The cost of being qualified: Current barriers faced by graduate students in forensic anthropology.

When considering the best ethical practices in forensic anthropology, one must consider how accessible the field is to new students that are responsible for driving the future of research, pedagogy, and the field as a whole. While there is no denying that there are multiple barriers to accessing academia (e.g., racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc.) the cost of a graduate education is a key factor that affects the diversity of people that are able to enter the field. Here, the cost of 24 universities prominent in the education of forensic anthropologists are considered in tandem with the opportunities for funding offered by these institutions and average costs of living for the respective surrounding areas. Demographic data for the universities at the graduate and undergraduate level was additionally compared with the demographics of the cities surrounding the universities. Funding, excluding loans, was shown to be greatly below cost of living in university cities, and often did not match the costs of attendance estimated by institutions. Including the cost of living, the average graduate degree costs over $60,000 per year while the average stipend for graduate students is below $14,000 necessitating the need for loans or out-of-institute support. White individuals were overrepresented in graduate enrollment when compared with surrounding area demographics, even when university demographics were similar to those of the surrounding area. Overall, findings highlight the inaccessibility of pursuing higher education for minority groups and demonstrate the need for institutions to develop funding programs to promote diversity in higher education.

Stabilizing transglutaminase 2 in the open conformation results in reactive astrocytes being more neurosupportive.

Astrocytes play critical roles in supporting structural and metabolic homeostasis in the central nervous system (CNS). Inflammatory conditions bring about a range of poorly understood, heterogeneous, reactive phenotypes in astrocytes. Finding ways to manipulate the phenotype of reactive astrocytes, and leveraging a pro-recovery phenotype, holds promise in treating CNS injury. Previous studies have shown that the protein transglutaminase 2 (TG2) plays a significant role in determining the phenotype of reactive astrocytes. Recently it has been demonstrated that ablation of TG2 from astrocytes improves injury outcomes both in vitro and in vivo. Excitingly, in an in vivo mouse model, pharmacological inhibition of TG2 with the irreversible inhibitor VA4 phenocopies the neurosupportive effects of TG2 deletion in astrocytes. The focus of this study was to provide insights into the mechanisms by which TG2 deletion or inhibition of TG2 with VA4 result in a more neurosupportive astrocytic phenotype. Using a neuron-astrocyte co-culture model of neurite outgrowth, we show that VA4 treatment improves the ability of astrocytes to support neurite outgrowth on an injury-relevant matrix, further validating the ability of VA4 to phenocopy astrocytic TG2 deletion. VA4 treatment of neurons alone had no effect on neurite outgrowth. VA4 covalently binds to active site residues of TG2 that are exposed in its open conformation and are critical for its enzymatic function, and prevents TG2 from taking on a closed conformation, which interferes with its protein scaffolding function. To begin to understand how pharmacologically altering TG2's conformation affects its ability to regulate reactive astrocyte phenotypes, we assayed the impact of VA4 on TG2's interaction with Zbtb7a, a transcription factor that we have previously identified as a TG2 interactor, and whose functional outputs are significantly regulated by TG2. The results of these studies demonstrated that VA4 significantly decreases the interaction of TG2 and Zbtb7a. Further, previous findings indicate that TG2 may act as an epigenetic regulator, through its nuclear protein-protein interactions, to modulate gene expression. Since both TG2 and Zbtb7a interact with members of the Sin3a chromatin repressor complex, we assayed the effect of TG2 deletion and VA4 treatment on histone acetylation and found significantly greater acetylation with TG2 deletion or inhibition with VA4. Overall, this work points toward a possible epigenetic mechanism by which genetic deletion or acute inhibition of TG2 leads to enhanced astrocytic support of neurons.

Deletion of Transglutaminase 2 from Mouse Astrocytes Significantly Improves Their Ability to Promote Neurite Outgrowth on an Inhibitory Matrix.

