The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is funding an effort to create a molecular atlas of the developing lung (LungMAP) to serve as a research resource and public education tool. The lung is a complex organ with lengthy development time driven by interactive gene networks and dynamic cross talk among multiple cell types to control and coordinate lineage specification, cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, morphogenesis, and injury repair. A better understanding of the processes that regulate lung development, particularly alveologenesis, will have a significant impact on survival rates for premature infants born with incomplete lung development and will facilitate lung injury repair and regeneration in adults. A consortium of four research centers, a data coordinating center, and a human tissue repository provides high-quality molecular data of developing human and mouse lungs. LungMAP includes mouse and human data for cross correlation of developmental processes across species. LungMAP is generating foundational data and analysis, creating a web portal for presentation of results and public sharing of data sets, establishing a repository of young human lung tissues obtained through organ donor organizations, and developing a comprehensive lung ontology that incorporates the latest findings of the consortium. The LungMAP website (www.lungmap.net) currently contains more than 6,000 high-resolution lung images and transcriptomic, proteomic, and lipidomic human and mouse data and provides scientific information to stimulate interest in research careers for young audiences. This paper presents a brief description of research conducted by the consortium, database, and portal development and upcoming features that will enhance the LungMAP experience for a community of users.

A history of depression is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting the possibility that antidepressants administered prophylactically might retard the disease process and preserve cognitive function. Here we report that pre-symptomatic treatment with the antidepressant paroxetine attenuates the disease process and improves cognitive performance in the 3xTgAD mouse model of AD. Five month-old male and female 3xTgAD and non-transgenic mice were administered either paroxetine or saline daily for 5 months. Open-field activity was tested in 7 month-old mice and performance in passive avoidance and Morris swim tasks were evaluated at 10 months. 3xTgAD mice exhibited reduced exploratory activity, increased transfer latency in the passive avoidance test and impaired performance in the Morris spatial navigation task compared to nontransgenic control mice. Paroxetine treatment ameliorated the spatial navigation deficit in 3xTgAD male and female mice, without affecting swim speed or distance traveled, suggesting a preservation of cognitive function. Levels of amyloid beta-peptide (Aβ) and numbers of Aβ immunoreactive neurons were significantly reduced in the hippocampus of male and female paroxetine-treated 3xTgAD mice compared to saline-treated 3xTgAD mice. Female 3xTgAD mice exhibited significantly less tau pathology in the hippocampus and amygdala compared to male 3xTgAD mice, and paroxetine lessened tau pathology in male 3xTgAD mice. The ability of a safe and effective antidepressant to suppress neuropathological changes and improve cognitive performance in a mouse model, suggests that such drugs administered prophylactically might retard the development of AD in humans.

Genetic linkage studies place a gene causing early onset familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) on chromosome 14q24.3 (refs 1-4). Five mutations within the S182 (Presenilin 1: PS-1) gene, which maps to this region, have recently been reported in several early onset FAD kindreds. We have localized the PS-1 gene to a 75 kb region and present the structure of this gene, evidence for alternative splicing and describe six novel mutations in early onset FAD pedigrees all of which alter residues conserved in the STM2 (Presenilin 2: PS-2) gene.

In this article, the authors describe new approaches to synthesize and pattern surfaces with poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl methacrylate] (POEGMA) polymer brushes synthesized by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. These patterned coatings confer "nonfouling" properties protein and cell resistance-to the surface in a biological milieu. The versatile routes for the synthesis of POEGMA demonstrated here offer clear advantages over other techniques previously used in terms of their simplicity, reliability, and ability to pattern large-area substrates. They also demonstrate that POEGMA polymer brushes can be patterned directly by photolithography, plasma ashing, and reactive ion etching to create patterns at the micro- and nanoscale over large areas with high throughput and repeatability, while preserving the protein and cell resistance of the POEGMA brush.

To date, no targeted therapies are available to treat triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), while other breast cancer subtypes are responsive to current therapeutic treatment. Metabolomics was conducted to reveal differences in two hormone receptor-negative TNBC cell lines and two hormone receptor-positive Luminal A cell lines. Studies were conducted in the presence and absence of paclitaxel (Taxol®). TNBC cell lines had higher levels of amino acids, branched-chain amino acids, nucleotides and nucleotide sugars, and lower levels of proliferation-related metabolites like choline compared with Luminal A cell lines. In the presence of paclitaxel, each cell line showed unique metabolic responses, with some similarities by type. For example, in the Luminal A cell lines, levels of lactate and creatine decreased while certain choline metabolites and myo-inositol increased with paclitaxel. In the TNBC cell lines levels of glutamine, glutamate, and glutathione increased, whereas lysine, proline and valine decreased in the presence of drug. Profiling secreted inflammatory cytokines in the conditioned media demonstrated a greater response to paclitaxel in the hormone positive Luminal cells compared to a secretion profile that suggested greater drug resistance in the TNBC cells. The most significant differences distinguishing the cell types based on pathway enrichment analyses were related to amino acid, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism pathways, whereas several biological pathways were differentiated between the cell lines following treatment.