Nevertheless, the function of astrocytic FEZ1 will require further investigation. Further studies are needed to clarify these issues, advance our understanding of PD pathogenesis and hopefully expose new therapeutic avenues. We thank Dr Hu Lifang (Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University) for excellent technical assistance. We thank Dr Li Bingyan (Experimental Center of Medical College, Soochow University) for their expertise in confocal microscopy. This work was supported by the Jiangsu Province Health Research Project (No. YG201307). This work was performed and accomplished by all authors. Y.-y. Sun and Y. Zhang contributed equally to the execution of the entire research project, the

statistical analyses and the writing of the manuscript. X.-p. Sun, T.-y. Liu and Z.-h. Liu assisted technically in rat breeding, animal euthanasia Selleckchem Erastin and real-time PCR. G. Chen directed the experiments and the writing of the manuscript. C.-l. Xia directed the experiments, data analyses and the writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. “
“Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma Selleckchem Panobinostat (PXA) is a rare astrocytic tumor that usually occurs in the superficial cerebral

hemispheres of children and young adults and has a relatively favorable prognosis. We report an unusual case of supratentorial, intraventricular tumor in a 52-year-old man. The tumor was composed of pleomorphic cells, including giant BCKDHA cells, most of which were multinucleated, and small cells. In addition, frequent xanthic changes in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells, and widespread reticulin deposits and lymphocytic infiltrates in the stroma were characteristic features. Large areas of necrosis were also evident. However, mitotic figures were rare (1–2 mitoses per 10 high-power fields). Many tumor cells were positive for GFAP, and a number were positive for neurofilament protein and synaptophysin, indicating their neuronal differentiation. In addition, occasional tumor cells were positive for CD34. p53 protein was entirely negative in the tumor cells. In diagnosing this tumor

histopathologically, differentiation between PXA and giant cell glioblastoma (GCG), a rare variant of glioblastoma, was problematic. However, considering the overall histopathological picture, a final diagnosis of PXA with anaplastic features was made. The present case indicates that PXA can occur as an intraventricular tumor, and suggests that in some instances, it would be very difficult to differentiate PXA and GCG histopathologically. “
“Alpha-synuclein (αS) is one of the major constituents of Lewy bodies (LBs). Several lines of evidence suggest that the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP) is involved in the removal of αS. We have previously reported that granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) in neurons involved a subunit of the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT).