Medical Anatomy Commons^™

Legacy Effects Of Historical Gold Mining On Floodplains Of An Australian River, Francesco Colombi, Aleicia Holland, Darren Baldwin, Susan Lawrence, Peter Davies, Ian Rutherfurd, James Grove, Jodi Turnbull, Mark Macklin, Greg Hil, Ewen Silvester

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The gold rush at the end of the nineteenth century in south-eastern Australia resulted in the mobilization and re-deposition of vast quantities of tailings that modified the geomorphology of the associated river valleys. Previous studies of contamination risk in these systems have either been performed directly on mine wastes (e.g., battery sand) or at locations close to historical mine sites but have largely ignored the extensive area of riverine alluvial deposits extending downstream from gold mining locations. Here we studied the distribution of contaminant metal(loids) in the Loddon River catchment, one of the most intensively mined areas of the historical …

Differential Roles Of Key Brain Regions: Ventral Tegmental Area, Locus Coeruleus, Dorsal Raphe, Nucleus Accumbens, Caudate Nucleus, And Prefrontal Cortex In Regulating Response To Methylphenidate: Insights From Neuronal And Behavioral Studies In Freely Behaving Rats, Nachum Dafny, Catherine Claussen, Emilee Frazier, Yin Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A total of 3102 neurons were recorded before and following acute and chronic methylphenidate (MPD) administration. Acute MPD exposure elicits mainly increases in neuronal and behavioral activity in dose–response characteristics. The response to chronic MPD exposure, as compared to acute 0.6, 2.5, or 10.0 mg/kg MPD administration, elicits electrophysiological and behavioral sensitization in some animals and electrophysiological and behavioral tolerance in others when the neuronal recording evaluations were performed based on the animals’ behavioral responses, or amount of locomotor activity, to chronic MPD exposure. The majority of neurons recorded from those expressing behavioral sensitization responded to chronic MPD with further …

Strict Conservation Yet Non-Essential Nature Of Plasmid Gene Bba40 In The Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia Burgdorferi, Yuqi Zhu, Yili Zhang, Hui Chen, Lisha Zhang, Chensi Shen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The increasing concern over climate change has spurred significant interest in exploring the potential of microalgae for wastewater treatment. Among the various types of industrial wastewaters, high-salinity NH₄⁺-N wastewater stands out as a common challenge. Investigating microalgae’s resilience to NH₄⁺-N under high-salinity conditions and their efficacy in NH₄⁺-N utilization is crucial for advancing industrial wastewater microalgae treatment technologies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of employing nitrogen-efficient microalgae, specifically Oocystis lacustris, for NH₄⁺-N removal from saline wastewater. The results revealed Oocystis lacustris’s tolerance to a Na_{2 …}

Cns-Associated Macrophages Contribute To Intracerebral Aneurysm Pathophysiology, Martina Glavan, Ana Jelic, Damien Levard, Juhana Frösen, Sara Keränen, Bart A A Franx, Ana-Rita Bras, Estelle R Louet, Ádám Dénes, Mario Merlini, Denis Vivien, Marina Rubio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Simple Summary

Vestibular schwannoma (VS), benign cranial nerve sheath tumors of the vestibulocochlear nerve, lack efficacious systemic therapies, especially if they develop in a NF2-related schwannomatosis (NF2) background. They cause hearing loss, tinnitus and balance problems. Metastasis associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1) is a key driver of metastasis. Although MACC1 expression is associated with highly malignant tumors and VS are considered benign, both are attached to the HGF/MET signaling pathway and MACC1 is a candidate gene localized at a hearing loss-related gene locus. Therefore, it was investigated whether MACC1 might be involved in VS pathogenesis. Surprisingly, MACC1 expression …

The Emerging Importance Of Skull-Brain Interactions In Traumatic Brain Injury, Peixi Zhao, Rui Jin, Bin Zhao, Le Han, Wenjuan Chen, Nina Hao, Yi Cui, Ankit Madan, Joy Awosika, Shane Lloyd, Yili Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and Objective

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been widely applied and studied in the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, and have achieved good results. However, in clinical practice, it has been observed that only some patients respond well to ICIs, and some patients may experience various degrees of adverse reactions during the treatment. Timely evaluation of the potential therapeutic effects and adverse reactions of ICIs for patients has important clinical significance. This review aimed to summarize recent progress regarding efficacy-associated biomarkers for ICIs in GI cancer.

