Pyrola incarnata demonstrates neuroprotective effects against ß-amyloid-induced memory impairment in mice.

This study aims to investigate the neuroprotective effects of Pyrola incarnata against ß-amyloid-induced memory impairment in mice. Ethanol extract of Pyrola incarnata (EPI) was obtained and led to eleven phytochemicals successfully by isolation and purification, which were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (1H NMR, 13C NMR and HR-ESI-MS). Thereinto, ursolic acid was gained as most abundant monomer. C57BL/6 mice were intracerebroventricular injected with aggregated Aß25-35. Open-field test, Barnes maze test and Morris water maze were conducted for evaluating cognition processes of EPI and ursolic acid. EPI significantly improved learning and memory deficits, attenuated the Aß25-35 level of deposition immunohistochemically. Further studies revealed that ursolic acid as bioactive phytochemical of P. incarnata improved spatial memory performance and ameliorated Aß25-35 accumulation by activating microglia cells and up-regulating Iba1 level in the hippocampus. These findings suggest P. incarnata could improve the cognition of mice and be a promising natural source for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease.

Mesoporous MnO/C-N Nanostructures Derived from a Metal-Organic Framework as High-Performance Anode for Lithium-Ion Battery.

By application of newly designed ligand 5-(3-(pyridin-3-yl)benzamido)isophthalic acid (H2PBI) to react with Mn(NO3)2 under solvothermal conditions, a 2-fold interpenetrated Mn-based metal-organic framework (Mn-PBI) with rutile-type topology has been obtained. When treated as a precursor by pyrolysis of Mn-PBI at 500 °C, mesoporous MnO/C-N nanostructures were prepared and treated as an lithium-ion battery anode. The MnO/C-N manifests good capacity of approximately 1085 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles together with superior cyclic stability and remarkable rate capacity, which is supposed to benefit from a large accessible specific area and unique nanostructures. The remarkable performances suggest promising application as an advanced anode material.

Postsynaptic potentiation of corticospinal projecting neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex after nerve injury.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the key cellular mechanism for physiological learning and pathological chronic pain. In the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), postsynaptic recruitment or modification of AMPA receptor (AMPAR) GluA1 contribute to the expression of LTP. Here we report that pyramidal cells in the deep layers of the ACC send direct descending projecting terminals to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (lamina I-III). After peripheral nerve injury, these projection cells are activated, and postsynaptic excitatory responses of these descending projecting neurons were significantly enhanced. Newly recruited AMPARs contribute to the potentiated synaptic transmission of cingulate neurons. PKA-dependent phosphorylation of GluA1 is important, since enhanced synaptic transmission was abolished in GluA1 phosphorylation site serine-845 mutant mice. Our findings provide strong evidence that peripheral nerve injury induce long-term enhancement of cortical-spinal projecting cells in the ACC. Direct top-down projection system provides rapid and profound modulation of spinal sensory transmission, including painful information. Inhibiting cortical top-down descending facilitation may serve as a novel target for treating neuropathic pain.

Ontogenetic Development of Sexual Dimorphism in Body Mass of Wild Black-and-White Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti).

Sexual dimorphism exists widely in animals, manifesting in different forms, such as body size, color, shape, unique characteristics, behavior, and sound. Of these, body mass dimorphism is the most obvious. Studies of evolutionary and ontogenetic development and adaptation mechanisms of animals' sexual dimorphism in body mass (SDBM), allow us to understand how environment, social group size, diet, and other external factors have driven the selection of sexual dimorphism. There are fewer reports of the ontogenetic development of sexual dimorphism in body mass in Rhinopithecus. This study explores the ontogenetic development pattern of SDBM in wild black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (R. bieti), and the causes resulting in extreme sexual dimorphism compared to other colobines. A significant dimorphism with a ratio of 1.27 (p < 0.001) appears when females enter the reproductive period around six years old, reaching a peak (1.85, p < 0.001) when males become sexually mature. After the age of eight, the SDBM falls to 1.78, but is still significant (p < 0.001). The results also indicate that males had a longer body mass growth period than females (8 years vs. 5 years); females in larger breeding units had a significantly higher SDBM than those in smaller ones (2.12 vs. 1.93, p < 0.01). A comparative analysis with other colobines further clarifies that Rhinopithecus and Nasalis, which both have multilevel social organization, have the highest degree of SDBM among all colobines. The large SDBM in R. bieti can be explained through Bergman's and Rensch's rules. Overall, environmental adaptation, a distinctive alimentary system, and a complex social structure contribute to R. bieti having such a remarkable SDBM compared to other colobines. In addition, we found that females' choice for males may not be significantly related to the development of SDBM.

