Atg5 Is Essential for the Development and Survival of Innate Lymphocytes

Autophagy is an essential cellular survival mechanism that is required for adaptive lymphocyte development; however, its role in innate lymphoid cell (ILC) development remains unknown. Furthermore, the conditions that promote lymphocyte autophagy during homeostasis are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that Atg5, an essential component of the autophagy machinery, is required for the development of mature natural killer (NK) cells and group 1, 2, and 3 innate ILCs. Although inducible ablation of Atg5 was dispensable for the homeostasis of lymphocyte precursors and mature lymphocytes in lymphoreplete mice, we found that autophagy is induced in both adaptive and innate lymphocytes during homeostatic proliferation in lymphopenic hosts to promote their survival by limiting cell-intrinsic apoptosis. Induction of autophagy through metformin treatment following homeostatic proliferation increased lymphocyte numbers through an Atg5-dependent mechanism. These findings highlight the essential role for autophagy in ILC development and lymphocyte survival during lymphopenia

Working Memory and Mathematical Learning.

An increasing number of students show severe mathematical difficulties. Between 5% and 10% of children and adolescents experience a substantial learning deficit in at least one area of mathematics (Barbaresi, Katusic, Colligan, Weaver, & Jacobsen, 2005). The identification of these mathematical difficulties is fundamental if we consider the negative widespread drawbacks determined by math difficulties. Basic mathematical skills are regularly used in everyday life, and their deficiency affects both employment opportunities and socio-emotional well-being. In addition, results of recent studies show how mathematical abilities predict financial and educational success, particularly for women (Geary, Hoard, Nugent, & Bailey, 2013). Domain-general cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, or processing speed are important precursors of school learning. Of all these general cognitive skills, several studies demonstrated that working memory is a key predictor of mathematical competence. The term \u201cworking memory\u201d (WM) refers to a temporary memory system that plays an important role in supporting learning during the childhood years because its key feature is the capacity to both store and manipulate information. Various models of the structure and function of working memory exist, but in the present chapter we will refer to the relkation to the multicomponent model of working memory proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974 and revised in succeeding years (Baddeley, 2000) and math abilities