Astrocytes are the primary support cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that help maintain the energetic requirements and homeostatic environment of neurons. CNS injury causes astrocytes to take on reactive phenotypes with an altered overall function that can range from supportive to harmful for recovering neurons. The characterization of reactive astrocyte populations is a rapidly developing field, and the underlying factors and signaling pathways governing which type of reactive phenotype that astrocytes take on are poorly understood. Our previous studies suggest that transglutaminase 2 (TG2) has an important role in determining the astrocytic response to injury. Selectively deleting TG2 from astrocytes improves functional outcomes after CNS injury and causes widespread changes in gene regulation, which is associated with its nuclear localization. To begin to understand how TG2 impacts astrocytic function, we used a neuron-astrocyte co-culture paradigm to compare the effects of TG2-/- and wild-type (WT) mouse astrocytes on neurite outgrowth and synapse formation. Neurons were grown on a control substrate or an injury-simulating matrix comprised of inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). Compared to WT astrocytes, TG2-/- astrocytes supported neurite outgrowth to a significantly greater extent only on the CSPG matrix, while synapse formation assays showed mixed results depending on the pre- and post-synaptic markers analyzed. We hypothesize that TG2 regulates the supportive functions of astrocytes in injury conditions by modulating gene expression through interactions with transcription factors and transcription complexes. Based on the results of a previous yeast two-hybrid screen for TG2 interactors, we further investigated the interaction of TG2 with Zbtb7a, a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor. Co-immunoprecipitation and colocalization analyses confirmed the interaction of TG2 and Zbtb7a in the nucleus of astrocytes. Overexpression or knockdown of Zbtb7a levels in WT and TG2-/- astrocytes revealed that Zbtb7a robustly influenced astrocytic morphology and the ability of astrocytes to support neuronal outgrowth, which was significantly modulated by the presence of TG2. These findings support our hypothesis that astrocytic TG2 acts as a transcriptional regulator to influence astrocytic function, with greater influence under injury conditions that increase its expression, and Zbtb7a likely contributes to the overall effects observed with astrocytic TG2 deletion.

Deletion of transglutaminase 2 from astrocytes significantly improves their ability to promote neurite outgrowth on an inhibitory matrix.

Astrocytes are the primary support cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that help maintain the energetic requirements and homeostatic environment of neurons. CNS injury causes astrocytes to take on reactive phenotypes with altered overall function that can range from supportive to harmful for recovering neurons. The characterization of reactive astrocyte populations is a rapidly developing field, and the underlying factors and signaling pathways governing which type of reactive phenotype that astrocytes take on is poorly understood. Our previous studies suggest that transglutaminase 2 (TG2) has an important role in determining the astrocytic response to injury. TG2 is upregulated in astrocytes across multiple injury models, and selectively deleting TG2 from astrocytes improves functional outcomes after CNS injury and causes widespread changes in gene regulation, which is associated with its nuclear localization. The underlying molecular mechanisms by which TG2 causes these functional changes are unknown, and its interactions in the nucleus of astrocytes has not yet been described. To begin to understand how TG2 impacts astrocytic function, we used a neuron-astrocyte co-culture paradigm to compare the effects of TG2-/- and wild type (WT) astrocytes on neurite outgrowth and synapse formation. We assayed neurons on both a growth-supportive substrate and an injury-simulating matrix comprised of inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). Compared to WT astrocytes, TG2-/- astrocytes supported neurite outgrowth to a significantly greater extent only on the CSPG matrix, while synapse formation assays showed mixed results depending on the pre- and post-synaptic markers analyzed. We hypothesize that TG2 regulates the supportive functions of astrocytes in injury conditions by modulating the expression of a wide range of genes through interactions with transcription factors and transcription complexes. Based on results of a previous yeast two-hybrid screen for TG2 interactors, we further investigated the interaction of TG2 with Zbtb7a, a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor. Coimmunoprecipitation and colocalization analyses confirmed the interaction of TG2 and Zbtb7a in the nucleus of astrocytes. Genetic overexpression or knockdown of Zbtb7a levels in TG2-/- and WT astrocytes revealed that Zbtb7a robustly influenced astrocytic morphology and the ability of astrocytes to support neuronal outgrowth, which was significantly modulated by the presence of TG2. These findings support our hypothesis that astrocytic TG2 acts as a transcriptional regulator to influence astrocytic function, with greater influence under injury conditions that increase its expression, and Zbtb7a likely contributes to the overall effects observed with astrocytic TG2 deletion.

