Effects of MeCP2 on chronic seizures and cognitive function in mice with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Mutations in methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) are linked to Rett syndrome, in which epilepsy is one of the most well-described disorders. However, little is known about the specific role of MeCP2 during epileptogenesis. Our previous study has demonstrated that MeCP2 has a unique control on the development of mossy fiber sprouting (MFS) in the epileptic hippocampus.

Neuronal MeCP2 in the dentate gyrus regulates mossy fiber sprouting of mice with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Sprouting of mossy fibers, one of the most consistent findings in tissue from patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, exhibits several uncommon axonal growth features and has been considered a paradigmatic example of circuit plasticity that occurs in the adult brain. Clarifying the mechanisms responsible may provide new insight into epileptogenesis as well as axon misguidance in the central nervous system. Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) binds to methylated genomic DNA to regulate a range of physiological functions implicated in neuronal development and adult synaptic plasticity.

Neuronal Glypican4 promotes mossy fiber sprouting through the mTOR pathway after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in mice.

In temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), abnormal axon guidance and synapse formation lead to sprouting of mossy fibers in the hippocampus, which is one of the most consistent pathological findings in patients and animal models with TLE. Glypican 4 (Gpc4) belongs to the heparan sulfate proteoglycan family, which play an important role in axon guidance and excitatory synapse formation. However, the role of Gpc4 in the development of mossy fibers sprouting (MFS) and its underlying mechanism remain unknown.

Changing light promotes isoflavone biosynthesis in soybean pods and enhances their resistance to mildew infection.

Mildew severely reduces soybean yield and quality, and pods are the first line of defence against pathogens. Maize-soybean intercropping (MSI) reduces mildew incidence on soybean pods; however, the mechanism remains unclear. Changing light (CL) from maize shading is the most important environmental feature in MSI.

Status epilepticus induced Gadd45b is required for augmented dentate neurogenesis.

In animal models with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the status epilepticus (SE) leads to a dramatic increase in number of newly born neuron in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of dentate gyrus. How the SE confers a modulation in the dentate neurogenesis is mostly unknown. Gadd45b is involved in epigenetic gene activation by DNA demethylation.

The neurotoxic effect of isoflurane on age-defined neurons generated from tertiary dentate matrix in mice.

Introduction: Recent animal studies showed that isoflurane exposure may lead to the disturbance of hippocampal neurogenesis and later cognitive impairment. However, much less is known about the effect of isoflurane exposure on the neurons generated form tertiary dentate matrix, even though a great increase of granule cell population during the infantile period is principally derived from this area.

Methods: To label the new cells originated from the tertiary dentate matrix, the mice were injected with BrdU on postnatal day 6 (P6).

Identification of microRNA-target genes in mice hippocampus at 1 week after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are believed to play a crucial role in the cause and treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) by controlling gene expression in different stages of the disease. To investigate role of miRNA in the latent stage following status epilepticus, we first compared microRNA expression profiles in mice hippocampus at 1 week after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) vs. controls in hippocampal tissues using Exiqon miRCURY LNA™ miRNAs Array.

Forced Physical Training Increases Neuronal Proliferation and Maturation with Their Integration into Normal Circuits in Pilocarpine Induced Status Epilepticus Mice.

Increased number of newly-born neurons produced at latent stage after status epilepticus (SE) contribute to aberrant rewiring of hippocampus and are hypothesized to promote epileptogenesis. Although physical training (PT) was reported to cause further increase in neurogenesis after SE, how PT affect their integration pattern is still elusive, whether they integrate into normal circuits or increase aberrant integrations is yet to be determined. To understand this basic mechanism by which PT effects SE and to elaborate the possible role of neuronal integrations in prognosis of SE, we evaluated the effect of 4 weeks of treadmill PT in adult male mice after pilocarpine-induced SE on behavioral and aberrant integrations' parameters.

LncRNA SNHG1 regulates cerebrovascular pathologies as a competing endogenous RNA through HIF-1α/VEGF signaling in ischemic stroke.

Studies have shown that long noncoding ribonucleic acids (lncRNAs) play critical roles in multiple biologic processes. However, the Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 1 (SNHG1) function and underlying molecular mechanisms in ischemic stroke have not yet been reported. In the present study, we found that SNHG1 expression was remarkably increased both in isolated cerebral micro-vessels of a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mice model, and in oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-cultured mice brain micro-vascular endothelial cells (BMECs), meanwhile, the SNHG1 level was negatively correlated with miR-18a in MCAO mice.

Rigid High Temperature Heat-Shrinkable Polyimide Tubes with Functionality as Reducer Couplings.

Flexible and semi-rigid heat-shrinkable tubes (HSTs) have been used in thousands of applications, and here rigid high temperature HSTs are reported for the first time. These rigid HSTs are prepared with shape memory polyimides possessing glass transition temperatures (Ts) from 182 to 295 °C, and the relationships between T and their molecular structures are studied. The polyimide HSTs (PIHSTs) can fix expanded diameters and shrink back to original diameters very well, and the mechanisms of their heat-shrinkage performance are discussed.

MicroRNA-433 Inhibits the Proliferation and Migration of HUVECs and Neurons by Targeting Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 Alpha.

Emerging evidence has demonstrated an important role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction. In the present study, a down-regulation of microRNA-433 (miR-433) is identified in hypoxia-induced human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) as well as in rat neurons, and is found to be negatively regulated cell proliferation and migration. Moreover, the expression of miR-433 is inversely correlated with the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), which has been shown to play critical role in responding to hypoxia conditions.

