Disproportionate Expression of ATM in Cerebellar Cortex During Human Neurodevelopment.

Cerebellar neurodegeneration is a classical feature of ataxia telangiectasia (A-T), an autosomal recessive condition caused by loss-of-function mutation of the ATM gene, a gene with multiple regulatory functions. The increased vulnerability of cerebellar neurones to degeneration compared to cerebral neuronal populations in individuals with ataxia telangiectasia implies a specific importance of intact ATM function in the cerebellum. We hypothesised that there would be elevated transcription of ATM in the cerebellar cortex relative to ATM expression in other grey matter regions during neurodevelopment in individuals without A-T. Using ATM transcription data from the BrainSpan Atlas of the Developing Human Brain, we demonstrate a rapid increase in cerebellar ATM expression relative to expression in other brain regions during gestation and remaining elevated during early childhood, a period corresponding to the emergence of cerebellar neurodegeneration in ataxia telangiectasia patients. We then used gene ontology analysis to identify the biological processes represented in the genes correlated with cerebellar ATM expression. This analysis demonstrated that multiple processes are associated with expression of ATM in the cerebellum, including cellular respiration, mitochondrial function, histone methylation, and cell-cycle regulation, alongside its canonical role in DNA double-strand break repair. Thus, the enhanced expression of ATM in the cerebellum during early development may be related to the specific energetic demands of the cerebellum and its role as a regulator of these processes.

Multi-omic approach identifies hypoxic tumor-associated myeloid cells that drive immunobiology of high-risk pediatric ependymoma.

Ependymoma (EPN) is a devastating childhood brain tumor. Single-cell analyses have illustrated the cellular heterogeneity of EPN tumors, identifying multiple neoplastic cell states including a mesenchymal-differentiated subpopulation which characterizes the PFA1 subtype. Here, we characterize the EPN immune environment, in the context of both tumor subtypes and tumor cell subpopulations using single-cell sequencing (scRNAseq, n = 27), deconvolution of bulk tumor gene expression (n = 299), spatial proteomics (n = 54), and single-cell cytokine release assays (n = 12). We identify eight distinct myeloid-derived subpopulations from which a group of cells, termed hypoxia myeloid cells, demonstrate features of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, including IL6/STAT3 pathway activation and wound healing ontologies. In PFA tumors, hypoxia myeloid cells colocalize with mesenchymal-differentiated cells in necrotic and perivascular niches and secrete IL-8, which we hypothesize amplifies the EPN immunosuppressive microenvironment. This myeloid cell-driven immunosuppression will need to be targeted for immunotherapy to be effective in this difficult-to-cure childhood brain tumor.

Spatially resolved transcriptomic profiles reveal unique defining molecular features of infiltrative 5ALA-metabolizing cells associated with glioblastoma recurrence.

BACKGROUND: Spatiotemporal heterogeneity originating from genomic and transcriptional variation was found to contribute to subtype switching in isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 wild-type glioblastoma (GBM) prior to and upon recurrence. Fluorescence-guided neurosurgical resection utilizing 5-aminolevulinic acid (5ALA) enables intraoperative visualization of infiltrative tumors outside the magnetic resonance imaging contrast-enhanced regions. The cell population and functional status of tumor responsible for enhancing 5ALA-metabolism to fluorescence-active PpIX remain elusive. The close spatial proximity of 5ALA-metabolizing (5ALA +) cells to residual disease remaining post-surgery renders 5ALA + biology an early a priori proxy of GBM recurrence, which is poorly understood. METHODS: We performed spatially resolved bulk RNA profiling (SPRP) analysis of unsorted Core, Rim, Invasive margin tissue, and FACS-isolated 5ALA + /5ALA - cells from the invasive margin across IDH-wt GBM patients (N = 10) coupled with histological, radiographic, and two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopic analyses. Deconvolution of SPRP followed by functional analyses was performed using CIBEROSRTx and UCell enrichment algorithms, respectively. We further investigated the spatial architecture of 5ALA + enriched regions by analyzing spatial transcriptomics from an independent IDH-wt GBM cohort (N = 16). Lastly, we performed survival analysis using Cox Proportinal-Hazards model on large GBM cohorts. RESULTS: SPRP analysis integrated with single-cell and spatial transcriptomics uncovered that the GBM molecular subtype heterogeneity is likely to manifest regionally in a cell-type-specific manner. Infiltrative 5ALA + cell population(s) harboring transcriptionally concordant GBM and myeloid cells with mesenchymal subtype, -active wound response, and glycolytic metabolic signature, was shown to reside within the invasive margin spatially distinct from the tumor core. The spatial co-localization of the infiltrating MES GBM and myeloid cells within the 5ALA + region indicates PpIX fluorescence can effectively be utilized to resect the immune reactive zone beyond the tumor core. Finally, 5ALA + gene signatures were associated with poor survival and recurrence in GBM, signifying that the transition from primary to recurrent GBM is not discrete but rather a continuum whereby primary infiltrative 5ALA + remnant tumor cells more closely resemble the eventual recurrent GBM. CONCLUSIONS: Elucidating the unique molecular and cellular features of the 5ALA + population within tumor invasive margin opens up unique possibilities to develop more effective treatments to delay or block GBM recurrence, and warrants commencement of such treatments as early as possible post-surgical resection of the primary neoplasm.

