The Comprehensive Steroidome in Complete TSPO/PBR Knockout Mice under Basal Conditions.

The 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO/PBR) is a multifunctional evolutionary highly conserved outer mitochondrial membrane protein. Decades of research has reported an obligatory role of TSPO/PBR in both mitochondrial cholesterol transport and, thus, steroid production. However, the strict dependency of steroidogenesis on TSPO/PBR has remained controversial.

The cancer-testis antigen a-kinase anchor protein 3 facilitates breast cancer progression via activation of the PTEN/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling.

The cancer-testis antigen A-kinase anchor protein 3 (AKAP3) has been shown to have a strong association with breast cancer (BC). However, its role in BC progression received scant attention. We aimed to explore the prognostic implication of aberrant AKAP3 expression for a better knowledge of BC progression and improved treatment.

Long-term diazepam treatment enhances microglial spine engulfment and impairs cognitive performance via the mitochondrial 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO).

Benzodiazepines are widely administered drugs to treat anxiety and insomnia. In addition to tolerance development and abuse liability, their chronic use may cause cognitive impairment and increase the risk for dementia. However, the mechanism by which benzodiazepines might contribute to persistent cognitive decline remains unknown.

Microgravity × Radiation: A Space Mechanobiology Approach Toward Cardiovascular Function and Disease.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in space exploration, supported by the accelerated technological advancements in the field. This has led to a new potential environment that humans could be exposed to in the very near future, and therefore an increasing request to evaluate the impact this may have on our body, including health risks associated with this endeavor. A critical component in regulating the human pathophysiology is represented by the cardiovascular system, which may be heavily affected in these extreme environments of microgravity and radiation.

Mitochondrial Translocator Protein (TSPO) Expression in the Brain After Whole Body Gamma Irradiation.

The brain's early response to low dose ionizing radiation, as may be encountered during diagnostic procedures and space exploration, is not yet fully characterized. In the brain parenchyma, the mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) is constitutively expressed at low levels by endothelial cells, and can therefore be used to assess the integrity of the brain's vasculature. At the same time, the inducible expression of TSPO in activated microglia, the brain's intrinsic immune cells, is a regularly observed early indicator of subtle or incipient brain pathology.

Control of Neuroinflammation through Radiation-Induced Microglial Changes.

Microglia, the innate immune cells of the central nervous system, play a pivotal role in the modulation of neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation has been implicated in many diseases of the CNS, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. It is well documented that microglial activation, initiated by a variety of stressors, can trigger a potentially destructive neuroinflammatory response via the release of pro-inflammatory molecules, and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.

Steric Hindrance- and Work Function-Promoted High Performance for Electrochemical CO Methanation on Antisite Defects of MoS and WS.

CO methanation from electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) is significant for sustainable environment and energy, but electrocatalysts with excellent selectivity and activity are still lacking. Selectivity is sensitive to the structure of active sites, and activity can be tailored by work function. Moreover, intrinsic active sites usually possess relatively high concentration compared to artificial ones.

Author Correction: Selective, high-contrast detection of syngeneic glioblastoma in vivo.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Effects of dietary Enteromorpha powder on reproduction-related hormones and genes during the late laying period of Zi geese.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Enteromorpha powder supplementation on reproduction-related hormones and genes in the late laying period of Zi geese.

Methods: A total of 312 (1-year-old) Zi geese with similar laying rate were randomly divided into 2 groups with 6 replicates each, each with 21 female geese and 5 male geese. The control group was fed with a basal diet and the test group was fed with a diet containing 3% Enteromorpha powder.

Selective, high-contrast detection of syngeneic glioblastoma in vivo.

Glioblastoma is a highly malignant, largely therapy-resistant brain tumour. Deep infiltration of brain tissue by neoplastic cells represents the key problem of diffuse glioma. Much current research focuses on the molecular makeup of the visible tumour mass rather than the cellular interactions in the surrounding brain tissue infiltrated by the invasive glioma cells that cause the tumour's ultimately lethal outcome.

The Translocator Protein (TSPO) in Mitochondrial Bioenergetics and Immune Processes.

The translocator protein (TSPO) is an outer mitochondrial membrane protein that is widely used as a biomarker of neuroinflammation, being markedly upregulated in activated microglia in a range of brain pathologies. Despite its extensive use as a target in molecular imaging studies, the exact cellular functions of this protein remain in question. The long-held view that TSPO plays a fundamental role in the translocation of cholesterol through the mitochondrial membranes, and thus, steroidogenesis, has been disputed by several groups with the advent of TSPO knockout mouse models.

C-type lectin-like receptor 2 and zonulin are associated with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Increased permeability and changes in gut microbiota contributed to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Zonulin is a key modulator that regulates intestinal barrier function. Peripheral platelet alterations have been involved in AD pathology.

Adaptive in vivo device for theranostics of inflammation: Real-time monitoring of interferon-γ and aspirin.

