DISC1 genetics, biology and psychiatric illness

Psychiatric disorders are highly heritable, and in many individuals likely arise from the combined effects of genes and the environment. A substantial body of evidence points towards DISC1 being one of the genes that influence risk of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, and functional studies of DISC1 consequently have the potential to reveal much about the pathways that lead to major mental illness. Here, we review the evidence that DISC1 influences disease risk through effects upon multiple critical pathways in the developing and adult brain

Using multiplicity automata to identify transducer relations from membership and equivalence queries

Multiplicity Automata are devices that implement functions from a string space to a field. Usually the real number’s field is used. From a learning point of view there exists some algorithms that are able to identify any multiplicity automaton from membership and equivalence queries. In this work we realize that those algorithms can also be used if the algebraic structure of a field is relaxed to a divisive ring structure, that is, the commutativity of the product operation is dropped. Moreover, we define an algebraic structure, which is an extension of the string monoid, that allows the identification of any transduction that can be realized by finite state machines without empty-transitions.Partially supported by the Pascal Network of Excellence

The transcription factor E4bp4/Nfil3 controls commitment to the NK lineage and directly regulates Eomes and Id2 expression

The transcription factor E4bp4 (Nfil3) is essential for natural killer (NK) cell production. Here, we show that E4bp4 is required at the NK lineage commitment point when NK progenitors develop from common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) and that E4bp4 must be expressed at the CLP stage for differentiation toward the NK lineage to occur. To elucidate the mechanism by which E4bp4 promotes NK development, we identified a central core of transcription factors that can rescue NK production from E4bp4(−/−) progenitors, suggesting that they act downstream of E4bp4. Among these were Eomes and Id2, which are expressed later in development than E4bp4. E4bp4 binds directly to the regulatory regions of both Eomes and Id2, promoting their transcription. We propose that E4bp4 is required for commitment to the NK lineage and promotes NK development by directly regulating the expression of the downstream transcription factors Eomes and Id2