Untargeted Metabolomic Characterization of Glioblastoma Intra-Tumor Heterogeneity Using OrbiSIMS.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an incurable brain cancer with a median survival of less than two years from diagnosis. The standard treatment of GBM is multimodality therapy comprising surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy. However, prognosis remains poor, and there is an urgent need for effective anticancer drugs. Since different regions of a single GBM contain multiple cancer subpopulations ("intra-tumor heterogeneity"), this likely accounts for therapy failure as certain cancer cells can escape from immune surveillance and therapeutic threats. Here, we present metabolomic data generated using the Orbitrap secondary ion mass spectrometry (OrbiSIMS) technique to investigate brain tumor metabolism within its highly heterogeneous tumor microenvironment. Our results demonstrate that an OrbiSIMS-based untargeted metabolomics method was able to discriminate morphologically distinct regions (viable, necrotic, and non-cancerous) within single tumors from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue archives. Specifically, cancer cells from necrotic regions were separated from viable GBM cells based on a set of metabolites including cytosine, phosphate, purine, xanthine, and 8-hydroxy-7-methylguanine. Moreover, we mapped ubiquitous metabolites across necrotic and viable regions into metabolic pathways, which allowed for the discovery of tryptophan metabolism that was likely essential for GBM cellular survival. In summary, this study first demonstrated the capability of OrbiSIMS for in situ investigation of GBM intra-tumor heterogeneity, and the acquired information can potentially help improve our understanding of cancer metabolism and develop new therapies that can effectively target multiple subpopulations within a tumor.

Optimizing biomarkers for accurate ependymoma diagnosis, prognostication, and stratification within International Clinical Trials: A BIOMECA study.

BACKGROUND: Accurate identification of brain tumor molecular subgroups is increasingly important. We aimed to establish the most accurate and reproducible ependymoma subgroup biomarker detection techniques, across 147 cases from International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) Ependymoma II trial participants, enrolled in the pan-European "Biomarkers of Ependymoma in Children and Adolescents (BIOMECA)" study. METHODS: Across 6 European BIOMECA laboratories, we evaluated epigenetic profiling (DNA methylation array); immunohistochemistry (IHC) for nuclear p65-RELA, H3K27me3, and Tenascin-C; copy number analysis via fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and MLPA (1q, CDKN2A), and MIP and DNA methylation array (genome-wide copy number evaluation); analysis of ZFTA- and YAP1-fusions by RT-PCR and sequencing, Nanostring and break-apart FISH. RESULTS: DNA Methylation profiling classified 65.3% (n = 96/147) of cases as EPN-PFA and 15% (n = 22/147) as ST-ZFTA fusion-positive. Immunohistochemical loss of H3K27me3 was a reproducible and accurate surrogate marker for EPN-PFA (sensitivity 99%-100% across 3 centers). IHC for p65-RELA, FISH, and RNA-based analyses effectively identified ZFTA- and YAP-fused supratentorial ependymomas. Detection of 1q gain using FISH exhibited only 57% inter-center concordance and low sensitivity and specificity while MIP, MLPA, and DNA methylation-based approaches demonstrated greater accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: We confirm, in a prospective trial cohort, that H3K27me3 immunohistochemistry is a robust EPN-PFA biomarker. Tenascin-C should be abandoned as a PFA marker. DNA methylation and MIP arrays are effective tools for copy number analysis of 1q gain, 6q, and CDKN2A loss while FISH is inadequate. Fusion detection was successful, but rare novel fusions need more extensive technologies. Finally, we propose test sets to guide future diagnostic approaches.

