Antifungal peptide-loaded alginate microfiber wound dressing evaluated against Candida albicans in vitro and ex vivo.

Invasive fungal infections have high mortality rates, and many current antimycotics are limited by host toxicity and drug resistance. Recent experiments in our laboratory have demonstrated the antifungal activity of dKn2-7, a synthetic peptide, against Candida albicans. The purpose of the current study was to develop a wound dressing capable of dKn2-7 release for extended periods to help combat fungal infection in wounds.

A Layer-specific Corticofugal Input to the Mouse Superior Colliculus.

In the auditory cortex (AC), corticofugal projections arise from each level of the auditory system and are considered to provide feedback "loops" important to modulate the flow of ascending information. It is well established that the cortex can influence the response of neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) via descending corticofugal projections. However, little is known about the relative contribution of different pyramidal neurons to these projections in the SC.

Cortical Circuits of Callosal GABAergic Neurons.

Anatomical studies have shown that the majority of callosal axons are glutamatergic. However, a small proportion of callosal axons are also immunoreactive for glutamic acid decarboxylase, an enzyme required for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) synthesis and a specific marker for GABAergic neurons. Here, we test the hypothesis that corticocortical parvalbumin-expressing (CC-Parv) neurons connect the two hemispheres of multiple cortical areas, project through the corpus callosum, and are a functional part of the local cortical circuit.

An inhibitory corticostriatal pathway.

Anatomical and physiological studies have led to the assumption that the dorsal striatum receives exclusively excitatory afferents from the cortex. Here we test the hypothesis that the dorsal striatum receives also GABAergic projections from the cortex. We addressed this fundamental question by taking advantage of optogenetics and directly examining the functional effects of cortical GABAergic inputs to spiny projection neurons (SPNs) of the mouse auditory and motor cortex.

Callosal projections drive neuronal-specific responses in the mouse auditory cortex.

In the auditory cortex (AC), interhemispheric communication is involved in sound localization processes underlying spatial hearing. However, the neuronal microcircuits recruited by the callosal projections are unknown. We addressed this fundamental question by taking advantage of optogenetics and examining directly the functional effects of interhemispheric inputs to specific pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the mouse AC, defined by their output as either corticocortical (CCort) or corticocollicular (CCol).