Activation of Kv7 channels normalizes hyperactivity of the VTA-NAcLat circuit and attenuates methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference and sensitization in mice.

The brain circuit projecting from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens lateral shell (NAcLat) has a key role in methamphetamine (MA) addiction. As different dopamine (DA) neuron subpopulations in the VTA participate in different neuronal circuits, it is a challenge to isolate these DA neuron subtypes. Using retrograde tracing and Patch-seq, we isolated DA neurons in the VTA-NAcLat circuit in MA-treated mice and performed gene expression profiling.

protects PC12 cells from 6-hydroxydopamine-induced neuronal damage: A serum pharmacological study.

Accumulating evidence has already indicated that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) possesses tremendous potential for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Astragalus, also named Huangqi, is a famous traditional medical herb that can be applied to treat cerebral ischemia and prevent neuronal degeneration. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored.

Epitope Analysis and Efficacy Evaluation of Phosphatase 2C (PP2C) DNA Vaccine Against Toxoplasma gondii Infection.

Toxoplasma gondii infects almost all warm-blooded animals and negatively affects the health of a wide range of these animals, including humans. Protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) is a T. gondii protein secreted by rhoptry organelles during host cell invasion.

Chronic restraint stress increases social interaction in C57BL/6J mice monitoring through MiceProfiler analysis.

The social deficit is a prevailing symptom in stress-induced depression. Although social interaction behavior has been widely studied in humans and rodents, it is imprecise to record the social behavior between two free-moving mice via perusal. In the present study, we applied an approach to analyze the social behavior in mice using a software named "MiceProfiler.

Significant transcriptional changes in mature daughter Varroa destructor mites during infestation of different developmental stages of honeybees.

Background: Varroa destructor is considered a major cause of honeybee (Apis mellifera) colony losses worldwide. Although V. destructor mites exhibit preference behavior for certain honeybee lifecycle stages, the mechanism underlying host finding and preference remains largely unknown.

miRNA and circRNA expression patterns in mouse brain during toxoplasmosis development.

Background: Increasing evidence has shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in neurodegenerative disorders, but their roles in neurological toxoplasmosis are yet to know. This study examined miRNA and circRNA expressions in mouse brain following oral infection with T. gondii Pru strain.

Label-Free Quantitative Acetylome Analysis Reveals Genotype-Specific Acetylomic Signatures.

Distinct genotypic and pathogenic differences exist between genotypes. For example, genotype I is highly virulent, whereas genotype II and genotype III are less virulent. Moreover, Chinese 1 genotype (ToxoDB#9) is also virulent.

/ Fusion Gene Immunization Generates Potent Antitumor Cellular Immunity and Enhances Anti-PD-1 Efficacy.

Cancer vaccines can amplify existing antitumor responses or prime naïve T cells to elicit effector T-cell functions in patients through immunization. Antigen-specific CD8 T cells are crucial for the rejection of established tumors. We constructed XCL1-GPC3 fusion molecules as a liver cancer vaccine by linking the XCL1 chemokine to glypican-3 (GPC3), which is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Molecular Detection of in the Slaughter Sheep and Goats from Shandong Province, Eastern China.

It is generally recognized that sheep are susceptible to and play a very important role in the transmission of toxoplasmosis to humans. In China, sheep toxoplasmosis has been reported in some regions based on serological investigations. However, little is known about sheep toxoplasmosis in Shandong province, eastern China.

iTRAQ-Based Global Phosphoproteomics Reveals Novel Molecular Differences Between Strains of Different Genotypes.

To gain insights into differences in the virulence among strains at the post-translational level, we conducted a quantitative analysis of the phosphoproteome profile of strains belonging to three different genotypes. Phosphopeptides from three strains, type I (RH strain), type II (PRU strain) and ToxoDB#9 (PYS strain), were enriched by titanium dioxide (TiO2) affinity chromatography and quantified using iTRAQ technology. A total of 1,441 phosphopeptides, 1,250 phosphorylation sites and 759 phosphoproteins were detected.

Sulfadiazine Sodium Ameliorates the Metabolomic Perturbation in Mice Infected with Toxoplasma gondii.

In this study, we analyzed the global metabolomic changes associated with infection in mice in the presence or absence of sulfadiazine sodium (SDZ) treatment. BALB/c mice were infected with GT1 strain and treated orally with SDZ (250 μg/ml in water) for 12 consecutive days. Mice showed typical manifestations of illness at 20 days postinfection (dpi); by 30 dpi, 20% had survived and developed latent infection.

Metabolomic signature of mouse cerebral cortex following Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Background: The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii infects and alters the neurotransmission in cerebral cortex and other brain regions, leading to neurobehavioral and neuropathologic changes in humans and animals. However, the molecules that contribute to these changes remain largely unknown.

Methods: We have investigated the impact of T.