Methods

The literature on ICI treatment in GI cancers was searched in the …

Potential Value Of A Rapid Syndromic Multiplex Pcr For The Diagnosis Of Native And Prosthetic Joint Infections: A Real-World Evidence Study, Stéphanie Pascual, Brooklyn Noble, Nusreen Ahmad-Saeed, Catherine Aldridge, Simone Ambretti, Sharon Amit, Rachel Annett, Shaan Ashk O'Shea, Anna Maria Barbui, Gavin Barlow, Lucinda Barrett, Mario Berth, Alessandro Bondi, Nicola Boran, Sara E Boyd, Catarina Chaves, Martin Clauss, Peter Davies, Ileana T Dianzo-Delgado, Jaime Esteban, Stefan Fuchs, Lennart Friis-Hansen, Daniel Goldenberger, Andrej Golle, Juha O Groonroos, Ines Hoffmann, Tomer Hoffmann, Harriet Hughes, Marina Ivanova, Peter Jezek, Gwennan Jones, Zeynep Ceren Karahan, Cornelia Lass-Flörl, Frédéric Laurent, Laura Leach, Matilde Lee Horsbøll Pedersen, Caroline Loiez, Maureen Lynch, Robert J Maloney, Martin Marsh, Olivia Milburn, Shanine Mitchell, Luke S P Moore, Lynn Moffat, Marianna Murdjeva, Michael E Murphy, Deepa Nayar, Giacomo Nigrisoli, Fionnuala O'Sullivan, Büşra Öz, Teresa Peach, Christina Petridou, Mojgan Prinz, Mitja Rak, Niamh Reidy, Gian Maria Rossolini, Anne-Laure Roux, Patricia Ruiz-Garbajosa, Kordo Saeed, Llanos Salar-Vidal, Carlos Salas Venero, Mathyruban Selvaratnam, Eric Senneville, Peter Starzengruber, Ben Talbot, Vanessa Taylor, Rihard Trebše, Deborah Wearmouth, Birgit Willinger, Marjan Wouthuyzen-Bakker, Brianne Couturier, Florence Allantaz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The BIOFIRE Joint Infection (JI) Panel is a diagnostic tool that uses multiplex-PCR testing to detect microorganisms in synovial fluid specimens from patients suspected of having septic arthritis (SA) on native joints or prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Methods: A study was conducted across 34 clinical sites in 19 European and Middle Eastern countries from March 2021 to June 2022 to assess the effectiveness of the BIOFIRE JI Panel. Results: A total of 1527 samples were collected from patients suspected of SA or PJI, with an overall agreement of 88.4 % and 85 % respectively between the …

Shewanella Phage Encoding A Putative Anti-Crispr-Like Gene Represents A Novel Potential Viral Family, Hongmin Wang, Kaiyang Zheng, Min Wang, Keran Ma, Linyi Ren, Ruizhe Guo, Lina Ma, Hong Zhang, Yundan Liu, Yao Xiong, Miaolan Wu, Hongbing Shao, Yeong Yik Sung, Wen Jye Mok, Li Lian Wong, Andrew Mcminn, Yantao Liang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Shewanella is a prevalent bacterial genus in deep-sea environments including marine sediments, exhibiting diverse metabolic capabilities that indicate its significant contributions to the marine biogeochemical cycles. However, only a few Shewanella phages were isolated and deposited in the NCBI database. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of a novel Shewanella phage, vB_SbaS_Y11, that infects Shewanella KR11 and was isolated from the sewage in Qingdao, China. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that vB_SbaS_Y11 has an icosahedral head and a long tail. The genome of vB_SbaS_Y11 is a linear, double-stranded DNA with a length of 62,799 bp and a G+C …

