Chemogenetic activation of astrocytes modulates sleep-wakefulness states in a brain region-dependent manner.

Study Objectives: Astrocytes change their intracellular calcium (Ca) concentration during sleep/wakefulness states in mice. Furthermore, the Ca dynamics in astrocytes vary depending on the brain region. However, it remains unclear whether alterations in astrocyte activity can affect sleep-wake states and cortical oscillations in a brain region-dependent manner.

The periosteum provides a stromal defence against cancer invasion into the bone.

The periosteum is the layer of cells that covers nearly the entire surface of every bone. Upon infection, injury or malignancy the bone surface undergoes new growth-the periosteal reaction-but the mechanism and physiological role of this process remain unknown. Here we show that the periosteal reaction protects against cancer invasion into the bone.

The noncanonical function of borealin, a component of chromosome passenger complex, promotes glycolysis via stabilization of survivin in squamous cell carcinoma cells.

The chromosome passenger complex (CPC) is a kinase complex formed by Aurora B, borealin, survivin and inner centromere protein (INCENP). The CPC is active during mitosis and contributes to proper chromosome segregation via the phosphorylation of various substrates. Overexpression of each CPC component has been reported in most cancers.

Lenvatinib and selpercatinib successfully treated RET fusion gene-positive papillary thyroid carcinoma cardiac metastases: a case report.

Background: Cardiac metastasis from thyroid cancer is rare and has an extremely poor prognosis. Although some patients who undergo heart surgery survive, the therapeutic effectiveness of systemic therapy is limited.

Case Description: A 53-year-old woman with a history of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) presented with cough and right chest discomfort.

Pontine Waves Accompanied by Short Hippocampal Sharp Wave-Ripples During Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep.

Ponto-geniculo-occipital or pontine (P) waves have long been recognized as an electrophysiological signature of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. However, P-waves can be observed not just during REM sleep, but also during non-REM (NREM) sleep. Recent studies have uncovered that P-waves are functionally coupled with hippocampal sharp wave ripples (SWRs) during NREM sleep.

CD4 T-cell-dependent differentiation of CD23 follicular B cells contributes to the pulmonary pathology in a primary Sjögren's syndrome mouse model.

Introduction: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects the function of exocrine glands, such as the lacrimal and the salivary glands. Extraglandular lesions and malignant lymphoma also occur during the progressive stage of pSS. We have, herein, focused on the pulmonary lesions of pSS and have aimed clarifying their pathophysiological mechanism by comparing the glandular with the extraglandular lesions observed in a mouse model of pSS.

Cancer cell-derived novel periostin isoform promotes invasion in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

It recently has been reported that partial-epithelial-mesenchymal transition (p-EMT) program is associated with metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We previously have identified POSTN (which encodes periostin) as an invasion-promoting molecule in HNSCC. Interestingly, POSTN expression is frequently observed in cancer cells with higher p-EMT score by using a previous single-cell transcriptomic data of HNSCC cases.

Is preoperative glenoid defect size a reliable indicator of postoperative recurrence after arthroscopic Bankart repair in teenage competitive athletes?

Background: Being younger than 20 years of age at the time of arthroscopic Bankart repair (ABR) is known to be one of the most important risk factors for postoperative recurrence of instability. When deciding on the appropriate surgical approach, surgeons generally consider only the size of a critical glenoid defect, and most of them do not take into account factors such as the size of bone fragments and possible bone union after arthroscopic bony Bankart repair (ABBR). Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to clarify the risk factors for postoperative recurrence after ABR in teenage competitive athletes by focusing on glenoid rim morphologies and bone union.

What are the neural mechanisms and physiological functions of dreams?

Dreams are mental experiences, including perceptions, thoughts, and emotions, that occur during sleep. In dreams, hallucinatory perceptions, particularly visual and motoric, are often accompanied by negative emotions. When people dream, they perceive them as real even though they are bizarre and distorted in time and space.

Unrecognized glenoid fracture in opposite shoulders with symptomatic anterior instability.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of unrecognized glenoid fracture in opposite shoulders with symptomatic anterior instability.

Methods: Participants were 38 patients, who had complaints of instability on only one side (symptomatic shoulder) and had no complaints despite of a glenoid fracture on the other shoulder (asymptomatic shoulder) from 2011 to 2020. Factors that could influence the onset of symptoms including glenoid rim morphology were retrospectively investigated.

Disturbed natural killer cell homeostasis in the salivary gland enhances autoimmune pathology IFN-γ in a mouse model of primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), including natural killer (NK) cells, ILC1, ILC2, lymphoid tissue-inducer (LTi) cells, and ILC3 cell, play a key role in various immune responses. Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of exocrine glands, such as the lacrimal and salivary glands (SGs). The role of NK cells among ILCs in the pathogenesis of pSS is still unclear.

Virus Infections Play Crucial Roles in the Pathogenesis of Sjögren's Syndrome.

