Individual- and Connectivity-Based Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback to Modulate Emotion-Related Brain Responses in Patients with Depression: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: Individual real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rtfMRI NF) might be a promising adjuvant in treating depressive symptoms. Further studies showed functional variations and connectivity-related changes in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the insular cortex.

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether individualized connectivity-based rtfMRI NF training can improve symptoms in depressed patients as an adjunct to a psychotherapeutic programme.

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of spp. in German Small Ruminant Flocks.

Knowledge about the distribution of spp. in small ruminants from Germany is limited. Therefore, serum samples were examined from 71 small ruminant flocks (2731 sheep, 447 goats) located in the five German federal states: Schleswig-Holstein (SH), Lower Saxony (LS), North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Baden-Wuerttemberg (BW) and Bavaria (BAV).

Increasing awareness for tick-borne encephalitis virus using small ruminants as suitable sentinels: Preliminary observations.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is one of the most common zoonotic vector-borne infections in Europe. An appropriate awareness is crucial to react quickly and efficiently to protect humans from this pathogen. From winter 2017 until spring 2018 serum samples were collected from 71 small ruminant flocks (3174 animals) in five German federal states.

Concept of an Active Surveillance System for Q Fever in German Small Ruminants-Conflicts Between Best Practices and Feasibility.

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium . Inhalation of contaminated dust particles or aerosols originating from animals (esp. small ruminants) is the main source of human infection.

Humoral immune response to Q fever vaccination of three sheep flocks naturally pre-infected with Coxiella burnetii.

Qfever is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii; Coxiella-infected ruminants are the main reservoir shedding the pathogen during abortion or parturition through birth products. Germany has a long history of small-scale Q fever epidemics in the human population mostly associated with lambing sheep. Therefore, fast and efficient control measures are essentially required to prevent transmission from infected sheep flocks to humans.

loss of function variants contribute to cerebral folate deficiency by downregulating expression.

Cerebral folate deficiency (CFD) syndrome is characterised by a low concentration of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in cerebrospinal fluid, while folate levels in plasma and red blood cells are in the low normal range. Mutations in several folate pathway genes, including , , and ) have been previously identified in patients with CFD. In an effort to identify causal mutations for CFD, we performed whole exome sequencing analysis on eight CFD trios and identified eight de novo mutations in seven trios.

Phosphorylation-induced unfolding regulates p19 during the human cell cycle.

Cell cycle progression is tightly regulated by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). The ankyrin-repeat protein p19 functions as a key regulator of G1/S transition; however, its molecular mode of action is unknown. Here, we combine cell and structural biology methods to unravel the mechanism by which p19 controls cell cycle progression.

Activating de novo mutations in NFE2L2 encoding NRF2 cause a multisystem disorder.

Transcription factor NRF2, encoded by NFE2L2, is the master regulator of defense against stress in mammalian cells. Somatic mutations of NFE2L2 leading to NRF2 accumulation promote cell survival and drug resistance in cancer cells. Here we show that the same mutations as inborn de novo mutations cause an early onset multisystem disorder with failure to thrive, immunodeficiency and neurological symptoms.

Growth Retardation, Loss of Desmosomal Adhesion, and Impaired Tight Junction Function Identify a Unique Role of Plakophilin 1 In Vivo.

Desmosomes mediate strong intercellular adhesion through desmosomal cadherins that interact with intracellular linker proteins including plakophilins (PKPs) 1-3 to anchor the intermediate filaments. PKPs show overlapping but distinct expression patterns in the epidermis. So far, the contribution of individual PKPs in differentially regulating desmosome function is incompletely understood.

Plakophilins in desmosomal adhesion and signaling.

The regulation of adhesion and growth is important for epithelial function and dysfunction. β-catenin (armadillo in Drosophila) is the prototype of a multifunctional molecule that regulates cell adhesion via adherens junctions and cell signaling via LEF/TCF transcription factors. Desmosomal armadillo proteins comprise plakoglobin and the plakophilins 1, 2, and 3.

Insulin signaling via Akt2 switches plakophilin 1 function from stabilizing cell adhesion to promoting cell proliferation.

Downregulation of adherens junction proteins is a frequent event in carcinogenesis. How desmosomal proteins contribute to tumor formation by regulating the balance between adhesion and proliferation is not well understood. The desmosomal protein plakophilin 1 can increase intercellular adhesion by recruiting desmosomal proteins to the plasma membrane or stimulate proliferation by enhancing translation rates.

A role of plakophilins in the regulation of translation.

Plakophilins 1-3 are members of the p120(ctn)-family of armadillo related proteins. They have been characterized as desmosomal plaque proteins, stabilizing desmosomal cadherins at the plasma membrane and interacting with the cytoskeletal linker protein desmoplakin. Loss of cell adhesion contributes to cancerogenesis.

Plakophilin 1 stimulates translation by promoting eIF4A1 activity.

Plakophilins 1-3 (PKP1-3) are desmosomal proteins of the p120(ctn) family of armadillo-related proteins that are essential for organizing the desmosomal plaque. Recent findings identified PKPs in stress granules, suggesting an association with the translational machinery. However, a role of PKPs in controlling translation remained elusive so far.

Beyond regulation of cell adhesion: local control of RhoA at the cleavage furrow by the p0071 catenin.

P120(ctn) is the prototype of a subfamily of armadillo proteins that also comprises p0071, delta-catenin, ARVCF and the more distantly related plakophilins 1-3. These proteins have well established roles in regulating adherens junction and desmosome formation which critically depends on their capacity to cluster cadherins. Besides this function in cell adhesion that is mediated by a membrane associated pool, these proteins also show cytoplasmic and nuclear localization.

The armadillo protein p0071 regulates Rho signalling during cytokinesis.

Cytokinesis requires the spatio-temporal coordination of cell-cycle control and cytoskeletal reorganization. Members of the Rho-family of GTPases are crucial regulators of this process and assembly of the contractile ring depends on local activation of Rho signalling. Here, we show that the armadillo protein p0071, unlike its relative p120(ctn), is localized at the midbody during cytokinesis and is essential for cell division.