Boosting The Electron Beam Transmittance Of Field Emission Cathode Using A Self-Charging Gate, Dongyang Xiao, Huanhuan Du, Leimeng Sun, Xiaochen Suo, Yurong Wang, Yili Zhang, Shaolin Zhang, Shuangyang Kuang, Fangjing Hu, Liangcheng Tu, Daren Yu, Peiyi Song

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The gate-type carbon nanotubes cathodes exhibit advantages in long-term stable emission owing to the uniformity of electrical field on the carbon nanotubes, but the gate inevitably reduces the transmittance of electron beam, posing challenges for system stabilities. In this work, we introduce electron beam focusing technique using the self-charging SiN_x/Au/Si gate. The potential of SiN_x is measured to be approximately −60 V quickly after the cathode turning on, the negative potential can be maintained as the emission goes on. The charged surface generates rebounding electrostatic forces on the following electrons, significantly focusing the electron beam on the …

Increased Cysteinyl-Trna Synthetase Drives Neuroinflammation In Alzheimer’S Disease, Xiu-Hong Qi, Peng Chen, Yue-Ju Wang, Zhe-Ping Zhou, Xue-Chun Liu, Hui Fang, Chen-Wei Wang, Ji Liu, Rong-Yu Liu, Han-Kui Liu, Zhen-Xin Zhang, Jiang-Ning Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background

Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not only a response to pathophysiological events, but also plays a causative role in neurodegeneration. Cytoplasmic cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (CARS) is considered to be a stimulant for immune responses to diseases; however, it remains unknown whether CARS is involved in the pathogenesis of AD.

Methods

Postmortem human temporal cortical tissues at different Braak stages and AD patient-derived serum samples were used to investigate the changes of CARS levels in AD by immunocytochemical staining, real-time PCR, western blotting and ELISA. After that, C57BL/6J and APP/PS1 transgenic mice and BV-2 cell line were used to …

Vibrio Cyclitrophicus Phage Encoding Gene Transfer Agent Fragment, Representing A Novel Viral Family, Yao Xiong, Keran Ma, Xiao Zou, Yantao Liang, Kaiyang Zheng, Tiancong Wang, Hong Zhang, Yue Dong, Ziyue Wang, Yundan Liu, Hongbing Shao, Andrew Mcminn, Min Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Vibrio is a prevalent bacterial genus in aquatic environments and exhibits diverse metabolic capabilities, playing a vital role in marine biogeochemical cycles. This study isolated a novel virus infecting Vibrio cyclitrophicus, vB_VviC_ZQ26, from coastal waters near Qingdao, China. The vB_VviC_ZQ26 comprises a linear double-stranded DNA genome with a length of 42,982 bp and a G + C content of 43.21 %, encoding 72 putative open reading frames (ORFs). Transmission electron microscope characterization indicates a siphoviral-morphology of vB_VviC_ZQ26. Nucleic-acids-wide analysis indicates a tetranucleotide frequency deviation for genomic segments encoding putative gene transfer agent protein (GTA) and coil-containing protein, implying divergent …

Synaptic Vesicle Dynamics In Mouse Rod Bipolar Cells, Sara S Patterson, Rebecca J Girresch, Marcus A Mazzaferri, Andrea S Bordt, Wendy L Piñon-Teal, Brett D Jesse, Dinukie-Chantal W Perera, Melanie A Schlepphorst, James A Kuchenbecker, Alice Z Chuang, Jay Neitz, David W Marshak, Judith Mosinger Ogilvie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Considerable progress has been made in studying the receptive fields of the most common primate retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types, such as parasol RGCs. Much less is known about the rarer primate RGC types and the circuitry that gives rise to noncanonical receptive field structures. The goal of this study was to analyze synaptic inputs to smooth monostratified RGCs to determine the origins of their complex spatial receptive fields, which contain isolated regions of high sensitivity called "hotspots." Interestingly, smooth monostratified RGCs co-stratify with the well-studied parasol RGCs and are thus constrained to receiving input from bipolar and amacrine cells …