Radiation and CNS effects: summary of evidence from a recent symposium of the Radiation Research Society.

This article summarizes a Symposium on 'Radiation risks of the central nervous system' held virtually at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Radiation Research Society, 3-6 October 2021. Repeated low-dose radiation exposure over a certain period could lead to reduced neuronal proliferation, altered neurogenesis, neuroinflammation and various neurological complications, including psychological consequences, necessitating further research in these areas. Four speakers from radiation biology, genetics and epidemiology presented the latest data from their studies seeking insights into this important topic. This symposium highlighted new and important directions for further research on mental health disorders, neurodegenerative conditions and cognitive impairment. Future studies will examine risks of mental and behavioral disorders and neurodegenerative diseases following protracted radiation exposures to better understand risks of occupational exposures as well as provide insights into risks from exposures to galactic cosmic rays.

Responding to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences vision, mission, and values statements: Comments, revisions, and proposed actions.

•We call for revisions to the current AAFS vision, mission, and values statements.•Truly aspirational statements will provide guiding principles for forensic scientists.•Revisions should meaningfully engage with issues of diversity and equity.•Our goal of pursuing justice should also extend to our practitioner community.•We envision AAFS committees of diverse membership making positive changes to the statements.

Incretin Mimetics as Rational Candidates for the Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is becoming an increasing public health issue. With an annually estimated 1.7 million TBIs in the United States (U.S) and nearly 70 million worldwide, the injury, isolated or compounded with others, is a major cause of short- and long-term disability and mortality. This, along with no specific treatment, has made exploration of TBI therapies a priority of the health system. Age and sex differences create a spectrum of vulnerability to TBI, with highest prevalence among younger and older populations. Increased public interest in the long-term effects and prevention of TBI have recently reached peaks, with media attention bringing heightened awareness to sport and war related head injuries. Along with short-term issues, TBI can increase the likelihood for development of long-term neurodegenerative disorders. A growing body of literature supports the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), and glucagon (Gcg) receptor (R) agonists, along with unimolecular combinations of these therapies, for their potent neurotrophic/neuroprotective activities across a variety of cellular and animal models of chronic neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) and acute cerebrovascular disorders (stroke). Mild or moderate TBI shares many of the hallmarks of these conditions; recent work provides evidence that use of these compounds is an effective strategy for its treatment. Safety and efficacy of many incretin-based therapies (GLP-1 and GIP) have been demonstrated in humans for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), making these compounds ideal for rapid evaluation in clinical trials of mild and moderate TBI.

Comparing 3D ultrastructure of presynaptic and postsynaptic mitochondria.

Serial-section electron microscopy such as FIB-SEM (focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy) has become an important tool for neuroscientists to trace the trajectories and global architecture of neural circuits in the brain, as well as to visualize the 3D ultrastructure of cellular organelles in neurons. In this study, we examined 3D features of mitochondria in electron microscope images generated from serial sections of four regions of mouse brains: nucleus accumbens (NA), hippocampal CA1, somatosensory cortex and dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN). We compared mitochondria in the presynaptic terminals to those in the postsynaptic/dendritic compartments, and we focused on the shape and size of mitochondria. A common feature of mitochondria among the four brain regions is that presynaptic mitochondria generally are small and short, and most of them do not extend beyond presynaptic terminals. In contrast, the majority of postsynaptic/dendritic mitochondria are large and many of them spread through significant portions of the dendrites. Comparing among the brain areas, the cerebral cortex and DCN have even larger postsynaptic/dendritic mitochondria than the NA and CA1. Our analysis reveals that mitochondria in neurons are differentially sized and arranged according to their subcellular locations, suggesting a spatial organizing principle of mitochondria at the synapse.