Nuclear calcium signaling in D1 receptor-expressing neurons of the nucleus accumbens regulates molecular, cellular and behavioral adaptations to cocaine.

Background: The persistence of cocaine-evoked adaptations relies on gene regulations within the reward circuit, especially in the ventral striatum (i.e., nucleus accumbens (NAc)).

Honey bees rely on associative stimulus strength after training on an olfactory transitive inference task.

Transitive inference, the ability to establish hierarchical relationships between stimuli, is typically tested by training with premise pairs (e.g., A + B-, B + C-, C + D-, D + E-), which establishes a stimulus hierarchy (A > B > C > D > E).

The adaptor protein Miro1 modulates horizontal transfer of mitochondria in mouse melanoma models.

Recent research has shown that mtDNA-deficient cancer cells (ρ cells) acquire mitochondria from tumor stromal cells to restore respiration, facilitating tumor formation. We investigated the role of Miro1, an adaptor protein involved in movement of mitochondria along microtubules, in this phenomenon. Inducible Miro1 knockout (Miro1) mice markedly delayed tumor formation after grafting ρ cancer cells.

Governing with public engagement: an anticipatory approach to human genome editing.

In response to calls for public engagement on human genome editing (HGE), which intensified after the 2018 He Jiankui scandal that resulted in the implantation of genetically modified embryos, we detail an anticipatory approach to the governance of HGE. By soliciting multidisciplinary experts' input on the drivers and uncertainties of HGE development, we developed a set of plausible future scenarios to ascertain publics values-specifically, their hopes and concerns regarding the novel technology and its applications. In turn, we gathered a subset of multidisciplinary experts to propose governance recommendations for HGE that incorporate identified publics' values.

Influence of Host Plants and Tending Ants on the Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profile of a Generalist Myrmecophilous Caterpillar.

In myrmecophilous organisms, which live in symbiosis with ants, cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) play a pivotal role in interspecific communication and defense against chemical-oriented predators. Although these interactions form complex information webs, little is known about the influence of biotic environmental factors on the CHC profiles of myrmecophiles. Here, we analyzed the effect of different host plants and tending ants on the larval CHC profile of Synargis calyce (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae), a polyphagous species with facultative myrmecophily.

Caged Dexamethasone to Photo-control the Development of Embryos through Activation of the Glucocorticoid Receptor.

Efficient tools for controlling molecular functions with exquisite spatiotemporal resolution are much in demand to investigate biological processes in living systems. Here we report an easily synthesized caged dexamethasone for photo-activating cytoplasmic proteins fused to the glucocorticoid receptor. In the dark, it is stable in vitro as well as in vivo in both zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Xenopus sp, two significant models of vertebrates.

Cryptochrome and quantum biology: unraveling the mysteries of plant magnetoreception.

Magnetoreception, the remarkable ability of organisms to perceive and respond to Earth's magnetic field, has captivated scientists for decades, particularly within the field of quantum biology. In the plant science, the exploration of the complicated interplay between quantum phenomena and classical biology in the context of plant magnetoreception has emerged as an attractive area of research. This comprehensive review investigates into three prominent theoretical models: the Radical Pair Mechanism (RPM), the Level Crossing Mechanism (LCM), and the Magnetite-based MagR theory in plants.

Fibroblasts mediate endothelium response to angiogenic cues in a newly developed 3D stroma engineered model.

Three-dimensional stroma engineered models would enable fundamental and applicative studies of human tissues interaction and remodeling in both physiological and pathological conditions. In this work, we propose a 3D vascularized stroma model to be used as in vitro platform for drug testing. A pullulan/dextran-based porous scaffold containing pre-patterned microchannels of 100 μm diameter is used for co-culturing of fibroblasts within the matrix pores and endothelial cells to form the lumen.

Hippocampal area CA2: interneuron disfunction during pathological states.

Hippocampal area CA2 plays a critical role in social recognition memory and has unique cellular and molecular properties that distinguish it from areas CA1 and CA3. In addition to having a particularly high density of interneurons, the inhibitory transmission in this region displays two distinct forms of long-term synaptic plasticity. Early studies on human hippocampal tissue have reported unique alteration in area CA2 with several pathologies and psychiatric disorders.

The Matricellular Protein Hevin Is Involved in Alcohol Use Disorder.

Astrocytic-secreted matricellular proteins have been shown to influence various aspects of synaptic function. More recently, they have been found altered in animal models of psychiatric disorders such as drug addiction. Hevin (also known as Sparc-like 1) is a matricellular protein highly expressed in the adult brain that has been implicated in resilience to stress, suggesting a role in motivated behaviors.

Hypothalamic astrocytes control systemic glucose metabolism and energy balance.

The hypothalamus is key in the control of energy balance. However, strategies targeting hypothalamic neurons have failed to provide viable options to treat most metabolic diseases. Conversely, the role of astrocytes in systemic metabolic control has remained largely unexplored.