Enhancing Associative Learning In Rats With A Computationally Designed Training Protocol, Xu O Zhang, Yili Zhang, Claire E Cho, Douglas S Engelke, Paul Smolen, John H Byrne, Fabricio H Do-Monte

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background

Learning requires the activation of protein kinases with distinct temporal dynamics. In Aplysia, nonassociative learning can be enhanced by a computationally designed learning protocol with intertrial intervals (ITIs) that maximize the interaction between fast-activated PKA (protein kinase A) and slow-activated ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase). Whether a similar strategy can enhance associative learning in mammals is unknown.

Methods

We simulated 1000 training protocols with varying ITIs to predict an optimal protocol based on empirical data for PKA and ERK dynamics in rat hippocampus. Adult male rats received the optimal protocol or control protocols in auditory fear conditioning and fear …

Anticancer Effects Of Wild Baicalin On Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Downregulation Of Akr1b10 And Pi3k/Akt Signaling Pathways, Longjun Sun, Wenjuan Chen, Peixi Zhao, Bin Zhao, Guangyan Lei, Le Han, Yili Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

ntroduction

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and deadly malignancy. Traditional Chinese medicine, such as the compound Astragalus (wild Baicalin), has shown promise in improving outcomes for HCC patients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of wild Baicalin on the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 and elucidate the underlying mechanisms, particularly the role of the AKR1B10 and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways.

Methods

HepG2 cells were treated with varying concentrations of wild Baicalin. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and cell cycle were evaluated using CCK-8, flow cytometry, scratch, Transwell, and clonogenic assays, respectively. Transcriptome sequencing was performed to analyze gene expression …

Lysophospholipids Are Associated With Outcomes In Hospitalized Patients With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Aaron M Gusdon, Jude Pj Savarraj, John B Redell, Atzhiry Paz, Sarah Hinds, Angela Burkett, Glenda Torres, Xuefang Ren, Neeraj Badjatia, Georgene W Hergenroeder, Anthony N Moore, H Alex Choi, Pramod K Dash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) accounts for 70-90% of all TBI cases. Lipid metabolites have important roles in plasma membrane biogenesis, function, and cell signaling. As TBI can compromise plasma membrane integrity and alter brain cell function, we sought to identify circulating phospholipid alterations after mTBI, and determine if these changes were associated with clinical outcomes. Patients with mTBI (Glasgow Coma Score [GCS] ≥13 and loss of consciousness <30 >min) were recruited. A total of 84 mTBI subjects were enrolled after admission to a level I trauma center, with the majority having evidence of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage on brain computed tomography …

Structures Of Channelrhodopsin Paralogs In Peptidiscs Explain Their Contrasting K+ And Na+ Selectivities, Shu Kikuta, Shin Nagayama, Sanae Hasegawa-Ishii

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The olfactory epithelium (OE) is directly exposed to environmental agents entering the nasal cavity, leaving OSNs prone to injury and degeneration. The causes of olfactory dysfunction are diverse and include head trauma, neurodegenerative diseases, and aging, but the main causes are chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and viral infections. In CRS and viral infections, reduced airflow due to local inflammation, inflammatory cytokine production, release of degranulated proteins from eosinophils, and cell injury lead to decreased olfactory function. It is well known that injury-induced loss of mature OSNs in the adult OE causes massive regeneration of new OSNs within a few months through …

Role Of A Pdlim5:Palmd Complex In Directing Dendrite Morphology, Yogesh Srivastava, Maxsam Donta, Lydia L Mireles, Adriana Paulucci-Holthauzen, M Neal Waxham, Pierre D Mccrea

