Tracing ALS Degeneration: Insights from Spinal Cord and Cortex Transcriptomes.

Background/objectives: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons. Key factors contributing to neuronal death include mitochondrial energy damage, oxidative stress, and excitotoxicity. The frontal cortex is crucial for action initiation, planning, and voluntary movements whereas the spinal cord facilitates communication with the brain, walking, and reflexes.

Molecular Signatures of Resilience to Alzheimer's Disease in Neocortical Layer 4 Neurons.

Single-cell omics is advancing our understanding of selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer's disease (AD), revealing specific subtypes that are either susceptible or resilient to neurodegeneration. Using single-nucleus and spatial transcriptomics to compare neocortical regions affected early (prefrontal cortex and precuneus) or late (primary visual cortex) in AD, we identified a resilient excitatory population in layer 4 of the primary visual cortex expressing , , and . Layer 4 neurons in association neocortex also remained relatively preserved as AD progressed and shared overlapping molecular signatures of resilience.

Investigating Neuron Degeneration in Huntington's Disease Using RNA-Seq Based Transcriptome Study.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused due to a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin () gene. The primary symptoms of HD include motor dysfunction such as chorea, dystonia, and involuntary movements. The primary motor cortex (BA4) is the key brain region responsible for executing motor/movement activities.

Transgenic sugarcane with higher levels of BRK1 showed improved drought tolerance.

Transgenic sugarcane overexpressing BRK1 showed improved tolerance to drought stress through modulation of actin polymerization and formation of interlocking marginal lobes in epidermal leaf cells, a typical feature associated with BRK1 expression under drought stress. BRICK1 (BRK1) genes promote leaf epidermal cell morphogenesis and division in plants that involves local actin polymerization. Although the changes in actin filament organization during drought have been reported, the role of BRK in stress tolerance remains unknown.

Deep learning approach for prediction and classification of potable water.

Potable water, commonly known as drinking water, refers to water that is safe to drink and does not endanger human health. It must adhere to strict quality standards set by health organizations, be devoid of dangerous pollutants and chemicals, and meet certain requirements for safety. The health of the public and the ecosystem are directly affected by water quality.

Factors associated with outcomes of severe acute necrotizing encephalopathy: A multicentre experience in Malaysia.

This case series compared clinical variables and various combinations of immunotherapy received with outcomes of patients with severe acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE). We performed a retrospective review of clinical variables, immunotherapy received, and outcomes (based on the modified Rankin Scale) in Malaysia between February 2019 and January 2020. Twenty-seven children (12 male), aged 7 months to 14 years (mean 4 years) at diagnosis were included.

Integrative Meta-Analysis of Huntington's Disease Transcriptome Landscape.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance caused by glutamine expansion in the Huntingtin gene (HTT). Striatal projection neurons (SPNs) in HD are more vulnerable to cell death. The executive striatal population is directly connected with the Brodmann Area (BA9), which is mainly involved in motor functions.

Tumor Heterogeneity and Molecular Characteristics of Glioblastoma Revealed by Single-Cell RNA-Seq Data Analysis.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common infiltrating lethal tumor of the brain. Tumor heterogeneity and the precise characterization of GBM remain challenging, and the disease-specific and effective biomarkers are not available at present. To understand GBM heterogeneity and the disease prognosis mechanism, we carried out a single-cell transcriptome data analysis of 3389 cells from four primary IDH-WT (isocitrate dehydrogenase wild type) glioblastoma patients and compared the characteristic features of the tumor and periphery cells.

Comparative de novo transcriptome analysis identifies salinity stress responsive genes and metabolic pathways in sugarcane and its wild relative Erianthus arundinaceus [Retzius] Jeswiet.

Erianthus arundinaceus [Retzius] Jeswiet, a wild relative of sugarcane has a high biomass production potential and a reservoir of many genes for superior agronomic traits and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. A comparative physiological, anatomical and root transcriptome analysis were carried out to identify the salt-responsive genes and metabolic pathways associated with salt-tolerant E. arundinaceus genotype IND99-907 and salinity-sensitive sugarcane genotype Co 97010.

