CofActor: A light- and stress-gated optogenetic clustering tool to study disease-associated cytoskeletal dynamics in living cells.

The hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases, including neural fibrils, reactive oxygen species, and cofilin-actin rods, present numerous challenges in the development of diagnostic tools. Biomarkers such as β-amyloid (Aβ) fibrils and Tau tangles in Alzheimer's disease are accessible only via invasive cerebrospinal fluid assays, and reactive oxygen species can be fleeting and challenging to monitor Although remaining a challenge for detection, the protein-protein interactions underlying these disease-specific biomarkers present opportunities for the engineering of pathology-sensitive biosensors. These tools can be useful for investigating early stage events in neurodegenerative diseases in both cellular and animal models and may lead to clinically useful reagents.

Effects of Gene Knockout on Behaviors and Dopaminergic Markers in Mice Exposed to Social Defeat Stress.

Stathmin (), a microtubule-destabilizing factor, can regulate fear, anxiety, and learning. Social defeat stress (SDS) has detrimental effects on mental health and increases the risk of various psychiatric diseases. This study investigated the effects of gene knockout (KO) on behavioral parameters and dopaminergic markers using an SDS mouse model.

Metabolite signature associated with stress susceptibility in socially defeated mice.

Objective: Social defeat represents a naturalistic form of conditioned fear and is often used as an animal model of depression. The present study aimed to identify the neurochemicals in select brain regions of mice exposed to social defeat stress.

Methods: Adult C57BL/6N mice were subjected social defeat stress for 10 days.

Effects of social defeat stress on dopamine D2 receptor isoforms and proteins involved in intracellular trafficking.

Background: Chronic social defeat stress induces depression and anxiety-like behaviors in rodents and also responsible for differentiating defeated animals into stress susceptible and resilient groups. The present study investigated the effects of social defeat stress on a variety of behavioral parameters like social behavior, spatial learning and memory and anxiety like behaviors. Additionally, the levels of various dopaminergic markers, including the long and short form of the D2 receptor, and total and phosphorylated dopamine and cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate regulated phosphoprotein-32, and proteins involved in intracellular trafficking were assessed in several key brain regions in young adult mice.

Longer Telomere Length of T lymphocytes in Patients with Early and Chronic Psychosis.

Objective: To investigate pathological conditions that act as sources of pro-inflammatory cytokines and cytotoxic substances to examine telomere length (TL) in patients with either early (duration of illness [DI] ≤5 years) or chronic (DI >5 years) psychosis using T lymphocytes.

Methods: Based on these factors and the important role that T lymphocytes play in inflammation, the present study measured the TL of T lymphocytes in patients with either early or chronic psychosis. Additionally, smoking, metabolic syndrome, depression, and cognitive functioning were assessed to control for confounding effects.