Modeling late-onset Alzheimer's disease neuropathology via direct neuronal reprogramming.

Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is the most common form of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, modeling sporadic LOAD that endogenously captures hallmark neuronal pathologies such as amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, tau tangles, and neuronal loss remains an unmet need. We demonstrate that neurons generated by microRNA (miRNA)-based direct reprogramming of fibroblasts from individuals affected by autosomal dominant AD (ADAD) and LOAD in a three-dimensional environment effectively recapitulate key neuropathological features of AD.

Reducing chlorophyll levels in seed-filling stages results in higher seed nitrogen without impacting canopy carbon assimilation.

Chlorophyll is the major light-absorbing pigment for plant photosynthesis. While evolution has been selected for high chlorophyll content in leaves, previous work suggests that domesticated crops grown in modern high-density agricultural environments overinvest in chlorophyll production, thereby lowering light use and nitrogen use efficiency. To investigate the potential benefits of reducing chlorophyll levels, we created ethanol-inducible RNAi tobacco mutants that suppress Mg-chelatase subunit I (CHLI) with small RNA within 3 h of induction and reduce chlorophyll within 5 days in field conditions.

Elevated pCO alleviates the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoparticles on the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica.

Concerns about the environmental effects of nanoplastics on marine ecosystems are increasing. Ocean acidification (OA) has also become a global environmental problem. Plastic pollution occurs concomitantly with anthropogenic climate stressors such as OA.

Endogenous recapitulation of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology through human 3D direct neuronal reprogramming.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects elderly individuals, and is characterized by hallmark neuronal pathologies including extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque deposition, intracellular tau tangles, and neuronal death. However, recapitulating these age-associated neuronal pathologies in patient-derived neurons has remained a significant challenge, especially for late-onset AD (LOAD), the most common form of the disorder. Here, we applied the high efficiency microRNA-mediated direct neuronal reprogramming of fibroblasts from AD patients to generate cortical neurons in three-dimensional (3D) Matrigel and self-assembled neuronal spheroids.

Genome-wide analysis of G-quadruplex in Spodoptera frugiperda.

Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a globally distributed lepidopteran crop pest that has developed resistance to most insecticides. The G-quadruplex (G4) is a secondary structure in the genome enriched in the promoters for regulating gene expression. However, little is known about G4 in S.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus epidemic and classical strains in IPEC-J2 cells.

In recent years, porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) has become widespread and caused huge economic losses for the global pig industry. There is growing evidence that frequent outbreaks of diarrhea are caused by the variants of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) with high pathogenicity. Herein, an epidemic strain of PEDV HLJ strain was isolated and characterized from Heilongjiang Province of China, and the whole genomic expression profile of intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) infected with HLJ strain was investigated in comparison with classical CV777 strain.

Molecular Characterization of Infectious Bronchitis Virus Strain HH06 Isolated in a Poultry Farm in Northeastern China.

Spike (S) glycoprotein is an important virulent factor for coronaviruses (CoVs), and variants of CoVs have been characterized based on S gene analysis. We present phylogenetic relationship of an isolated infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strain with reference to the available genome and protein sequences based on network, multiple sequence, selection pressure, and evolutionary fingerprinting analysis in People's Republic of China. One hundred and elven strains of CoVs i.

Hypericin Inhibit Alpha-Coronavirus Replication by Targeting 3CL Protease.

The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an (α-CoV) that causes high mortality in infected piglets, resulting in serious economic losses in the farming industry. Hypericin is a dianthrone compound that has been shown as an antiviral activity on several viruses. Here, we first evaluated the antiviral effect of hypericin in PEDV and found the viral replication and egression were significantly reduced with hypericin post-treatment.

Integrating Transcriptomics and Metabolomics to Characterize Metabolic Regulation to Elevated CO in Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii.

With atmospheric CO increasing, a large amount of CO is absorbed by oceans and lakes, which changes the carbonate system and affects the survival of aquatic plants, especially microalgae. The main aim of our study was to explore the responses of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlorophyceae) to elevated CO by combined transcriptome and metabolome analysis under three different scenarios: control (CK, 400 ppm), short-term elevated CO (ST, 1000 ppm), and long-term elevated CO (LT, 1000 ppm). The transcriptomic data showed moderate changes between ST and CK.

Analysis of chicken macrophage functions and gene expressions following infectious bronchitis virus M41 infection.

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is a pathogenic coronavirus with high morbidity and mortality in chicken breeding. Macrophages with normal biofunctions are essential for host immune responses. In this study, the HD11 chicken macrophage cell line and chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cell-derived macrophages (PBMCs-Mφ) were infected with IBV at multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 10.

Infectious bronchitis virus: Identification of Gallus gallus APN high-affinity ligands with antiviral effects.

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is a coronavirus, causes infectious bronchitis (IB) with high morbidity and mortality, and gives rise to huge economic losses for the poultry industry. Aminopeptidase N (APN) may be one of the IBV functional receptors. In this study, Gallus gallus APN (gAPN) protein was screened by phage-displayed 12-mer peptide library.

A Staphylococcus pro-apoptotic peptide induces acute exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and fatal disease of unknown etiology; however, apoptosis of lung alveolar epithelial cells plays a role in disease progression. This intractable disease is associated with increased abundance of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus in the lungs, yet their roles in disease pathogenesis remain elusive. Here, we report that Staphylococcus nepalensis releases corisin, a peptide conserved in diverse staphylococci, to induce apoptosis of lung epithelial cells.

