Whole-brain mapping of monosynaptic afferent inputs to the CRH neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex of mice.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons are densely distributed in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which plays a crucial role in integrating and processing emotional and cognitive inputs from other brain regions. Therefore, it is important to know the neural afferent patterns of mPFC neurons, which are still unclear. Here, we utilized a rabies virus-based monosynaptic retrograde tracing system to map the presynaptic afferents of the mPFC neurons throughout the entire brain.

Corticotropin-releasing factor is involved in acute stress-induced analgesia and antipruritus.

Background: Under the condition of stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) is activated and causes the secretion of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). Previous studies have demonstrated that CRF is involved in the regulation of pain and itch. Thus, it remains worthy to explore whether the desensitization of pain and itch under high-intensity acute stress (such as high fear and tension) is related to the sharp increase of CRF.

Down-regulation of alpha-2u globulin in renal mitochondria of STZ-induced diabetic rats observed by a proteomic method.

Aim: To identify the changes of mitochondrial protein expression in diabetic renal parenchyma and to characterize their molecular functions and biological processes in diabetes.

Methods: Mitochondrial proteins extracted from renal parenchyma mitochondria of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and normal rats were separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Results: Eleven proteins from 533 visualized protein spots displayed significant different expressions in mitochondria of diabetic kidneys compared with those in normal ones.

Differences in expression of retinal proteins between diabetic and normal rats.

Aim: To compare and identify the differences in expression of retinal proteins between normal and diabetic rats, and to analyze the molecular pathogenetic mechanisms of retinal diseases caused by diabetes.

Methods: Changes in protein expression of retinal tissues from diabetic and normal rats were observed using 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Some protein spots exhibiting statistically significant variations (P<0.

Comparative proteome analysis of breast cancer and adjacent normal breast tissues in human.

Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS), incorporated with online database searching, were performed to investigate differential proteins of breast cancer and adjacent normal breast tissues. Considering that serum albumin is abundantly presented in normal control samples, 15 differential spots detected in 11 out of 12 (91.7%) breast cancer samples were identified by online SIENA-2DPAGE database searching and MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS analysis.