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Background: Extracranial metastases occur in <2% of cases of glioblastoma (GBM). When metastases do occur, bone is the most common destination. Herein, we review clinical characteristics of GBM patients with osseous metastases and evaluate both potential risk factors and prognostic significance., Methods: Using an institutional database, we identified and retrospectively analyzed 6 patients with both GBM and osseous metastases. We collected data on patient demographics, tumor genetics, clinical courses, and outcomes. Given the rarity of metastatic GBM, we conducted historical comparisons using previously published literature., Results: Five patients with osseous metastases (83%) were male, with a median age of 46 years at GBM diagnosis (range: 20-84). All patients had IDH-wildtype, MGMT promoter unmethylated GBM and 5 (83%) had alterations in TP53. All patients underwent surgical resection for GBM followed by radiation with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide. Four patients (67%) received bevacizumab prior to bone metastasis diagnosis. Bone metastases were discovered at a median of 12.2 months (range: 5.3-35.2) after GBM diagnosis and 4.8 months after starting bevacizumab (range: 3.5-13.2). Three patients (50%) received immunotherapy. After osseous metastasis diagnosis, the median survival was 25 days (range: 13-225)., Conclusion: In our cohort, most patients were male and young at the time of GBM diagnosis. All patients had IDH-wildtype, MGMT promoter unmethylated GBM, and most had alterations in TP53, which may be important for osseous metastasis. Most patients received bevacizumab, which has been associated with earlier metastasis. Osseous metastases of GBM occur and portend a dismal prognosis in an already aggressive malignancy., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

The mushroom body in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is an associative brain centre that translates odour representations into learned behavioural responses. Kenyon cells, the intrinsic neurons of the mushroom body, integrate input from olfactory glomeruli to encode odours as sparse distributed patterns of neural activity. We have developed anatomic tracing techniques to identify the glomerular origin of the inputs that converge onto 200 individual Kenyon cells. Here we show that each Kenyon cell integrates input from a different and apparently random combination of glomeruli. The glomerular inputs to individual Kenyon cells show no discernible organization with respect to their odour tuning, anatomic features or developmental origins. Moreover, different classes of Kenyon cells do not seem to preferentially integrate inputs from specific combinations of glomeruli. This organization of glomerular connections to the mushroom body could allow the fly to contextualize novel sensory experiences, a feature consistent with the role of this brain centre in mediating learned olfactory associations and behaviours.

This protocol describes how the photoconvertible protein Kaede can be used to determine the birthdates of neurons in live zebrafish. The methods used are birthdating analysis by photoconverted fluorescent protein tracing in vivo (BAPTI) and BAPTI combined with subpopulation markers (BAPTISM). Because Kaede can be converted from green to red fluorescence at any developmental time point, it serves as a temporal landmark for cell birth. When it is used in combination with subpopulation markers, the eventual fate of a cell can be correlated with its birthdate. We describe how we used this method to study the development of trigeminal sensory neurons and discuss how the technique can be extended to the study of other organs.

Among sensory systems, the somatic sense is exceptional in its ability to detect a wide range of chemical, mechanical and thermal stimuli. How this sensory diversity is established during development remains largely elusive. We devised a method (BAPTISM) that uses the photoconvertible fluorescent protein Kaede to simultaneously analyze birthdate and cell fate in live zebrafish embryos. We found that trigeminal sensory ganglia are formed from early-born and late-born neurons. Early-born neurons give rise to multiple classes of sensory neurons that express different ion channels. By contrast, late-born neurons are restricted in their fate and do not form chemosensory neurons expressing the ion channel TrpA1b. Accordingly, larvae lacking early-born neurons do not respond to the TrpA1b agonist allyl isothiocyanate. These results indicate that the multimodal specification and function of trigeminal sensory ganglia depends on the timing of neurogenesis.

In an effort to meet the stringent requirements towards registration of microorganisms as biopesticides, several molecular techniques were tested as part of a strategy to develop a quality control system for Pseudozyma flocculosa, the active ingredient of Sporodex, a biofungicide used for the control of powdery mildew fungi. In the first approach, multiplex PCR fingerprints generated by three sets of primers allowed differentiation of several isolates of P. flocculosa from closely related species, or genera such as Tilletiopsis. The same set of primers was used in quality control experiments and revealed fungal contamination that was otherwise not observed by standard culture and microscopy techniques. In addition, the use of random amplified microsatellites generated by (GT)n and (CCA)n primers was applied as a measure of possible genetic variation over 65 repeated subcultures of P. flocculosa. Finally, a novel technique was developed and named reverse intron PCR (RIP), based on the presence of an intron revealed by partial sequencing of mtLSU of P. flocculosa. RIP allowed not only differentiation of P. flocculosa from other species but also separated the isolates of different origins within P. flocculosa. This new technique could find useful applications in phylogenetic studies of closely related fungal species and isolates.

ABSTRACT A number of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics were used to ascertain the identity and diversity of Pseudozyma flocculosa, a natural antagonist of powdery mildews that has received little attention in terms of taxonomy. To this end, several putative isolates of P. flocculosa as well as several closely related species were analyzed. Ribosomal DNA sequences distinguished P. flocculosa from other Pseudozyma spp. and identified two previously unknown Pseudozyma isolates as P. flocculosa. Random amplified microsatellites revealed three distinct P. flocculosa strains among the tested isolates. Biocontrol properties and antifungal metabolite production were limited to the P. flocculosa spp. Results produced useful molecular markers to (i) distinguish P. flocculosa from other related fungi, (ii) identify different strains within this species, and (iii) aid in the construction of isolate-specific molecular tools that will assist in research and development of P. flocculosa as a biocontrol agent of powdery mildew fungi.