Olfactory neuroblastoma limited to sphenoid sinus.

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare tumour of the skull base, typically originating from the nasal cavity and around the cribriform plate. We present the rare case of ONB originating from and limited to the sphenoid sinus in a 42-year old lady. Pre-operatively the lesion was thought to be a sinonasal polyp and underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and total excision of the polypoid lesion. Review of histology unexpectedly revealed ONB. She underwent further surgery to ensure wide local excision was achieved with negative margins on histology, followed by radiotherapy. This is only the third reported case of ONB limited to the sphenoid sinus and the ninth reported case of primary sphenoid ONB in the literature. We review the literature pertaining with primary sphenoidal ONB here and suggest complete resection is indicated in ectopic ONB, not unlike classical ONB. There may be a role for adjuvant oncological treatments and lifelong follow up in a multidisciplinary approach is recommended.

Characterisation of Expression the Arginine Pathway Enzymes in Childhood Brain Tumours to Determine Susceptibility to Therapeutic Arginine Depletion.

Despite significant improvements in treatment and survival in paediatric cancers, outcomes for children with brain tumours remain poor. Novel therapeutic approaches are needed to improve survival and quality of survival. Extracellular arginine dependency (auxotrophy) has been recognised in several tumours as a potential therapeutic target. This dependency is due to the inability of cancer cells to recycle or synthesise intracellular arginine through the urea cycle pathway compared to normal cells. Whilst adult glioblastoma exhibits this dependency, the expression of the arginine pathway enzymes has not been delineated in paediatric brain tumours. We used immunohistochemical (IHC) methods to stain for arginine pathway enzymes in paediatric high-grade glioma (pHGG), low-grade glioma (pLGG), ependymoma (EPN), and medulloblastoma (MB) tumour tissue microarrays (TMAs). The antibodies detected protein expression of the metaboliser arginase (Arg1 and Arg2); recycling enzymes ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTC), argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS1), and argininosuccinate lyase (ASL); and the transporter SLC7A1. Deficiency of OTC, ASS1, and ASL was seen in 87.5%, 94%, and 79% of pHGG samples, respectively, consistent with an auxotrophic signature. Similar result was obtained in pLGG with 96%, 93%, and 91% of tumours being deficient in ASL, ASS1, and OTC, respectively. 79%, 88%, and 85% of MB cases were ASL, ASS1, and OTC deficient whilst ASL and OTC were deficient in 57% and 91% of EPN samples. All tumour types highly expressed SLC7A1 and Arginase, with Arg2 being the main isoform, demonstrating that they could transport and utilise arginine. Our results show that pHGG, pLGG, EPN, and MB demonstrate arginine auxotrophy based on protein expression and are likely to be susceptible to arginine depletion. Pegylated arginase (BCT-100) is currently in phase I/II trials in relapsed pHGG. Our results suggest that therapeutic arginine depletion may also be useful in other tumour types and IHC analysis of patient tumour samples could help identify patients likely to benefit from this treatment.

Glioblastoma in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome: first case report and review of potential pathomechanisms.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a rare congenital overgrowth syndrome associated with certain childhood tumours. We present the case of a 36-year-old lady with BWS who developed a left frontoinsular secondary glioblastoma. This is the first case report in the literature of glioblastoma associated with BWS. We explore similarities in the molecular pathomechanisms of BWS and glioblastoma.