Expression patterns and the prognostic value of the SMYD family members in human breast carcinoma using integrative bioinformatics analysis.

Suppressor of variegation, Enhancer of Zeste, Trithorax and Myeloid-Nervy-DEAF1 domain-containing (SMYD) proteins are a set of lysine methyltransferases involved in a range of diverse biological functions, including gene expression, and regulation of skeletal and cardiac-muscle development. These proteins may additionally serve roles in a number of different types of cancer. However, the roles of the five SMYD proteins, SMYD 1/2/3/4/5, their expression patterns and prognostic value remain unclear.

Chronic alcohol exposure induced gut microbiota dysbiosis and its correlations with neuropsychic behaviors and brain BDNF/Gabra1 changes in mice.

Alcohol addiction can cause brain dysfunction and many other diseases. Recently, increasing evidences have suggested that gut microbiota plays a vital role in regulating alcohol addiction. However, the exact mechanism has not yet been elucidated.

Bifunctional Enzyme SpoT Is Involved in Biofilm Formation of Helicobacter pylori with Multidrug Resistance by Upregulating Efflux Pump Hp1174 ().

The drug resistance of is gradually becoming a serious problem. Biofilm formation is an important factor that leads to multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacteria. The ability of to form biofilms on the gastric mucosa is known.

Hepatic Metabolomics Investigation in Acute and Chronic Murine Toxoplasmosis.

poses a great threat to human health, with no approved vaccine available for the treatment of infection. infections are not limited to the brain, and may also affect other organs especially the liver. Identification of host liver molecules or pathways involved in replication process may lead to the discovery of novel anti- targets.

IL-37 isoform D downregulates pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in a Smad3-dependent manner.

IL-37 is a new member of IL-1 family and possesses five different isoforms (named as IL-37 a-e). IL-37b has been demonstrated as a physiological suppressor of immune responses. However, the function of other isoforms remains unknown.

Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in Tolai Hares (Lepus tolai) Intended for Human Consumption in China: Seroprevalence, DNA Detection, and Genotyping.

Currently, there is no information available on the detection of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in the tissues of Tolai hares in China. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of these protozoan parasites in Tolai hares obtained from Shandong province, eastern China, between January 2016 and June 2017. Serum and brain tissue samples of 358 Tolai hares were obtained and detected for the presence of antibody and parasite DNAs by serodiagnosis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively.

Serum Metabolic Profiling of Oocyst-Induced Acute and Chronic Infections in Mice Using Mass-Spectrometry.

is an obligate intracellular parasite causing severe diseases in immunocompromised individuals and congenitally infected neonates, such as encephalitis and chorioretinitis. This study aimed to determine whether serum metabolic profiling can (i) identify metabolites associated with oocyst-induced infection and (ii) detect systemic metabolic differences between -infected mice and controls. We performed the first global metabolomics analysis of mice serum challenged with 100 sporulated Pru oocysts (Genotype II).

UHRF1 epigenetically down-regulates UbcH8 to inhibit apoptosis in cervical cancer cells.

UHRF1 (ubiquitin-like, containing PHD and RING finger domains 1) is an important epigenetic regulator that plays a part in DNA methylation, protein methylation and ubiquitination. It is also frequently overexpressed in many types of cancers, including cervical cancer, which is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). In this study, we showed that UHRF1 was up-regulated in HPV oncogene E7 expressing cells and HPV-positive cervical cancer cells.

Comparative proteomic analysis of virulent and avirulent strains of reveals strain-specific patterns.

Research exploring the proteome of oocysts has gained momentum over the past few years. However, little is known about the oocyst's protein repertoires that contribute to differential virulence among strains. Here, we used isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation-based proteomic analysis of oocysts of two strains exhibiting the virulent PYS (ToxoDB#9) phenotype versus the less virulent PRU (Type II, ToxoDB#1) phenotype.

Frontline Science: Tim-3-mediated dysfunctional engulfment of apoptotic cells in SLE.

T cell Ig and mucin domain-containing molecule 3 (Tim-3) has been found to play important roles in autoimmune diseases, but whether Tim-3-mediated engulfment of apoptotic cells is involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains to be elucidated. In this study, we verified the role of human Tim-3 (hTim-3) as the receptor of phosphatidylserine (PS) in human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells, which initiated the engulfment of apoptotic cells. Both IgV and the mucin domain of Tim-3 were crucial in the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells, and there existed the key cytoplasmic domain for signal transduction.

Profiling of the perturbed metabolomic state of mouse spleen during acute and chronic toxoplasmosis.

Background: Toxoplasma gondii, a common opportunistic protozoan, is a leading cause of illness and mortality among immunosuppressed individuals and during congenital infections. Current therapeutic strategies for toxoplasmosis are not fully effective at curtailing disease progression in these cases. Given the parasite ability to influence host immunity and metabolism, understanding of the metabolic alterations in the host's immune organs during T.