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neuronal connectivity is regulated during normal brain development with the arrangement of spines and synapses being dependent on the morphology of dendrites. Further, in multiple neurodevelopmental and aging disorders, disruptions of dendrite formation or shaping is associated with atypical neuronal connectivity. We showed previously that Pdlim5 binds delta-catenin and promotes dendrite branching. We report here that Pdlim5 interacts with PalmD, a protein previously suggested by others to interact with the cytoskeleton (e.g.,

Anesthetized Animal Experiments For Neuroscience Research, Shin Nagayama, Sanae Hasegawa-Ishii, Shu Kikuta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Brain research has progressed with anesthetized animal experiments for a long time. Recent progress in research techniques allows us to measure neuronal activity in awake animals combined with behavioral tasks. The trends became more prominent in the last decade. This new research style triggers the paradigm shift in the research of brain science, and new insights into brain function have been revealed. It is reasonable to consider that awake animal experiments are more ideal for understanding naturalistic brain function than anesthetized ones. However, the anesthetized animal experiment still has advantages in some experiments. To take advantage of the anesthetized animal …

Zuccagnia Punctata Cav, A Potential Environmentally Friendly And Sustainable Bionematicide For The Control Of Argentinean Horticultural Crops, Sofía Manrique, Jessica Gómez, Mauricio Piñeiro, Belén Ariza Sampietro, Maria L Peschiutta, Alejandro Tapia, Mario J Simirgiotis, Beatriz Lima

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This research was designed to investigate the metabolite profiling, phenolics, and flavonoids content as well as the potential nematicidal properties of decoction (ZpDe), orange-yellow resin (ZpRe) and essential oil (ZpEO) from Argentinean medicinal plant Zuccagnia punctata Cav. Additionally, the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of ZpDe and ZpEO were determined. Metabolite profiling was obtained by an ultrahigh-resolution liquid chromatography MS analysis (UHPLC-ESI-QTOF/OT-MS-MS) and GCMS. The nematicidal activity was assayed by a standardized method against Meloidogyne incognita. The antioxidant properties were screened by four methods: (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay (DPPH), Trolox equivalent antioxidant activity assay (TEAC), ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP), and lipid …

Dopamine, Norepinephrine And Serotonin Participate Differently In Methylphenidate Action In Concomitant Behavioral And Ventral Tegmental Area, Locus Coeruleus And Dorsal Raphe Neuronal Study In Young Rats, Cruz Reyes-Vasquez, Zachary Jones, Bin Tang, Nachum Dafny

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Methylphenidate (MPD), known as Ritalin, is a psychostimulant used to treat children, adults, and the elderly. MPD exerts its effects through increasing concentrations of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and serotonin (5-HT) in the synaptic cleft. Concomitant behavioral and neuronal recording from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), locus coeruleus (LC), and from the dorsal raphe (DR) nucleus, which are the sources of DA, NE, and 5-HT to the mesocorticolimbic circuit, were investigated following acute and repetitive (chronic) saline, 0.6, 2.5, or 10.0 mg/kg MPD. Animals received daily saline or MPD administration on experimental days 1 to 6 (ED1–6), followed by a …

Voltage- And Calcium-Gated Membrane Currents Tune The Plateau Potential Properties Of Multiple Neuron Types, Curtis L Neveu, Paul Smolen, Douglas A Baxter, John H Byrne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Many neurons exhibit regular firing that is limited to the duration and intensity of depolarizing stimuli. However, some neurons exhibit all-or-nothing plateau potentials that, once elicited, can lead to prolonged activity that is independent of stimulus intensity or duration. To better understand this diversity of information processing, we compared the voltage-gated and Ca²⁺-gated currents of three identified neurons from hermaphroditic Aplysia californica. Two of these neurons, B51 and B64, generated plateau potentials and a third neuron, B8, exhibited regular firing and was incapable of generating a plateau potential. With the exception of the Ca²⁺-gated potassium …

The Effect Of Intervention For Improving Colonoscopy Quality Is Associated With The Personality Traits Of Endoscopists, Guiyuan Xiang, Jiangtao Li, Qinlu Lin, Yili Zhang, Yuqin Ding, Xiaofeng Guo, Qianru Pan, Qiongxiang Liu, Xiangjin Fu, Ying Yang, Wenfang Han, Yong Fang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Highlights

• HMT promoted the binding between starch, protein and lipid.
• • The gelatinization viscosity of HMT rice flour was sharply increased when the proteins were removed.
• • Proteins played a critical role in the physicochemical changes of HMT rice flour.