SIOP Ependymoma I: Final results, long-term follow-up, and molecular analysis of the trial cohort-A BIOMECA Consortium Study.

BACKGROUND: SIOP Ependymoma I was a non-randomised trial assessing event free and overall survival (EFS/OS) of non-metastatic intracranial ependymoma in children aged 3-21 years treated with a staged management strategy. A further aim was to assess the response rate (RR) of subtotally resected (STR) ependymoma to vincristine, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide (VEC). We report final results with 12-year follow-up and post hoc analyses of recently described biomarkers. METHODS: Seventy-four participants were eligible. Children with gross total resection (GTR) received radiotherapy, whilst those with STR received VEC before radiotherapy. DNA methylation, 1q, hTERT, ReLA, Tenascin-C, H3K27me3, and pAKT status were evaluated. RESULTS: Five- and ten-year EFS was 49.5% and 46.7%, OS was 69.3% and 60.5%. GTR was achieved in 33/74 (44.6%) and associated with improved EFS (P = .003, HR = 2.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-5.1). Grade 3 tumours were associated with worse OS (P = .005, HR = 2.8, 95%CI 1.3-5.8). 1q gain and hTERT expression were associated with poorer EFS (P = .003, HR = 2.70, 95%CI 1.49-6.10 and P = .014, HR = 5.8, 95%CI 1.2-28) and H3K27me3 loss with worse OS (P = .003, HR = 4.6, 95%CI 1.5-13.2). Methylation profiles showed expected patterns. 12 participants with STR did not receive chemotherapy; a protocol violation. However, best chemotherapy RR was 65.5% (19/29, 95%CI 45.7-82.1), exceeding the prespecified 45%. CONCLUSIONS: Participants with totally resected ependymoma had the best outcomes. RR of STR to VEC exceeded the pre-specified efficacy criterion. However, cases of inaccurate stratification highlighted the need for rapid central review. 1q gain, H3K27me3 loss, and hTERT expression were all associated with poorer survival outcomes.

Improved survival outcomes despite older age at diagnosis: an era-by-era analysis of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma treated at a single referral centre in the United Kingdom.

Observational studies with long-term follow-up of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) are scarce. Patient data over a period of four decades were retrospectively analysed from databases at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, UK. The cohort was delineated by two distinct therapeutic eras; the first from 01/01/1982 to 31/12/2010 (n = 147) and the second 01/01/2011 to 31/07/2020 (n = 125). The median age at diagnosis was significantly older in the second era compared to the first (69 and 65 years respectively, P = 0·003). The 3-, 6- and 12-month overall survival (OS) rates in the second era were significantly higher compared to the first, at 85%, 77%, 62% versus 56%, 49%, 38% respectively (log-rank test P < 0·0001). On multivariate analysis, high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based induction protocols employed in the second era were associated with improved OS compared to those used in the first [hazard ratio (HR) 0·40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·28-0·57]. Within the second era, superior OS rates were seen with the use of intensive HD-MTX protocols (including consolidation with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation) compared to non-intensive HD-MTX schedules (HR 0·47, 95% CI 0·22-0·99). Initiating chemotherapy within 14 days of biopsy and use of rituximab were independently associated with improved OS and progression-free survival during the second era. These data suggest that prompt treatment initiation and use of intensive HD-MTX- and rituximab-based protocols have resulted in improved survival outcomes for patients.

Identifying cellular signalling molecules in developmental disorders of the brain: Evidence from focal cortical dysplasia and tuberous sclerosis.

