Publications by authors named "Ni Tong"

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a complex psychiatric disorder presenting challenges for characterization. The current study aimed to identify and evaluate disease-responsive essential genes (DREGs) to enhance the molecular characterization of SCZ. RNA-sequencing data from PsychENCODE (536 SCZ patients, 832 controls) and peripheral blood transcriptome data from 144 recruited subjects (59 SCZ patients, 6 non-SCZ psychiatric patients, 79 controls) are analyzed.

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The dopamine D3 receptor (D3R), principally confined to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), is involved in regulating natural and drug rewards; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the associated process remain unclear. Earlier research has reported the concurrent influence of D3R and miR-29c expressed in the NAc on methamphetamine (METH)-induced reward behaviors and microglial activation, hinting at regulatory roles in reward processing. Herein, we performed viral manipulation-mediating D3R/miR-29c overexpression and inhibition in the whole NAc in male D3R knockout and wild-type mice to investigate this potential relationship.

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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists studied how methamphetamine (METH) affects memory in mice and found it messes with their learning abilities.
  • They created models to see how METH changes brain cells and discovered that METH causes inflammation in the brain early on, but this doesn’t get worse with more doses.
  • The researchers believe that even though the inflammation might not get worse, certain molecules linked to it stick around and are connected to the mice’s bad behavior, suggesting that treating inflammation could help with problems caused by METH.
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Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is a pervasive gaseous pollutant that emits the characteristic odor of rotten gas, even at low concentrations. It is generated during various industrial processes, including petroleum and natural gas refining, mining operations, wastewater treatment activities, and refuse disposal practices. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), over 70 occupations are exposed to HS, rendering it a key monitoring factor in occupational disease detection.

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Pathogens can not only cause infectious diseases, immune system diseases, and chronic diseases, but also serve as potential triggers or initiators for certain tumors. They directly or indirectly damage human health and are one of the leading causes of global deaths. Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) modification, a type of protein post-translational modification (PTM) that occurs when SUMO groups bond covalently to particular lysine residues on substrate proteins, plays a crucial role in both innate and adaptive immunologic responses, as well as pathogen-host immune system crosstalk.

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A novel fluorescent dye molecule - triphenylamine (TPA)-benzothiazole (BZT) - based on excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) was prepared by the Suzuki coupling reaction. The photophysical property assay indicates that BZT-TPA appeared in distinguishable colors in mixed solvents with different water contents. Moreover, BZT-TPA exhibited observable AIE behavior.

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Locust (Locusta migratoria) has a single striated muscle myosin heavy chain (Mhc) gene, which contains 5 clusters of alternative exclusive exons and 1 differently included penultimate exon. The alternative exons of Mhc gene encode 4 distinct regions in the myosin motor domain, that is, the N-terminal SH3-like domain, one lip of the nucleotide-binding pocket, the relay, and the converter. Here, we investigated the role of the alternative regions on the motor function of locust muscle myosin.

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Two novel bis-tridentate imidazole derivatives were conveniently synthesized using a 'one-pot' method. Their dinuclear (CuLCl, CuLCl) and mononuclear (CuLCl, CuLCl∙HO) copper (II) complexes were synthesized to comparably evaluate their reactivities in the hydrolytic cleavage of 2-hydroxypropyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNP) as a classic RNA model. Single crystals of CuLCl and CuLCl indicate that both of them are centrosymmetric, and each central copper ion is penta-coordinated.

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Infantile primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is the most devastating primary hyperoxaluria (PH) subtype as it leads to early end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) associated with high mortality. We report a case of a three-month-old female Chinese infant who was diagnosed with PH1 by renal biopsy and genetic studies. She carried two heterozygous mutations in the alanine-glyoxylate and serine pyruvate aminotransferase (AGXT) gene, one of which has never been previously reported.

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Background & Aims: Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) is a global health issue characterised by an incomplete understanding of its pathogenesis and unsatisfactory therapies. NEK7 plays critical roles in both cell cycle regulation and inflammation. In the present study, we investigated the role and mechanism of NEK7 in APAP-induced ALI.

