Three children have now died in New York state from a possible complication from the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday. At least 73 children in New York have been diagnosed with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease — a rare inflammatory condition in children — and toxic shock syndrome.

Nestin, an intermediate filament protein widely used as a marker of neural progenitors, was recently found to be expressed transiently in developing cortical neurons in culture and in developing mouse cortex. In young cortical cultures, nestin regulates axonal growth cone morphology. In addition, nestin, which is known to bind the neuronal cdk5/p35 kinase, affects responses to axon guidance cues upstream of cdk5, specifically, to Sema3a. Changes in growth cone morphology require rearrangements of cytoskeletal networks, and changes in microtubules and actin filaments are well studied. In contrast, the roles of intermediate filament proteins in this process are poorly understood, even in cultured neurons. Here, we investigate the molecular mechanism by which nestin affects growth cone morphology and Sema3a sensitivity. We find that nestin selectively facilitates the phosphorylation of the lissencephaly-linked protein doublecortin (DCX) by cdk5/p35, but the phosphorylation of other cdk5 substrates is not affected by nestin. We uncover that this substrate selectivity is based on the ability of nestin to interact with DCX, but not with other cdk5 substrates. Nestin thus creates a selective scaffold for DCX with activated cdk5/p35. Last, we use cortical cultures derived from Dcx KO mice to show that the effects of nestin on growth cone morphology and on Sema3a sensitivity are DCX-dependent, thus suggesting a functional role for the DCX-nestin complex in neurons. We propose that nestin changes growth cone behavior by regulating the intracellular kinase signaling environment in developing neurons. The sex of animal subjects is unknown.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Nestin, an intermediate filament protein highly expressed in neural progenitors, was recently identified in developing neurons where it regulates growth cone morphology and responsiveness to the guidance cue Sema3a. Changes in growth cone morphology require rearrangements of cytoskeletal networks, but the roles of intermediate filaments in this process are poorly understood. We now report that nestin selectively facilitates phosphorylation of the lissencephaly-linked doublecortin (DCX) by cdk5/p35, but the phosphorylation of other cdk5 substrates is not affected. This substrate selectivity is based on preferential scaffolding of DCX, cdk5, and p35 by nestin. Additionally, we demonstrate a functional role for the DCX-nestin complex in neurons. We propose that nestin changes growth cone behavior by regulating intracellular kinase signaling in developing neurons.

The Porcupine Health Unit is reporting the fifth COVID-19 related death in its area.

A former miner who was forced to breathe in a fine aluminum dust before each shift says he’s not surprised a new report links that dust and a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease.

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison says the powerful and potentially deadly drug fentanyl has been found in street drugs in the province.

The bonspiel took place in Edmonton March 11-14, starting the same day COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.

Pertussis is a poorly controlled vaccine-preventable disease. Verifying outbreaks is challenging owing to nonspecific clinical presentations and imperfect diagnostic tests. Exclusive reliance on highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction has been associated with pseudo-outbreaks.

Contamination of specimens with vaccine derived Bordetella pertussis DNA from pediatric clinic surfaces likely resulted in misdiagnoses. Standard practices, liquid transport medium, and lack of polymerase chain reaction cutoffs for discerning weakly positive (contaminant) DNA are contributory, but modifiable factors. (Read the full article)

Frequency of influenza vaccination is low, partially because of missed opportunities to vaccinate. Barriers to implementing successful influenza vaccination reminders in the electronic health record include alert fatigue and incomplete vaccination information due to scattered records.

A noninterruptive, immunization information system–linked influenza vaccination reminder can increase vaccination late in the winter when fewer vaccine doses are usually administered. Tailoring the reminder to clinicians’ needs can increase its use. (Read the full article)

A five-year-old boy in New York state has died from a rare inflammatory disease believed to be caused by the new coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced today that it has confirmed 26 cases of Salmonella in school-aged children in New Castle County that are associated with a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Javiana infections linked to recalled cut fruit.

  LinkedIn is another one of those social media giants that has taken the web world by storm. It provides an exclusive platform for users to interact with each other in a professional environment and sh...

The yet-to-be-published study looked at more than 3,000 counties across the US, comparing levels of fine particulate air pollution with novel coronavirus death counts for each area.

The research, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, combined satellite data on air pollution and air currents with confirmed deaths related to COVID-19.

Michael Gewitz, Physician-in-Chief of Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, where the boy passed away, said the child suffered "serious neurological complications" from the pediatric multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome.

Walmart Inc. sued Tesla Inc., claiming it failed to live up to industry standards in the installation of solar panels on top of hundreds of stores, resulting in multiple fires across the U.S.

Nonprofit advocacy groups linked to DTE Energy are waging a public campaign to significantly reduce the amount customers are paid for their solar power, in line with the utility’s request before Michigan regulators.

There are two new cases of Covid-19 today, one confirmed and one probable, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.Both cases are linked to the St Margaret's Hospital & Rest Home in Auckland.The confirmed case is a household...

More than 2,100 nightclubs, hostess bars and discos in South Korea's capital have been shut after 18 new coronavirus cases - with all but one linked to a 29-year-old man. ......

South Korea confirmed 12 new coronavirus cases on Friday, its first increase above 10 in five days, as authorities warned numbers would increase as it had identified a new cluster of infections linked to a 29-year-old man.The IT company employee had spread the virus to at least 14 others as he wandered around the capital Seoul and four neighbouring cities over a long weekend period at the start of the month, said the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.While the 12 cases were those…

Steven Broad is Executive Director, TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network

The post COVID-19 & Human Health Risks Linked to Wildlife Trade Practices appeared first on Inter Press Service.

NEW YORK: A five-year-old boy in New York state has died from a rare inflammatory disease believed to be caused by the new coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.“There have been 73 reported cases in NY of children getting severely ill with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease...

Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus.

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