2017 Highlights

The choroid plexus epithelium (CPE) secretes higher volumes of fluid (cerebrospinal fluid, CSF) than any other epithelium and simultaneously functions as the blood-CSF barrier to gate immune cell entry into the central nervous system. Posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH), an expansion of the cerebral ventricles due to CSF accumulation following intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), is a common disease usually treated by...

WNK kinases, along with their upstream regulators (CUL3/KLHL3) and downstream targets (the SPAK/OSR1 kinases and the cation-Cl- cotransporters [CCCs]), comprise a signaling cascade essential for ion homeostasis in the kidney and nervous system. Recent work has furthered our understanding of the WNKs in epithelial transport, cell volume homeostasis, and GABA signaling, and uncovered novel roles for this pathway in immune cell function and cell proliferation.

Arachnoid cysts (ACs) are congenital fluid-filled malformations that account for approximately 1% of all intracranial, space-occupying lesions in the central nervous system. Despite an estimated prevalence of 1.4%, little is known about the pathogenesis of these presumed developmental anomalies of the arachnoid. The coincidence of ACs in known mendelian cystic disorders, such as autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, along with rare clinical reports of familial AC occurrence, suggests a genetic basis for the disorder. However, no gene or chromosomal abnormalities have been detected in...