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Methamphetamine (METH), a widely abused stimulant drug, induces psychosis in approximately half of abusers; this effect is becoming a major concern for society. Although the Notch1 signalling pathway has been shown to play a part in the pathogenesis of some psychiatric disorders, its role in METH-induced psychosis (MIP) is still unknown. Here, the METH-induced locomotor sensitization model in rodents is considered to represent the underlying neurochemical changes driving psychoses.

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Reperfusion therapy, the standard treatment for acute myocardial infarction (MI), can trigger necrotic death of cardiomyocytes and provoke ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiomyocyte death remain largely unknown. The abnormal expression of lncRNA MIR22HG has been found in types of diseases.

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Purpose: Cerebral ischemia is related to insufficient blood supply and is characterized by abnormal reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell apoptosis. Previous studies have revealed a key role for basic helix-loop-helix family member e40 (Bhlhe40) in oxidative stress and cell apoptosis. This study aimed to investigate the roles of miR-494-3p in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

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Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM, World Health Organization [WHO] grade IV) is one of the malignant Central Nerve System (CNS) tumors with high incidence rate and poor prognosis. The use of alkylating agents, such as temozolomide (TMZ), has been the main method of cytotoxic therapy for glioma patients for decades. However, TMZ resistance may be one of the major reasons for treatment failure, so far.

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Tumor microenvironment (TME) is the cornerstone of the occurrence, development, invasion and diffusion of the malignant central nerve system (CNS) tumor, glioma. As the largest number of inflammatory cells in glioma TME, tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) and their secreted factors are indispensable to the progression of glioma, which is a well-known immunologically "cold" tumor, including the growth of tumor cells, invasion, migration, angiogenesis, cancer immunosuppression and metabolism. TAMs intimately interface with the treatment failure and poor prognosis of glioma patients, and their density increases with increasing glioma grade.

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Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder with high heritability and complex inheritance. In the past decade, successful identification of numerous susceptibility loci has provided useful insights into the molecular etiology of SCZ. However, applications of these findings to clinical classification and diagnosis, risk prediction, or intervention for SCZ have been limited, and elucidating the underlying genomic and molecular mechanisms of SCZ is still challenging.

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Background: Renal stone disease (RSD) is a common disease of the human urinary system and is regarded as a multifactorial condition affected by environmental and genetic factors. RGS14 encodes a complex scaffolding protein, known as regulator of G protein signaling 14, which is enriched in hippocampal area CA2 dendritic spines.

Aim Of The Study: We aimed to investigate the association between genetic polymorphisms in RGS14 and the risk of RSD based on a large sample of the Chinese Han population.

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Phenamacril is a -specific fungicide used for head blight management. The target of phenamacril is FgMyo1, the sole class I myosin in . The point mutation S217L in FgMyo1 is responsible for the high resistance of to phenamacril.

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Methamphetamine (METH) -induced behavioral sensitization depends on long-term neuroplasticity in the mesolimbic dopamine system, especially in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). miR-128, a brain enriched miRNA, was found to have abilities in regulating neuronal excitability and formation of fear-extinction memory. Here, we aim to identify the role of miR-128 on METH-induced locomotor sensitization of male mice.

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WBP1L is a target of microRNA 137 (miR-137) and has been considered a candidate gene for schizophrenia (SCZ). To investigate the relationships between WBP1L and SCZ and its related symptom scales, a total of 5,993 Chinese Han subjects, including 2,128 SCZ patients and 3,865 controls, were enrolled. In addition, an independent sample set for replication study including 1,052 SCZ patients and 2,124 controls were also recruited.

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The SNAP25 gene is involved in the development of antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG) or metabolic syndrome during antipsychotics use in Americans and Europeans, but its role in Asians remains unknown. To identify common variants in SNAP25 associated with schizophrenia and evaluate their effects on AIWG and antipsychotic responses in Han Chinese individuals with schizophrenia, we conducted a two-stage case-control study of 3,243 patients and 6,154 healthy controls. 2128 inpatients in the replication stage have received conventional treatment with an antipsychotic monotherapy (Haloperidol, Olanzapine or Risperidone) for 10 weeks at least.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are gene expression regulators that play an important role in drug addiction. We previously reported miR-204-3p was the only up-regulated miRNA in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in methamphetamine (METH)-sensitized mice. In this study, we are reporting a miR-204-3p potential mechanism in METH sensitization.

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