Antiviral Activity Against Infectious Bronchitis Virus and Bioactive Components of L.

L., also known as , has been well studied for its chemical composition and pharmacological activity. In this study, the antiviral activities of on infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were evaluated and for the first time.

Protective effects of hypericin against infectious bronchitis virus induced apoptosis and reactive oxygen species in chicken embryo kidney cells.

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a coronavirus, causes infectious bronchitis leading to enormous economic loss in the poultry industry worldwide. Hypericin (HY) is an excellent compound that has been investigated in antiviral, antineoplastic, and antidepressant. To investigate the inhibition effect of HY on IBV infection in chicken embryo kidney (CEK) cells, 3 different experimental designs: pre-treatment of cells prior to IBV infection, direct treatment of IBV-infected cells, and pre-treatment of IBV prior to cell infection were used.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus inhibits dsRNA-induced interferon-β production in porcine intestinal epithelial cells by blockade of the RIG-I-mediated pathway.

Background: The lack of optimal porcine cell lines has severely impeded the study and progress in elucidation of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) pathogenesis. Vero cell, an African green monkey kidney cell line, was often used to isolate and propagate PEDV. Nonetheless, the target cells of PEDV in vivo are intestinal epithelial cells, during infection, intestinal epithelia would be damaged and resulted in digestive disorders.

Phage display for identifying peptides that bind the spike protein of transmissible gastroenteritis virus and possess diagnostic potential.

The spike (S) protein of porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is located within the viral envelope and is the only structural protein that possesses epitopes capable of inducing virus-neutralizing antibodies. Among the four N-terminal antigenic sites A, B, C, and D, site A and to a lesser extent site D (S-AD) induce key neutralizing antibodies. Recently, we expressed S-AD (rS-AD) in recombinant form.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infection induces NF-κB activation through the TLR2, TLR3 and TLR9 pathways in porcine intestinal epithelial cells.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a coronavirus that induces persistent diarrhoea in swine, resulting in severe economic losses in swine-producing countries. Insights into the interplay between PEDV infection and the innate immune system are necessary for understanding the associated mechanism of pathogenesis. The transcription factor NF-κB plays an important role in regulating host immune responses.

Antiviral effect of diammonium glycyrrhizinate on cell infection by porcine parvovirus.

Porcine parvovirus (PPV) can cause reproductive failure in swine, resulting in economic losses to the industry. Antiviral effects of diammonium glycyrrhizinate (DG) have been reported on several animal viruses; however, to date it has yet to be tested on PPV. In this study, the antiviral activity of DG on swine testis (ST) cell infection by PPV was investigated using an empirically determined, non-toxic concentration of DG and three different experimental designs: (1) pre-treatment of virus prior to infection; (2) pre-treatment of cells prior to infection; and (3) direct treatment of virus-infected cells.

Evolution and homologous recombination of the hemagglutinin-esterase gene sequences from porcine torovirus.

The objective of the present study was to gain new insights into the evolution, homologous recombination, and selection pressures imposed on the porcine torovirus (PToV), by examining the changes in the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) gene. The most recent common ancestor of PToV was estimated to have emerged 62 years ago based upon HE gene sequence data obtained from PToV isolates originating from Spain, South Korea, Netherlands, Hungary, and Italy and using the HE gene of Bovine torovirus isolates Niigata1 (AB661456) and Niigata3 (AB661458) as outgroups. The HE gene sequence data segregated all the PToV isolates into two well-supported monophyletic groups; however, various isolates from Spain, Italy, and South Korea did not segregate geographically suggesting very recent translocation of the viruses to these localities.

Phages bearing affinity peptides to severe acute respiratory syndromes-associated coronavirus differentiate this virus from other viruses.

Background: Transmission of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is now well controlled, nevertheless, it is important to develop effective methods to identify this virus from other pathogens.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify potential ligands and develop a novel diagnostic test to SARS-CoV using phage display technology.

Study Design: The SARS-CoV spike 1 (S1) protein containing the receptor binding region (RBD) was used as an immobilized target followed by incubation with a 12-mer phage display random peptide library.

Phylogeny and expression of the nucleocapsid gene of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus.

Porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) is one of the important pathogens that may cause severe diarrhoea in piglets. In this study, the nucleocapsid (N) gene of a Chinese PEDV isolate designated HLJBY was cloned. The phylogeny of PEDV strains was investigated by constructing a phylogenetic tree based on the N protein sequences.

Monoclonal antibody against membrane protein of transmissible gastroenteritis virus.

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is a porcine coronavirus that can cause piglet diarrhea with high mortality rates. TGEV membrane (M) protein not only plays a vital role in the process of virus assembly and budding, but also induces the production of interferon-α during infection. In this study, a monoclonal antibody (MAb) designated 7G7, against the TGEV M protein was generated by inoculating BALB/c mice with TGEV followed by hybridoma technique.

Evaluation on the efficacy and immunogenicity of recombinant DNA plasmids expressing spike genes from porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus.

Porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PDEV) can cause severe diarrhea in pigs. Development of effective vaccines against TGEV and PEDV is one of important prevention measures. The spike (S) protein is the surface glycoprotein of TGEV and PEDV, which can induce specific neutralization antibodies and is a candidate antigen for vaccination attempts.