Tyrosine phosphorylation tunes chemical and thermal sensitivity of TRPV2 ion channel.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) is a multimodal ion channel implicated in diverse physiopathological processes. Its important involvement in immune responses has been suggested such as in the macrophages' phagocytosis process. However, the endogenous signaling cascades controlling the gating of TRPV2 remain to be understood.

Identification of an arthropod molecular target for plant-derived natural repellents.

Arthropods maintain ecosystem balance while also contributing to the spread of disease. Plant-derived natural repellents represent an ecological method of pest control, but their direct molecular targets in arthropods remain to be further elucidated. Occupying a critical phylogenetic niche in arthropod evolution, scorpions retain an ancestral genetic profile.

The industrial solvent 1,4-dioxane causes hyperalgesia by targeting capsaicin receptor TRPV1.

Background: The synthetic chemical 1,4-dioxane is used as industrial solvent, food, and care product additive. 1,4-Dioxane has been noted to influence the nervous system in long-term animal experiments and in humans, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its effects on animals were not previously known.

Results: Here, we report that 1,4-dioxane potentiates the capsaicin-sensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) channel TRPV1, thereby causing hyperalgesia in mouse model.

Cell-Type-Specific Adaptions in Striatal Medium-Sized Spiny Neurons and Their Roles in Behavioral Responses to Drugs of Abuse.

Drug addiction is defined as a compulsive pattern of drug-seeking- and taking- behavior, with recurrent episodes of abstinence and relapse, and a loss of control despite negative consequences. Addictive drugs promote reinforcement by increasing dopamine in the mesocorticolimbic system, which alters excitatory glutamate transmission within the reward circuitry, thereby hijacking reward processing. Within the reward circuitry, the striatum is a key target structure of drugs of abuse since it is at the crossroad of converging glutamate inputs from limbic, thalamic and cortical regions, encoding components of drug-associated stimuli and environment, and dopamine that mediates reward prediction error and incentive values.

Disrupting D1-NMDA or D2-NMDA receptor heteromerization prevents cocaine's rewarding effects but preserves natural reward processing.

Addictive drugs increase dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), where it persistently shapes excitatory glutamate transmission and hijacks natural reward processing. Here, we provide evidence, from mice to humans, that an underlying mechanism relies on drug-evoked heteromerization of glutamate -methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) with dopamine receptor 1 (D1R) or 2 (D2R). Using temporally controlled inhibition of D1R-NMDAR heteromerization, we unraveled their selective implication in early phases of cocaine-mediated synaptic, morphological, and behavioral responses.

Npas4 regulates medium spiny neuron physiology and gates cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion.

We show here that the transcription factor Npas4 is an important regulator of medium spiny neuron spine density and electrophysiological parameters and that it determines the magnitude of cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion in mice. Npas4 is induced by synaptic stimuli that cause calcium influx, but not dopaminergic or PKA-stimulating input, in mouse medium spiny neurons and human iPSC-derived forebrain organoids. This induction is independent of ubiquitous kinase pathways such as PKA and MAPK cascades, and instead depends on calcineurin and nuclear calcium signalling.

Differential regulation of glycinergic and GABAergic nanocolumns at mixed inhibitory synapses.

Super-resolution imaging has revealed that key synaptic proteins are dynamically organized within sub-synaptic domains (SSDs). To examine how different inhibitory receptors are regulated, we carried out dual-color direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) of GlyRs and GABA Rs at mixed inhibitory synapses in spinal cord neurons. We show that endogenous GlyRs and GABA Rs as well as their common scaffold protein gephyrin form SSDs that align with pre-synaptic RIM1/2, thus creating trans-synaptic nanocolumns.

A global metagenomic map of urban microbiomes and antimicrobial resistance.

We present a global atlas of 4,728 metagenomic samples from mass-transit systems in 60 cities over 3 years, representing the first systematic, worldwide catalog of the urban microbial ecosystem. This atlas provides an annotated, geospatial profile of microbial strains, functional characteristics, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) markers, and genetic elements, including 10,928 viruses, 1,302 bacteria, 2 archaea, and 838,532 CRISPR arrays not found in reference databases. We identified 4,246 known species of urban microorganisms and a consistent set of 31 species found in 97% of samples that were distinct from human commensal organisms.

Adult neurogenic process in the subventricular zone-olfactory bulb system is regulated by Tau protein under prolonged stress.

Objectives: The area of the subventricular zone (SVZ) in the adult brain exhibits the highest number of proliferative cells, which, together with the olfactory bulb (OB), maintains constant brain plasticity through the generation, migration and integration of newly born neurons. Despite Tau and its malfunction is increasingly related to deficits of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and brain plasticity under pathological conditions [e.g.