Cytokines mediate and control immune and inflammatory responses. Complex interactions exist among cytokines, inflammation, and the innate and adaptive immune responses in maintaining homeostasis, health, and well-being. On-demand, local delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs to target tissues provides an approach for more effective drug dosing while reducing the adverse effects of systemic drug delivery.

Microfluidic Actuation via 3D-Printed Molds toward Multiplex Biosensing of Cell Apoptosis.

Multiplexed analysis of biochemical analytes such as proteins, enzymes, and immune products using a microfluidic device has the potential to cut assay time, reduce sample volume, realize high-throughput, and decrease experimental error without compromising sensitivity. Despite these huge benefits, the need for expensive specialized equipment and the complex photolithography fabrication process for the multiplexed devices have, to date, prevented widespread adoption of microfluidic systems. Here, we present a simple method to fabricate a new microfluidic-based multiplexed biosensing device by taking advantage of 3D-printing.

Turn-On Fluorescence Aptasensor on Magnetic Nanobeads for Aflatoxin M1 Detection Based on an Exonuclease III-Assisted Signal Amplification Strategy.

In order to satisfy the need for sensitive detection of Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), we constructed a simple and signal-on fluorescence aptasensor based on an autocatalytic Exonuclease III (Exo III)-assisted signal amplification strategy. In this sensor, the DNA hybridization on magnetic nanobeads could be triggered by the target AFM1, resulting in the release of a single-stranded DNA to induce an Exo III-assisted signal amplification, in which numerous G-quadruplex structures would be produced and then associated with the fluorescent dye to generate significantly amplified fluorescence signals resulting in the increased sensitivity. Under the optimized conditions, this aptasensor was able to detect AFM1 with a practical detection limit of 9.

[Cu]CuCl PET imaging reveals activity of Dextran-Catechin on tumor copper homeostasis.

Given the strong clinical evidence that copper levels are significantly elevated in a wide spectrum of tumors, copper homeostasis is considered as an emerging target for anticancer drug design. Monitoring copper levels is therefore of paramount importance when assessing the efficacy of copper-targeting drugs. Herein, we investigated the activity of the copper-targeting compound Dextran-Catechin by developing a [Cu]CuCl PET imaging protocol to monitor its effect on copper homeostasis in tumors.

Variational inference with Gaussian mixture model and householder flow.

The variational auto-encoder (VAE) is a powerful and scalable deep generative model. Under the architecture of VAE, the choice of the approximate posterior distribution is one of the crucial issues, and it has a significant impact on tractability and flexibility of the VAE. Generally, latent variables are assumed to be normally distributed with a diagonal covariance matrix, however, it is not flexible enough to match the true complex posterior distribution.

Cellular Sources and Regional Variations in the Expression of the Neuroinflammatory Marker Translocator Protein (TSPO) in the Normal Brain.

The inducible expression of the mitochondrial translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) by activated microglia is a prominent, regular feature of acute and chronic-progressive brain pathology. This expression is also the rationale for the continual development of new TSPO binding molecules for the diagnosis of "neuroinflammation" by molecular imaging. However, there is in the normal brain an ill-defined, low-level constitutive expression of TSPO.

BAMLET kills chemotherapy-resistant mesothelioma cells, holding oleic acid in an activated cytotoxic state.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with poor prognosis. Here we have investigated in vitro efficacy of BAMLET and BLAGLET complexes (anti-cancer complexes consisting of oleic acid and bovine α-lactalbumin or β-lactoglobulin respectively) in killing mesothelioma cells, determined BAMLET and BLAGLET structures, and investigated possible biological mechanisms. We performed cell viability assays on 16 mesothelioma cell lines.

DNA physical properties outperform sequence compositional information in classifying nucleosome-enriched and -depleted regions.

The nucleosome is the fundamental structural unit of eukaryotic chromatin and plays an essential role in the epigenetic regulation of cellular processes, such as DNA replication, recombination, and transcription. Hence, it is important to identify nucleosome positions in the genome. Our previous model based on DNA deformation energy, in which a set of DNA physical descriptors was used, performed well in predicting nucleosome dyad positions and occupancy.

Sifting through the surfeit of neuroinflammation tracers.

The first phase of molecular brain imaging of microglial activation in neuroinflammatory conditions began some 20 years ago with the introduction of [C]-( R)-PK11195, the prototype isoquinoline ligand for translocator protein (18 kDa) (TSPO). Investigations by positron emission tomography (PET) revealed microgliosis in numerous brain diseases, despite the rather low specific binding signal imparted by [C]-( R)-PK11195. There has since been enormous expansion of the repertoire of TSPO tracers, many with higher specific binding, albeit complicated by allelic dependence of the affinity.

Calcium-axonemal microtubuli interactions underlie mechanism(s) of primary cilia morphological changes.

We have used cell culture of astrocytes aligned within microchannels to investigate calcium effects on primary cilia morphology. In the absence of calcium and in the presence of flow of media (10 μL.s) the majority (90%) of primary cilia showed reversible bending with an average curvature of 2.