Publications by authors named "Shu-Xia Cao"

The amygdaloid complex consists of multiple nuclei and is a key node in controlling temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in both human and animal model studies. However, the specific nucleus in the amygdaloid complex and the neural circuitry governing seizures remain unknown. Here, it is discovered that activation of glutamatergic neurons in the posterior basolateral amygdala (pBLA) induces severe seizures and even mortality.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Complement activation and prefrontal cortical dysfunction both contribute to the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD), but their interplay in MDD is unclear. We here studied the role of complement C3a receptor (C3aR) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and its influence on depressive-like behaviors induced by systematic lipopolysaccharides (LPS) administration. C3aR knockout (KO) or intra-mPFC C3aR antagonism confers resilience, whereas C3aR expression in mPFC neurons makes KO mice susceptible to LPS-induced depressive-like behaviors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The ability to differentiate stimuli that predict fear is critical for survival; however, the underlying molecular and circuit mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Methods: We combined transgenic mice, in vivo transsynaptic circuit-dissecting anatomical approaches, optogenetics, pharmacological methods, and electrophysiological recording to investigate the involvement of specific extended amygdala circuits in different fear memory.

Results: We identified the projections from central lateral amygdala (CeL) protein kinase C δ (PKCδ)-positive neurons and somatostatin (SST)-positive neurons to GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) and glutamatergic neurons in the ventral part of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (vBNST).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • ErbB4 is a protein that helps control the balance of important chemicals called catecholamines in certain brain cells, but losing it can mess things up.
  • In this study, scientists looked at how ErbB4 works in cell models to see what happens to these chemicals, especially dopamine and norepinephrine.
  • They found that when ErbB4 is blocked, levels of dopamine go up, and they think this happens through a special signaling pathway called the p38 MAPK pathway, which works differently for dopamine and norepinephrine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pain is a source of substantial discomfort. Abnormal activity in both the zona incerta (ZI) and posterior complex of the thalamus (Po) are implicated in neuropathic pain, but their exact roles remain unclear. In particular, the precise cell types and molecular mechanisms of the ZI-Po circuit that regulate nociception are largely uncharacterized.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) encoded by the gene is a transcriptional regulator whose mutations cause Rett syndrome (RTT). -deficient mice show fear regulation impairment; however, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this abnormal behavior are largely uncharacterized. Here, we showed that gene deficiency in cholinergic interneurons of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) dramatically impaired fear learning.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dysfunction of the noradrenergic (NE) neurons is implicated in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder (BPD). ErbB4 is highly expressed in NE neurons, and its genetic variation has been linked to BPD; however, how ErbB4 regulates NE neuronal function and contributes to BPD pathogenesis is unclear. Here we find that conditional deletion of ErbB4 in locus coeruleus (LC) NE neurons increases neuronal spontaneous firing through NMDA receptor hyperfunction, and elevates catecholamines in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The central cholinergic nervous system plays an important role in cognition, with acetylcholine hypofunction considered to be a major factor of dementia. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A), a potent poison secreted by Clostridium botulinum, is used widely for dystonia treatment and facial cosmesis. BoNT/A injection inhibits acetylcholine release in the neuromuscular junction through cleavage of synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa in cholinergic terminals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Previous research indicated that the NRG1-ErbB4 signaling pathway affects fast-spiking neurons in the frontal cortex and is implicated in the development of primary epilepsy, but its specific function in human symptomatic epilepsy remains unclear.
  • - In this study, analysis of human epilepsy tissue revealed elevated levels of NRG1 and ErbB4 in the temporal cortex and showed that NRG1-ErbB4 signaling inhibits the phosphorylation of the GluN2B protein, which is linked to neuron excitability.
  • - The findings suggest that the NRG1-ErbB4 pathway plays a crucial role in symptomatic epilepsy, acting as a protective mechanism and differing from its role in primary epilepsy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene cause Rett syndrome (RTT), an autism spectrum disorder characterized by impaired social interactions, motor abnormalities, cognitive defects and a high risk of epilepsy. Here, we showed that conditional deletion of Mecp2 in cholinergic neurons caused part of RTT-like phenotypes, which could be rescued by re-expressing Mecp2 in the basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic neurons rather than in the caudate putamen of conditional knockout (Chat-Mecp2(-/y)) mice. We found that choline acetyltransferase expression was decreased in the BF and that α7 nicotine acetylcholine receptor signaling was strongly impaired in the hippocampus of Chat-Mecp2(-/y) mice, which is sufficient to produce neuronal hyperexcitation and increase seizure susceptibility.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Taste-active compounds, including free amino acids, succinic acid and 5'-nucleotides, and chemical components including moisture, pH, protein, crude fat, and sodium chloride were evaluated in cooked and packaged Chinese Nanjing ducks following heat treatments including control, 99 °C for 40 min, 108 °C for 20 min, 92 °C microwave followed by water heating, 95 °C for 30 min, 121 °C for 25 min. Heat treatment decreased (P < 0.05) the content of Alamine and moisture and reduced the pH value in muscle, but increased (P < 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The levels and distribution of six polycyclic musks, three nitromusks and 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in sludge collected from 19 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in six cities in Guangdong Province, China. PAHs were detected in all of the sludge samples, and the levels of the total 15 PAHs ranged from 177.2-4421.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dysfunction of fast-spiking, parvalbumin-positive (FS-PV) interneurons is implicated in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. ErbB4, a key Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) receptor, is mainly expressed in this type of interneurons, and recent studies suggest that parvalbumin interneurons are a major target of NRG1-ErbB4 signaling in adult brain. Thus, we hypothesized that downregulation of NRG1-ErbB4 signaling in FS-PV interneurons is involved in epilepsy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Electrospray-ionization MSn mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) with low-energy, collision-induced dissociation (CID) was used to establish the fragmentation behavior of sodium ion adducts of higher-carbon amino spiro-sugar derivatives. Their fragmentation pathways are proposed on the basis of the MSn studies and deuteration experiments. Some of the rings of these derivatives opened under the conditions of electrospray ionization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A review on recent applications of molecular absorption spectrophotometric method to the identification of the structures of biologic macromolecules, such as protein and nucleic acid, is presented. Molecular absorption spectrophotometric method is widely used in the structure determination of biologic macromolecules for its convenience and speed. Ultraviolet absorption spectrum (UV) can be used in the research on the mechanism of the interaction of anticancer drugs and DNA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With the assistance of phosphorus oxychloride, alpha-amino acids were assembled into homo-peptides, which were analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and multistage electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). On quenching with water or various alcohols, the reaction mixtures yielded the corresponding peptides or peptide esters, respectively. This paper reports a simple method to synthesize the homo-oligo-peptide-ester conjugated library by phosphorus oxychloride activation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF