Publications by authors named "Jia-Wen Mo"

Lysosomes are important cellular structures for human health as centers for recycling, signaling, metabolism and stress adaptation. However, the potential role of lysosomes in stress-related emotions has long been overlooked. Here, it is found that lysosomal morphology in astrocytes is altered in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of susceptible mice after chronic social defeat stress.

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Epigenetic mechanisms bridge genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of major depression disorder (MDD). However, the cellular specificity and sensitivity of environmental stress on brain epitranscriptomics and its impact on depression remain unclear. Here, we found that ALKBH5, an RNA demethylase of N6-methyladenosine (m6A), was increased in MDD patients' blood and depression models.

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Article Synopsis
  • Major depressive disorder is increasingly prevalent and linked to issues with glucose metabolism, though the exact mechanisms remain poorly understood.
  • Uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) and the enzyme O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) are important in this context, with OGT being especially elevated in the brains of depressed individuals and in mice under stress.
  • Deleting OGT in astrocytes leads to improvements in depression-like behaviors, suggesting that targeting astrocytic OGT might offer new avenues for antidepressant therapies.
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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a devastating mental disorder that affects up to 17% of the population worldwide. Although brain-wide network-level abnormalities in MDD patients via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) exist, the mechanisms underlying these network changes are unknown, despite their immense potential for depression diagnosis and management. Here, we show that the astrocytic calcium-deficient mice, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-type-2 receptor knockout mice ( mice), display abnormal rsfMRI functional connectivity (rsFC) in depression-related networks, especially decreased rsFC in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-related pathways.

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Background: Major depressive disorder is a devastating psychiatric illness that affects approximately 17% of the population worldwide. Astrocyte dysfunction has been implicated in its pathophysiology. Traumatic experiences and stress contribute to the onset of major depressive disorder, but how astrocytes respond to stress is poorly understood.

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Article Synopsis
  • Anxiety disorders affect about 16% of the global population, and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is believed to play a significant role in anxiety regulation, though its mechanisms remain largely unexplored.
  • This study found that soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), an enzyme involved in fatty acid metabolism, is enriched in CeA neurons and, when deleted, induces anxiety-like behaviors in male mice.
  • Using advanced techniques, researchers demonstrated that sEH neurons in the CeA regulate anxiety behaviors by directly projecting to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), with activation of this pathway producing calming effects while inhibition resulted in increased anxiety.
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The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a key part of the brain networks that are closely related to the regulation of behavior, acts as a key regulator in emotion, social cognition, and decision making. Astrocytes are the majority cell type of glial cells, which play a significant role in a number of processes and establish a suitable environment for the functioning of neurons, including the brain energy metabolism. Astrocyte's dysfunction in the mPFC has been implicated in various neuropsychiatric disorders.

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