Progress in 2016

Topoisomerases catalyse DNA-strand breaks that help to relieve torsional stress and maintain cellular homeostasis. Here, McKinnon describes the importance of topoisomerase function for the normal operation of the nervous system and considers how aberrant topoisomerase activity can contribute to neurologic disease.

Somatostatin-expressing neurons represent a major class of inhibitory interneurons in the hippocampus and neocortex. Urban-Ciecko and Barth examine recent studies into the functions of these neurons, and their effects on surrounding cells and network activity in health and disease.

A series of genetic studies has implicated the microglial immune receptor TREM2 in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD). Here, Colonna and Wang describe recent studies that have begun to unpick the mechanisms by which TREM2 is involved in AD and discuss unanswered questions in the field.

The long-held doctrine that an individual neuron releases only one type of small molecule neurotransmitter has been challenged in recent years. In this Progress article, Sabatini and colleagues discuss recent evidence suggesting that co-release of GABA occurs in several neuronal populations in the adult mammalian CNS and the implications of such co-release for neuronal signalling.