiles and white matter ultrastructural abnormalities. These results indicate that exceedingly mild rmTBI, in mice, triggers processes with pathological consequences observable months after the initial injury.