This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) mediate intercellular communication by carrying RNA, proteins, and lipids between cells. These cargo molecules mirror the physiological state of their donor cells, but they are selectively loaded into sEVs. sEVs can cross the blood-brain barrier, and their contents may be influenced by neurological disorders, making them potential biomarkers. Identifying cell-specific signatures could be an important first step in the biomarker discovery process. Recently researchers examined sEVs isolated from cultures of primary mouse cortical neurons and astrocytes. They identified distinct total RNA and miRNA profiles between the two cell types. While astrocytes had a greater number of detected miRNAs than neurons, neurons expressed more sEV-associated miRNAs than astrocytes. They also identified short miRNA sequence motifs that were differentially loaded to or excluded from sEVs..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Radiation is one of the most powerful cancer therapies especially for glioblastoma, an aggressive and hard-to-treat form of brain cancer But growing evidence suggests that radiation can actually increase the invasiveness of glioblastoma A new study outlines how this unintended consequence can happen The process begins with the protein EMMPRIN Glioblastoma cells release tiny sacs filled with EMMPRIN into their microenvironment which are then taken up by specialized nerve cells called astrocytes EMMPRIN causes astrocytes to secrete matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs MMPs are degradative proteins that promote the growth and spread of glioblastoma and other cancers This EMMPRIN-MMP pathway, the team found, goes into overdrive when zapping glioblastoma with gamma rays More radiation means more EMMPRIN, more MMPs, and therefore more invasive glioblastoma Understanding this effect is crucial to developing safe and more effective therapies that shut down glioblastoma cells once and for all.."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Inflammation in the brain is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. One of the key orchestrators of neuroinflammation is IL-6, a cytokine secreted by brain-resident cells called astrocytes. While low levels of IL-6 support neurons and synapses in the brain higher levels of IL-6 are produced in response to injury or infection, triggering a series of proinflammatory signaling cascades. Unfortunately, how astrocytes regulate IL-6 expression remains unclear. A recent study evaluated signaling pathways involved in IL-6 gene regulation, including β-catenin, TCFs/LEF, C/EBP, and NF-κB. Using human astrocytes, researchers silenced or overexpressed the signaling proteins and measured IL-6 levels. They found that TCF/LEF induces IL-6 in the presence of ATF2, while β-catenin inhibits IL-6 by interacting with TCF/LEF. Interestingly, neither of these signaling pathways is known to regulate IL-6 in other cell types..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.