AIMS: We understand little of the pathogenesis of developmental cortical lesions, because we understand little of the diversity of the cell types that contribute to the diseases or how those cells interact. We tested the hypothesis that cellular diversity and cell-cell interactions play an important role in these disorders by investigating the signalling molecules in the commonest cortical malformations that lead to childhood epilepsy, focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) and tuberous sclerosis (TS). METHODS: Transcriptional profiling clustered cases into molecularly distinct groups. Using gene expression data, we identified the secretory signalling molecules in FCD/TS and characterised the cell types expressing these molecules. We developed a functional model using organotypic cultures. RESULTS: We identified 113 up-regulated secretory molecules in FCDIIB/TS. The top 12 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were validated by immunohistochemistry. This highlighted two molecules, Chitinase 3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) (MCP1) that were expressed in a unique population of small cells in close proximity to balloon cells (BC). We then characterised these cells and developed a functional model in organotypic slice cultures. We found that the number of CHI3L1 and CCL2 expressing cells decreased following inhibition of mTOR, the main aberrant signalling pathway in TS and FCD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight previously uncharacterised small cell populations in FCD and TS which express specific signalling molecules. These findings indicate a new level of diversity and cellular interactions in cortical malformations and provide a generalisable approach to understanding cell-cell interactions and cellular heterogeneity in developmental neuropathology.

A case series of Diffuse Glioneuronal Tumours with Oligodendroglioma-like features and Nuclear Clusters (DGONC).

In this study, we report three paediatric cases of Diffuse Glioneuronal Tumours with Oligodendroglioma-like features and Nuclear Clusters (DGONC).

Usefulness of PAX8 Immunohistochemistry in Adult Intraocular Tumor Diagnosis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the distribution of the PAX8 transcription factor protein in ocular tissues and to investigate if immunohistochemical stains for this biomarker are useful in the diagnosis of intraocular tumors. DESIGN: Observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: Excision and cytologic analysis specimens of 6 ciliary body epithelial neoplasms, 2 iris epithelial neoplasms, 3 retinal pigment epithelial neoplasms, 3 intraocular medulloepitheliomas, 15 uveal melanomas, and 5 uveal melanocytomas. METHODS: Hematoxylin-eosin and PAX8 immunohistochemical stains were performed on all specimens. In appropriate cases, bleached preparations and other immunohistochemical stains, including AE1/AE3 cytokeratin, Lin28A, and CD45, were performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Distribution of PAX8 expression in normal and neoplastic tissue. RESULTS: Strong nuclear PAX8 expression was observed in the normal corneal epithelium, iris sphincter pupillae muscle, iris pigment epithelium and dilator muscle complex, nonpigmented and pigmented epithelia of the ciliary body, lens epithelium, and a subset of retinal neurons. The normal retinal pigment epithelium and uveal melanocytes did not stain for PAX8. The ciliary body epithelial and neuroepithelial tumors (adenoma, adenocarcinoma, and medulloepithelioma) showed uniform strong nuclear PAX8 immunoreactivity. All melanocytic tumors (iris melanoma, ciliary-choroidal melanoma, and melanocytoma) and retinal pigment epithelial neoplasms showed negative results for PAX8. A subset of tumor-associated lymphocytes, most prominent in uveal melanoma, showed positive results for PAX8. The uniformity of the PAX8 staining was superior to the variable cytokeratin staining in the ciliary epithelial neoplasms and the variable Lin28A staining in malignant medulloepithelioma. The veracity of PAX8 staining was equally as robust on cytologic analysis and open-flap biopsy specimens of ciliary epithelial and iris epithelial neoplasms, melanocytoma, and melanoma. CONCLUSIONS: PAX8 has proven to be a very useful diagnostic marker in a select group of adult intraocular tumors, and we highly recommend its inclusion in diagnostic antibody panels of morphologically challenging intraocular neoplasms.

A retrospective analysis of recurrent pediatric ependymoma reveals extremely poor survival and ineffectiveness of current treatments across central nervous system locations and molecular subgroups.