Exploring Common Therapeutic Targets for Neurodegenerative Disorders Using Transcriptome Study.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are well-known neuronal degenerative disorders that share common pathological events. Approved medications alleviate symptoms but do not address the root cause of the disease. Energy dysfunction in the neuronal population leads to various pathological events and ultimately results in neuronal death.

VEPAD - Predicting the effect of variants associated with Alzheimer's disease using machine learning.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex and heterogeneous disease that affects neuronal cells over time and it is prevalent among all neurodegenerative diseases. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques are widely used for developing high-throughput screening methods to identify biomarkers and variants, which help early diagnosis and treatments.

Objective: The primary purpose of this study is to develop a classification model using machine learning for predicting the deleterious effect of variants with respect to AD.

Neurodegenerative Diseases - Is Metabolic Deficiency the Root Cause?

Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, are a prominent class of neurological diseases currently without a cure. They are characterized by an inexorable loss of a specific type of neurons. The selective vulnerability of specific neuronal clusters (typically a subcortical cluster) in the early stages, followed by the spread of the disease to higher cortical areas, is a typical pattern of disease progression.

Identifying suitable tools for variant detection and differential gene expression using RNA-seq data.

Neurodegenerative diseases are the most predominate brain disorders around the globe and the affected populations are rapidly increasing. Recently, these diseases have been addressed using the data obtained from RNA-sequencing technology to reveal the changes in gene/transcript expression, effect of variants, and pathways involved in disease mechanisms. However, the observations mainly depend on the aligners/tools and the performance of existing RNA-seq tools on hg38 genome assembly has not yet been documented.

Investigating the energy crisis in Alzheimer disease using transcriptome study.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a devastating neurological disorder, which initiates from hippocampus and proliferates to cortical regions. The neurons of hippocampus require higher energy to preserve the firing pattern. In AD, aberrant energy metabolism is the critical factor for neurodegeneration.

Isolation and characterization of water-deficit stress-responsive α-expansin 1 () gene from complex.

In this study, full-length (1282-1330 bp) α-expansin 1 () gene from three different accessions belonging to complex (-, - and spp. hybrid-) was isolated using RAGE technique and characterized. The intronic and coding regions of isolated expansin genes ranged between 526-568 and 756-762 bp, respectively.

Comparative analysis of glyoxalase pathway genes in Erianthus arundinaceus and commercial sugarcane hybrid under salinity and drought conditions.

Background: Glyoxalase pathway is a reactive carbonyl species (RCS) scavenging mechanism involved in the detoxification of methylglyoxal (MG), which is a reactive α-ketoaldehyde. In plants under abiotic stress, the cellular toxicity is reduced through glyoxalase pathway genes, i.e.

De novo sequencing and transcriptome analysis of a low temperature tolerant Saccharum spontaneum clone IND 00-1037.

Saccharum spontaneum L., a wild relative of sugarcane, is known for its adaptability to environmental stresses, particularly cold stress. In the present study, an attempt was made for transcriptome profiling of the low temperature (10°C) tolerant S.

Larval development of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in peri-urban brackish water and its implications for transmission of arboviral diseases.

Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and Aedes albopictus Skuse mosquitoes transmit serious human arboviral diseases including yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. Females of the two species have adapted to undergo preimaginal development in natural or artificial collections of freshwater near human habitations and feed on human blood. While there is an effective vaccine against yellow fever, the control of dengue and chikungunya is mainly dependent on reducing freshwater preimaginal development habitats of the two vectors.

Prevalence and insecticide susceptibility of dengue vectors in the district of Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka.

Unprecedented incidences of dengue have been reported in Sri Lanka in recent years. The district of Batticaloa, which was devastated by the 2004 Asian tsunami, is one of the districts affected by dengue. One option to curtail this disease is to implement appropriate vector control measures.

Anopheles culicifacies breeding in brackish waters in Sri Lanka and implications for malaria control.

Background: Anopheles culicifacies is the major vector of both falciparum and vivax malaria in Sri Lanka, while Anopheles subpictus and certain other species function as secondary vectors. In Sri Lanka, An. culicifacies is present as a species complex consisting of species B and E, while An.