This study investigated the effect of removing proteins, lipids and starch on the structure, physicochemical properties and digestion properties of rice flour (with 30% moisture) treated with heat moisture treatment (HMT). According to the results, HMT caused the adhesion and agglomeration of the rice flour, promoted the binding between starch, protein and lipid molecular chains and led to the formation …

Regulation Of Syntaxin3b-Mediated Membrane Fusion By T14, Munc18, And Complexin, Rajkishor Nishad, Miguel Betancourt-Solis, Himani Dey, Ruth Heidelberger, James A Mcnew

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Retinal neurons that form ribbon-style synapses operate over a wide dynamic range, continuously relaying visual information to their downstream targets. The remarkable signaling abilities of these neurons are supported by specialized presynaptic machinery, one component of which is syntaxin3B. Syntaxin3B is an essential t-SNARE protein of photoreceptors and bipolar cells that is required for neurotransmitter release. It has a light-regulated phosphorylation site in its N-terminal domain at T14 that has been proposed to modulate membrane fusion. However, a direct test of the latter has been lacking. Using a well-controlled in vitro fusion assay, we found that a phosphomimetic T14 syntaxin3B …

Enhanced Presynaptic Mitochondrial Energy Production Is Required For Memory Formation, Erica L Underwood, John B Redell, Kimberly N Hood, Mark E Maynard, Michael Hylin, M Neal Waxham, Jing Zhao, Anthony N Moore, Pramod K Dash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Some of the prominent features of long-term memory formation include protein synthesis, gene expression, enhanced neurotransmitter release, increased excitability, and formation of new synapses. As these processes are critically dependent on mitochondrial function, we hypothesized that increased mitochondrial respiration and dynamics would play a prominent role in memory formation. To address this possibility, we measured mitochondrial oxygen consumption (OCR) in hippocampal tissue punches from trained and untrained animals. Our results show that context fear training significantly increased basal, ATP synthesis-linked, and maximal OCR in the Shaffer collateral-CA1 synaptic region, but not in the CA1 cell body layer. These changes were …

An Observational Study To Develop A Predictive Model For Bacterial Pneumonia Diagnosis In Severe Covid-19 Patients-C19-Pneumoscore, Eloisa Sofia Tanzarella, Joel Vargas, Marco Menghini, Stefania Postorino, Francesca Pozzana, Maria Sole Vallecoccia, Francesco Lorenzo De Matteis, Federico Franchi, Amato Infante, Luigi Larosa, Maria Antonietta Mazzei, Salvatore Lucio Cutuli, Domenico Luca Grieco, Alessandra Bisanti, Simone Carelli, Gianmarco Lombardi, Edoardo Piervincenzi, Gabriele Pintaudi, Tommaso Pirronti, Mario Tumbarello, Massimo Antonelli, Gennaro De Pascale

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In COVID-19 patients, antibiotics overuse is still an issue. A predictive scoring model for the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia at intensive care unit (ICU) admission would be a useful stewardship tool. We performed a multicenter observational study including 331 COVID-19 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation at ICU admission; 179 patients with bacterial pneumonia; and 152 displaying negative lower-respiratory samplings. A multivariable logistic regression model was built to identify predictors of pulmonary co-infections, and a composite risk score was developed using β-coefficients. We identified seven variables as predictors of bacterial pneumonia: vaccination status (OR 7.01; 95% CI, 1.73-28.39); chronic kidney disease …