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease especially targeting exocrine glands, such as the salivary and lacrimal glands. A radical therapy for SS based on its etiology has not been established because of the complex pathogenesis of the disease. Several studies have demonstrated a relationship between virus infection and SS pathogenesis.

Lateral habenula glutamatergic neurons projecting to the dorsal raphe nucleus promote aggressive arousal in mice.

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is known to control aggressive behavior in mice. Here, we found that glutamatergic projections from the lateral habenula (LHb) to the DRN were activated in male mice that experienced pre-exposure to a rival male mouse ("social instigation") resulting in heightened intermale aggression. Both chemogenetic and optogenetic suppression of the LHb-DRN projection blocked heightened aggression after social instigation in male mice.

Pituitary luteinizing hormone synthesis starts in aromatase (cyp19a1b)-positive cells expressing esr1 and esr2b at the onset of puberty in Takifugu rubripes (fugu).

Unlike mammals, teleost fish have high aromatase activity (AA) in the pituitary. However, the cells responsible for oestradiol synthesis and the local physiological roles of this hormone remain unclear. Hence, we investigated the effects of age and development on steroidogenic activity, mRNA expression, and cyp19a1b localization in the pituitary gland of the Japanese pufferfish Takifugu rubripes.

Protective effects of resveratrol against 5-fluorouracil-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in human keratinocytes.

Although 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is currently used as an anti-cancer chemotherapy, adverse effects such as oral mucositis potentially limit its clinical application. Additionally, the prevention of 5-FU-induced side effects are scarce. Resveratrol is known to decrease oxidative damage and inflammation.

Association between Sleep, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's Disease.

The majority of neurodegenerative diseases are pathologically associated with protein misfolding and aggregation. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a type of dementia that slowly affects memory and cognitive function, and is characterized by the aggregation of the β-amyloid protein and tau neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder typically resulting in rigidity and tremor, which is pathologically linked to the aggregation of α-synuclein, particularly in dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain.

Region-Specific and State-Dependent Astrocyte Ca Dynamics during the Sleep-Wake Cycle in Mice.

Neural activity is diverse, and varies depending on brain regions and sleep/wakefulness states. However, whether astrocyte activity differs between sleep/wakefulness states, and whether there are differences in astrocyte activity among brain regions remain poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, we recorded astrocyte intracellular calcium (Ca) concentrations of mice during sleep/wakefulness states in the cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and pons using fiber photometry.

Formation of Autoimmune Lesions Is Independent of Antibiotic Treatment in NOD Mice.

The relationship between autoimmunity and changes in intestinal microbiota is not yet fully understood. In this study, the role of intestinal microbiota in the onset and progression of autoimmune lesions in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice was evaluated by administering antibiotics to alter their intestinal microenvironment. Flow cytometric analysis of spleen cells showed that antibiotic administration did not change the proportion or number of T and B cells in NOD mice, and pathological analysis demonstrated that autoimmune lesions in the salivary glands and in the pancreas were also not affected by antibiotic administration.

Elucidation of Neural Circuits Involved in the Regulation of Sleep/Wakefulness Using Optogenetics.

Although sleep is an absolutely essential physiological phenomenon for maintaining normal health in animals, little is known about its function to date. In this section, I introduce the application of optogenetics to freely behaving animals for the purpose of characterizing neural circuits involved in the regulation of sleep/wakefulness. Applying optogenetics to the specific neurons involved in sleep/wakefulness regulation enabled the precise control of the sleep/wakefulness states between wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and REM sleep states.

APC/C is required for the termination of chromosomal passenger complex activity upon mitotic exit.

During mitosis, the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) ensures the faithful transmission of the genome. The CPC is composed of the enzymatic component Aurora B (AURKB) and the three regulatory and targeting components borealin, INCENP, and survivin (also known as BIRC5). Although the CPC is known to be involved in diverse mitotic events, it is still unclear how CPC function terminates after mitosis.

Intracellular ATP levels in mouse cortical excitatory neurons varies with sleep-wake states.

Whilst the brain is assumed to exert homeostatic functions to keep the cellular energy status constant under physiological conditions, this has not been experimentally proven. Here, we conducted in vivo optical recordings of intracellular concentration of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), the major cellular energy metabolite, using a genetically encoded sensor in the mouse brain. We demonstrate that intracellular ATP levels in cortical excitatory neurons fluctuate in a cortex-wide manner depending on the sleep-wake states, correlating with arousal.

Prognostic value of partial EMT-related genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by a bioinformatic analysis.

Objective: Recent studies have revealed that the ability of cancer cells to undergo intermediate state of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), partial EMT (p-EMT), poses a higher metastatic risk rather than complete EMT. Here, we examined the prognostic value of p-EMT-related genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) by bioinformatic approaches.

Materials And Methods: We used RNA-seq data of 519 primary HNSCC cases obtained from TCGA database.