BACKGROUND: Relapse occurs in 50% of pediatric ependymoma cases and has poor prognosis. Few studies have investigated the clinical progress of relapsed disease, and treatment lacks a standardized approach. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We analyzed 302 pediatric ependymoma cases. Tumor, demographic, and treatment variables were investigated for association with relapse risk, time to recurrence, and survival after relapse. DNA methylation profiling was performed for 135/302 cases, and predominant subgroups were EPN_PFA (n = 95) and EPN_RELA (n = 24). Chromosome 1q status was ascertained for 185/302 cases by fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH), multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), and DNA methylation profiles. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of cases relapsed, with a median of two recurrences with no difference between posterior fossa and supratentorial locations (66% vs 55% relapse rate). One hundred seventeen (38%) cases relapsed within two years and five (2%) beyond 10 years. The late relapses were clinically heterogeneous. Tumor grade and treatment affected risk and time to relapse variably across subgroups. After relapse, surgery and irradiation delayed disease progression with a minimal impact on survival across the entire cohort. In the EPN_PFA and EPN_RELA groups, 1q gain was independently associated with relapse risk (subhazard ratio [SHR] 4.307, P = 0.027 and SHR 1.982, P = 0.010, respectively) while EPN_PFA had increased relapse risk compared with EPN_RELA (SHR = 0.394, P = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent pediatric ependymoma is an aggressive disease with poor outcomes, for which current treatments are inadequate. We report that chromosome 1q gain increases relapse risk in common molecular subgroups in children but a deeper understanding of the underlying biology at relapse and novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed.

Thioredoxin System Protein Expression Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcome in Adult and Paediatric Gliomas and Medulloblastomas.

The thioredoxin (Trx) system is an important enzyme family that regulates cellular redox homeostasis. Protein expression of Trx system family members has been assessed in various cancers and linked to various clinicopathological variables, disease progression, treatment response and survival outcomes but information is lacking in brain tumours. Expression of the system was therefore examined, by immunohistochemistry in different brain tumour types, adult and paediatric cases, to determine if expression was of importance to clinical outcome. Trx system proteins were expressed, to variable levels, across all brain tumour types with significant variations in expression between different tumour types/grades/regions. High Trx reductase (TrxR) expression was linked to worse prognosis across all cohorts. High cytoplasmic TrxR expression was significantly associated with adverse overall survival (OS) in adult glioblastoma (P = 0.027) and paediatric low-grade glioma (LGG) patients (P = 0.012). High expression of nuclear TrxR, cytoplasmic and nuclear Trx and Trx-interacting protein (TxNIP) was associated with improved OS in paediatric LGGs (P = 0.031, P < 0.001, P = 0.044 and P = 0.018, respectively). For patients with high-grade gliomas, both high cytoplasmic TrxR and Trx expression were associated with poor OS (P = 0.002 and P = 0.007, respectively). In medulloblastoma, high expression of cytoplasmic TrxR and Trx and nuclear Trx was associated with worse prognosis (P = 0.013, P = 0.033 and P = 0.007, respectively); with cytoplasmic TrxR and nuclear Trx remaining so in multivariate analysis (P = 0.009 and P = 0.013, respectively). The consistent finding that high levels of cytoplasmic TrxR are associated with a worse prognosis across all cohorts suggests that TrxR is an important therapeutic target in brain cancers.

Tissue metabolite profiles for the characterisation of paediatric cerebellar tumours.

Paediatric brain tumors are becoming well characterized due to large genomic and epigenomic studies. Metabolomics is a powerful analytical approach aiding in the characterization of tumors. This study shows that common cerebellar tumors have metabolite profiles sufficiently different to build accurate, robust diagnostic classifiers, and that the metabolite profiles can be used to assess differences in metabolism between the tumors. Tissue metabolite profiles were obtained from cerebellar ependymoma (n = 18), medulloblastoma (n = 36), pilocytic astrocytoma (n = 24) and atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (n = 5) samples using HR-MAS. Quantified metabolites accurately discriminated the tumors; classification accuracies were 94% for ependymoma and medulloblastoma and 92% for pilocytic astrocytoma. Using current intraoperative examination the diagnostic accuracy was 72% for ependymoma, 90% for medulloblastoma and 89% for pilocytic astrocytoma. Elevated myo-inositol was characteristic of ependymoma whilst high taurine, phosphocholine and glycine distinguished medulloblastoma. Glutamine, hypotaurine and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) were increased in pilocytic astrocytoma. High lipids, phosphocholine and glutathione were important for separating ATRTs from medulloblastomas. This study demonstrates the ability of metabolic profiling by HR-MAS on small biopsy tissue samples to characterize these tumors. Analysis of tissue metabolite profiles has advantages in terms of minimal tissue pre-processing, short data acquisition time giving the potential to be used as part of a rapid diagnostic work-up.