High Cycle-life Shape Memory Polymer at High Temperature.

High cycle-life is important for shape memory materials exposed to numerous cycles, and here we report shape memory polyimide that maintained both high shape fixity (Rf) and shape recovery (Rr) during the more than 1000 bending cycles tested. Its critical stress is 2.78 MPa at 250 °C, and the shape recovery process can produce stored energy of 0.

Correction: Optically transparent high temperature shape memory polymers.

Correction for 'Optically transparent high temperature shape memory polymers' by Xinli Xiao et al., Soft Matter, 2016, 12, 2894-2900.

Optically transparent high temperature shape memory polymers.

Optically transparent shape memory polymers (SMPs) have potential in advanced optoelectronic and other common shape memory applications, and here optically transparent shape memory polyimide is reported for the first time. The polyimide possesses a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 171 °C, higher than the Tg of other transparent SMPs reported, and the influence of molecular structure on Tg is discussed. The 120 μm thick polyimide film exhibits transmittance higher than 81% in 450-800 nm, and the possible mechanism of its high transparency is analyzed, which will benefit further research on other transparent high temperature SMPs.

Newly generated neurons at 2 months post-status epilepticus are functionally integrated into neuronal circuitry in mouse hippocampus.

Emerging evidence has linked chronic temporal lobe epilepsy to dramatically reduced neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus. However, the profile of different components of neurogenesis in the chronically epileptic hippocampus is still unclear, especially the incorporation of newly generated cells. To address the issue, newly generated cells in the sub-granular zone of the dentate gyrus were labeled by the proliferation marker bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) or retroviral vector expressing green fluorescent protein 2 months after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus.

Shape memory polymers with high and low temperature resistant properties.

High temperature shape memory polymers that can withstand the harsh temperatures for durable applications are synthesized, and the aromatic polyimide chains with flexible linkages within the backbone act as reversible phase. High molecular weight (Mn) is demanded to form physical crosslinks as fixed phase of thermoplastic shape memory polyimide, and the relationship between Mn and glass transition temperature (Tg) is explored. Thermoset shape memory polyimide shows higher Tg and storage modulus, better shape fixity than thermoplastic counterpart due to the low-density covalent crosslinking, and the influence of crosslinking on physical properties are studied.

Molecular cloning, sequence characterization and expression pattern of Rab18 gene from watermelon ().

The complete mRNA sequence of watermelon Rab18 gene was amplified through the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. The full-length mRNA was 1010 bp containing a 645 bp open reading frame, which encodes a protein of 214 amino acids. Sequence analysis revealed that watermelon Rab18 protein shares high homology with the Rab18 of cucumber (99%), muskmelon (98%), (90%), tomato (89%), wine grape (89%) and potato (88%).

Developmental profile of neurogenesis in prenatal human hippocampus: an immunohistochemical study.

Hippocampus has attracted the attention of the neuroscientists for its involvement in a wide spectrum of higher-order brain functions and pathological conditions, especially its persistent neurogenesis in subgranular zone (SGZ). The development of hippocampus was intensively investigated on animals such as rodents. However, in prenatal human hippocampus, little information on the distribution of neural stem/progenitor cells, newly generated neurons and mature neurons is available and the timetable of a series of neurogenesis event is even more obscure.

[Ventricular and subventricular zones under the frontal cortex of human fetus: development and distribution of nestin-positive cells].

Objective: To observe the morphological changes during development of the ventricular zone (VZ) and subventricular zone (SVZ) of human fetus and the distribution pattern of neural stem cells in the VA and SVZ.

Methods: Human fetuses at the gestational ages of 9-11 weeks, 14-16 weeks, 22-24 weeks and 32-36 weeks were collected, and the brain sections of the VZ/SVZ under the frontal lobe were examined for cytoarchitecture and distribution of nestin-positive cells with HE staining, immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence.

Results: The thickness of VZ underwent no significant changes at the gestational ages of 9-24 weeks (P>0.

Developmental distribution pattern of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in prenatal human hippocampus.

Objective: Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) is concentrated in zones of active neurogenesis in the prenatal and postnatal rodent brain and plays an important role in the regulation of neurogenesis. However, little is known about mGluR5 in the prenatal human brain. Here, we aimed to explore the expression pattern and cellular distribution of mGluR5 in human fetal hippocampus.

[Developmental expression and cellular distribution of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in the frontal cortex of human fetus].

Objective: To investigate the expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) and its cellular distribution in the frontal cortex, ventricular zone (VZ) and subventricular zone (SVZ) in human fetuses.

Methods: According to the gestational age, the collected fetuses were divided into 4 groups, namely 9-11 weeks, 14-16 weeks, 22-24 weeks and 32-36 weeks. Brain tissue blocks including the frontal lobe or VZ/SVZ were prepared into slices, and the expression pattern and cellular distribution of mGluR5 in the frontal cortex and VZ/SVZ were observed by immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence.

Uterine artery embolization versus surgery for symptomatic uterine fibroids: a randomized controlled trial and a meta-analysis of the literature.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy and safety of uterine artery embolization (UAE) for symptomatic uterine fibroids with surgery.

Methods: Both a randomized, controlled trial and meta-analysis of existing studies were performed.

Results: Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to undergo either UAE or surgery with 63 patients undergoing UAE and 64 undergoing surgery.