Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Distributed neural computation and the evolution of the first brains

doi: 10.1101/2025.10.03.680388

Figure Lengend Snippet: a) Simplified phylogeny of animals shows that acoel brains are likely intermediate between cnidarian diffuse nets and the centralized brains of typical bilaterians. b) Photograph of juvenile Hofstenia miamia . c) Staining with voltage dye reveals a superficial network of dense neuropil (blue arrow) that extends into a sparser posterior nerve net (green arrow). d) Close-up view of neuropil stained sparsely with tubulin dye (orange) reveals that the neuropil (orange) contains many neurites running in parallel, with cellular clusters (cyan) interspersed between neurite bundles. Sensory neurons (likely clusters of H1 cells; bright orange) are set within many of these patches. e) Cross-section of brain stained with a Par3 antibody reveals that the brain has two layers: superficial neuropil, and deeper cell bodies that project outward. f) Staining with an ERK antibody (z-projected segmentation overlaid) shows that brain interneurons can be multipolar, with a central cell body generating multiple neurites. g) Cross-section of brain stained with an antibody against β-catenin reveals another sensory neuron class (possibly H2 ) with two projections that innervate brain neuropil. h) Electron microscopy cross-section shows the fine organization of the brain, confirming the relative configuration of tissue types within the head. The superficial neuropil (previously ‘layer 1’) is visible immediately beneath the skin, while neural cell bodies (previously ‘layer 2’) lie deeper in the tissue, internal to body wall muscle (green). Together, these layers compose the brain. i) Electron microscopy close-up of the brain shows dense neuropil; the box is a 6.7×6.7µm square. j) Segmenting neural projections within the highlighted box in (i) reveals over 400 neurites in a single section of neuropil. k) Segmentation of cellular clusters within neuropil allows quantification of brain structure and its variability. l) Quantifying the numbers of cellular clusters across brains reveals that, although cluster numbers increase with age (i.e. days after hatching) and size (i.e. head width, a good proxy for overall body size ), worms vary widely in how many clusters they possess. Linear regression p<0.0001, n=49. Scale bars: 200µm (c), 50µm (d,e), 20µm (f,g), 10µm (h).

Article Snippet: Primary antibodies used: Par3 (St. John’s Laboratory #STJ94951, 1:200), pERK (Cell Signaling Technologies #4370T, 1:200) , FMRFamide (EMDMillipore #AB15348, 1:1000) .

Techniques: Staining, Electron Microscopy

Journal: Cell Reports

Article Title: Integrin β1 coordinates survival and morphogenesis of the embryonic lineage upon implantation and pluripotency transition

doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108834

Figure Lengend Snippet: Integrin β1 is dispensable for the establishment but necessary for the maintenance of apicobasal polarity (A) Distribution of the polarity marker PAR3 in mESCs at 1- and 2-cell stage (24 h of culture in −2iLIF). Wild-type cells (fl/fl, top) recruit PAR3 toward the AMIS similarly to mutant cells (Δ/Δ, bottom). (B) Quantification of the orientation of apicobasal polarity at 24 h: Fisher’s exact test: p = ns (number of mESC spheroids n = 42 [fl/fl], n = 39 [Δ/Δ]). (C and D) Distribution of centrosomes, as shown by γ-tubulin staining, at 2-cell stage and quantification of the angles along the nuclear-centrosome axis. Centrosome-nuclear axis angle: means ± SEMs (red). Test: Mann-Whitney test: p = ns (number of mESC spheroids n = 26 [fl/fl], n = 31 [Δ/Δ]). (E and F) Assessment of polarization in agarose at 24 h by Golgi and PAR3 localization. Fisher’s exact test: p = ns (number of spheroids n = 38 [fl/fl], 38 [Δ/Δ]). Both wild-type and mutant cells display correct apicobasal polarity at 24 h of culture, even in the absence of ECM components. (G) Assessment of polarization at 48 h. PAR6 is recruited at the apical site where actomyosin accumulated in wild type. PAR6 is recruited basally at the site of actomyosin accumulation in mutant cells. (H) In wild type, podocalyxin vesicles are recruited apically at PAR6 site. In mutant, PAR6 localizes basally, and podocalyxin vesicles are secreted basally at this latter site. (I) Quantification of the orientation of apicobasal polarity at 48 h, assessed by Golgi and PAR6 localization. Fisher’s exact test: ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001 (n = 30 [fl/fl], n = 29 [Δ/Δ]). Scale bars: 5 μm (A, C, and E) and 10 μm (G and H).

Article Snippet: Par3 (rabbit, 1:100, MERCK Millipore 07-330).

Techniques: Marker, Mutagenesis, Staining, MANN-WHITNEY

Journal: Cell Reports

Article Title: Integrin β1 coordinates survival and morphogenesis of the embryonic lineage upon implantation and pluripotency transition

doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108834

Figure Lengend Snippet:

Article Snippet: Par3 (rabbit, 1:100, MERCK Millipore 07-330).

Techniques: Recombinant, Software