Continued 26S proteasome dysfunction in mouse brain cortical neurons impairs autophagy and the Keap1-Nrf2 oxidative defence pathway.

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and macroautophagy (autophagy) are central to normal proteostasis and interdependent in that autophagy is known to compensate for the UPS to alleviate ensuing proteotoxic stress that impairs cell function. UPS and autophagy dysfunctions are believed to have a major role in the pathomechanisms of neurodegenerative disease. Here we show that continued 26S proteasome dysfunction in mouse brain cortical neurons causes paranuclear accumulation of fragmented dysfunctional mitochondria, associated with earlier recruitment of Parkin and lysine 48-linked ubiquitination of mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) proteins, including Mitofusin-2. Early events also include phosphorylation of p62/SQSTM1 (p62) and increased optineurin, as well as autophagosomal LC3B and removal of some mitochondria, supporting the induction of selective autophagy. Inhibition of the degradation of ubiquitinated MOM proteins with continued 26S proteasome dysfunction at later stages may impede efficient mitophagy. However, continued 26S proteasome dysfunction also decreases the levels of essential autophagy proteins ATG9 and LC3B, which is characterised by decreases in their gene expression, ultimately leading to impaired autophagy. Intriguingly, serine 351 phosphorylation of p62 did not enhance its binding to Keap1 or stabilise the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) transcription factor in this neuronal context. Nrf2 protein levels were markedly decreased despite transcriptional activation of the Nrf2 gene. Our study reveals novel insights into the interplay between the UPS and autophagy in neurons and is imperative to understanding neurodegenerative disease where long-term proteasome inhibition has been implicated.

Deep sequencing reveals persistence of cell-associated mumps vaccine virus in chronic encephalitis.

Routine childhood vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella has virtually abolished virus-related morbidity and mortality. Notwithstanding this, we describe here devastating neurological complications associated with the detection of live-attenuated mumps virus Jeryl Lynn (MuVJL5) in the brain of a child who had undergone successful allogeneic transplantation for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). This is the first confirmed report of MuVJL5 associated with chronic encephalitis and highlights the need to exclude immunodeficient individuals from immunisation with live-attenuated vaccines. The diagnosis was only possible by deep sequencing of the brain biopsy. Sequence comparison of the vaccine batch to the MuVJL5 isolated from brain identified biased hypermutation, particularly in the matrix gene, similar to those found in measles from cases of SSPE. The findings provide unique insights into the pathogenesis of paramyxovirus brain infections.

Brain weight in sudden unexpected death in infancy: experience from a large single-centre cohort.

AIMS: Published reports of brain weight in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are contradictory, although several have concluded that brain weight is increased in SIDS compared with controls or reference data. This is important as, if brain weight is significantly different, it may be of diagnostic use or provide insights into the aetiology of SIDS. The aim of this study was to use a large series of well-characterized sudden unexpected infant deaths from a single centre to provide definitive data regarding this issue. METHODS: A retrospective review identified 1100 infants who had died suddenly and undergone a comprehensive autopsy at Great Ormond Street Hospital between 1996 and 2011. They were split into two groups: those in whom death could be explained and those whose deaths remained unexplained despite full investigation (SIDS/unexplained sudden unexpected death in infancy). RESULTS: There were 1100 cases of whom 573 (52%) were unexplained and 527 (48%) explained. Multiple regression analysis, which adjusted for sex, age and post-mortem interval, showed no difference in the ratio of brain weight : body weight between those infants dying of explained causes and those in whom no cause could be found. This finding remained true when restricting analysis to those with macroscopically normal brains. CONCLUSIONS: In this large series of infants dying of both explained and unexplained causes, brain weight, once corrected for body weight, did not vary consistently with the cause of death. Brain weight cannot be used as a diagnostic indicator of the cause of death or to inform hypothetical models of the pathogenesis of SIDS.