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Repeated exposure to pathogens and generation of T-cell memory is thought to result in attrition of the pre-existing memory T cell pool to maintain the overall size of the memory compartment constant. This work shows that new effector memory cells can be generated in large numbers without greatly impacting pre-existing memory.
Living in noisy colonies, songbird vocal learning requires individuals to differentiate self-generated vocalizations from other sound sources to accurately match the learned song template. However, neurons responding to vocal output have not been identified. This study identifies neurons in the auditory forebrain of zebra finch that specifically responded to either song or playback perturbations, suggesting the existence of a computational error-checking function in the forebrain auditory areas.
Dendritic spine morphogenesis is sensitive to experience-dependent plasticity, but whether or not experience-induced structural changes outlast the experience itself is unknown. This paper reveals that long-lived spine density increases in response to monocular deprivation that persist beyond the duration of time the eye was closed. Subsequent deprivation fails to induce further spine density increases, suggesting initial experience may provide a structural experience 'trace' that could be utilized in response to further functional shifts.
VEGF is an important angiogenic factor that has been implicated in tumourigenesis. Two papers now show that the function of VEGF is far more complex, as VEGF can negatively regulate angiogenesis and limit tumourigenesis. In the second paper, VEGF production was deleted in myeloid cells, but not other cell types. Unexpectedly, more rapid tumour development in these mice was found at the same time as attenuated tumour vascularization and the formation of morphologically and functionally normalized blood vessels. In contrast, tumours lacking VEGF altogether grew more slowly.
Vaccine elicted Gag specific cellular immune responses are shown to provide a measure of protection from disease in Mamu-A*01-negative rhesus monkeys challenged with SIVMAC251.
VEGF is an important angiogenic factor that has been implicated in tumourigenesis. Two papers now show that the function of VEGF is far more complex, as VEGF can negatively regulate angiogenesis and limit tumourigenesis. This study found that VEGF can inhibit angiogenesis by impeding the function of the PDGF receptor on pericytes, leading to a loss of pericyte coverage of blood vessels. This involves the formation of heterodimers between the receptors for VEGF and PDGF.