Caudal Dmn Neurons Innervate The Spleen And Release Cart Peptide To Regulate Neuroimmune Function, Nobuhide Kobori, Anthony N Moore, John B Redell, Pramod K Dash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is a fundamental biological response to injury and infection, which if unregulated can contribute to the pathophysiology of many diseases. The vagus nerve, which primarily originates from the dorsal motor nucleus (DMN), plays an important role in rapidly dampening inflammation by regulating splenic function. However, direct vagal innervation of the spleen, which houses the majority of immune and inflammatory cells, has not been established. As an alternative to direct innervation, an anti-inflammatory reflex pathway has been proposed which involves the vagus nerve, the sympathetic celiac ganglion, and the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. Although sympathetic regulation of inflammation has been shown, …

Visualizing Lipid Membrane Structure With Cryo-Em: Past, Present, And Future, Karan D Sharma, Frederick A Heberle, M Neal Waxham

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The development of electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) has evolved immensely in the last several decades and is now well-established in the analysis of protein structure both in isolation and in their cellular context. This review focuses on the history and application of cryo-EM to the analysis of membrane architecture. Parallels between the levels of organization of protein structure are useful in organizing the discussion of the unique parameters that influence the collective behavior that influences membrane structure and function. Importantly, the timescales of lipid motion in bilayers with respect to the timescales of sample vitrification is discussed and reveals what types …

Clinical Features And Shared Mechanisms Of Chronic Gastritis And Osteoporosis, Tao Han, Yili Zhang, Baoyu Qi, Ming Chen, Kai Sun, Xiaokuan Qin, Bowen Yang, He Yin, Aili Xu, Xu Wei, Liguo Zhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chronic gastritis (CG) and osteoporosis (OP) are common and occult diseases in the elderly and the relationship of these two diseases have been increasingly exposed. We aimed to explore the clinical characteristics and shared mechanisms of CG patients combined with OP. In the cross-sectional study, all participants were selected from BEYOND study. The CG patients were included and classified into two groups, namely OP group and non-OP group. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods were used to evaluate the influencing factors. Furthermore, CG and OP-related genes were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified …

Optimization Of Cryo-Electron Microscopy For Quantitative Analysis Of Lipid Bilayers, Frederick A Heberle, Doug Welsch, Haden L Scott, M Neal Waxham

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is among the most powerful tools available for interrogating nanoscale structure of biological materials. We recently showed that cryo-EM can be used to measure the bilayer thickness of lipid vesicles and biological membranes with subangstrom precision, resulting in the direct visualization of nanoscopic domains of different thickness in multicomponent lipid mixtures and giant plasma membrane vesicles. Despite the great potential of cryo-EM for revealing the lateral organization of biomembranes, a large parameter space of experimental conditions remains to be optimized. Here, we systematically investigate the influence of instrument parameters and image postprocessing steps on the ability …

Positioning The Brainstem Within The Neural Network Of Threat Prediction, Xu O Zhang, Fabricio H Do Monte

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In a recent study, Strickland and McDannald dissected the role of brainstem networks in threat prediction. Using probabilistic threat discrimination in rats, the authors demonstrated that brainstem neurons estimate threat probability and generate positive aversive prediction errors after unexpected outcomes. Their findings suggest that, beyond organizing defensive behaviors, brainstem neurons are involved in threat prediction computations.

Trogocytosis Of Neurons And Glial Cells By Microglia In A Healthy Adult Macaque Retina, Megan Goyal, Andrea S Bordt, Jay Neitz, David W Marshak

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Microglial cells are the primary resident immune cells in the retina. In healthy adults, they are ramified; that is, they have extensive processes that move continually. In adult retinas, microglia maintain the normal structure and function of neurons and other glial cells, but the mechanism underlying this process is not well-understood. In the mouse hippocampus, microglia engulf small pieces of axons and presynaptic terminals via a process called trogocytosis. Here we report that microglia in the adult macaque retina also engulf pieces of neurons and glial cells, but not at sites of synapses. We analyzed microglia in a volume of …