Sex-Specific Differences in the Physiological and Biochemical Performance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi-Inoculated Mulberry Clones Under Salinity Stress.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are often considered bioameliorators. AMF can promote plant growth under various stressful conditions; however, differences between male and female clones in mycorrhizal strategies that protect plants from the detrimental effects of salinity are not well studied. In this study, we aimed to examine the interactive effects of salinity and AMF on the growth, photosynthetic traits, nutrient uptake, and biochemical responses of Morus alba males and females. In a factorial setup, male and female M. alba clones were subjected to three salinity regimes (0, 50, and 200 mM NaCl) and planted in soil with or without Funneliformis mosseae inoculation. The results showed that NaCl alone conferred negative effects on the growth, salinity tolerance, photosynthetic performance, and shoot and root ionic ratios (K+/Na+, Ca2+/Na+, and Mg2+/Na+) in both sexes; in contrast, mycorrhizal inoculation mitigated the detrimental effects of salinity. Furthermore, the mycorrhizal effects were closely correlated with Mn2+, proline, and N concentrations. Females benefited more from AMF inoculation as shown by the enhancements in their biomass accumulation, and N, proline, K+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, and Mn2+ concentrations than males with mycorrhizal inoculation under saline conditions. In comparison, male plants inoculated with AMF showed improvements in biomass allocated to the roots, P, and peroxidase concentrations under saline conditions. These sex-specific differences suggest that male and female mulberry clones adopted different mycorrhizal strategies when growing under saline conditions. Overall, our results provide insight into the sex-specific difference in the performance of AMF-associated mulberry clones, suggesting that female mulberry could be more suitable for vegetation remediation than the male one, due to its higher salinity tolerance.

Rostral and Caudal Ventral Tegmental Area GABAergic Inputs to Different Dorsal Raphe Neurons Participate in Opioid Dependence.

Both the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) are involved in affective control and reward-related behaviors. Moreover, the neuronal activities of the VTA and DRN are modulated by opioids. However, the precise circuits from the VTA to DRN and how opioids modulate these circuits remain unknown. Here, we found that neurons projecting from the VTA to DRN are primarily GABAergic. Rostral VTA (rVTA) GABAergic neurons preferentially innervate DRN GABAergic neurons, thus disinhibiting DRN serotonergic neurons. Optogenetic activation of this circuit induces aversion. In contrast, caudal VTA (cVTA) GABAergic neurons mainly target DRN serotonergic neurons, and activation of this circuit promotes reward. Importantly, µ-opioid receptors (MOPs) are selectively expressed at rVTA→DRN GABAergic synapses, and morphine depresses the synaptic transmission. Chronically elevating the activity of the rVTA→DRN pathway specifically interrupts morphine-induced conditioned place preference. This opioid-modulated inhibitory circuit may yield insights into morphine reward and dependence pathogenesis.

A novel cortico-intrathalamic circuit for flight behavior.

Flight, an active fear response to imminent threat, is dependent on the rapid risk assessment of sensory information processed by the cortex. The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) filters information between the cortex and the thalamus, but whether it participates in the regulation of flight behavior remains largely unknown. Here, we report that activation of parvalbumin-expressing neurons in the limbic TRN, but not those in the sensory TRN, mediates flight. Glutamatergic inputs from the cingulate cortex (Cg) selectively activate the limbic TRN, which in turn inhibits the intermediodorsal thalamic nucleus (IMD). Activation of this Cg→limbic TRN→IMD circuit results in inhibition of the IMD and produces flight behavior. Conversely, removal of inhibition onto the IMD results in more freezing and less flight, suggesting that the IMD may function as a pro-freeze center. Overall, these findings reveal a novel corticothalamic circuit through the TRN that controls the flight response.

Comparative study of the transfection efficiency of commonly used viral vectors in rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) brains.

Viral vector transfection systems are among the simplest of biological agents with the ability to transfer genes into the central nervous system. In brain research, a series of powerful and novel gene editing technologies are based on these systems. Although many viral vectors are used in rodents, their full application has been limited in non-human primates. To identify viral vectors that can stably and effectively express exogenous genes within non-human primates, eleven commonly used recombinant adeno-associated viral and lentiviral vectors, each carrying a gene to express green or red fluorescence, were injected into the parietal cortex of four rhesus monkeys. The expression of fluorescent cells was used to quantify transfection efficiency. Histological results revealed that recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors, especially the serotype 2/9 coupled with the cytomegalovirus, human synapsin I, or Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II promoters, and lentiviral vector coupled with the human ubiquitin C promoter, induced higher expression of fluorescent cells, representing high transfection efficiency. This is the first comparison of transfection efficiencies of different viral vectors carrying different promoters and serotypes in non-human primates (NHPs). These results can be used as an aid to select optimal vectors to transfer exogenous genes into the central nervous system of non-human primates.

Anterograde monosynaptic transneuronal tracers derived from herpes simplex virus 1 strain H129.

BACKGROUND: Herpes simplex virus type 1 strain 129 (H129) has represented a promising anterograde neuronal circuit tracing tool, which complements the existing retrograde tracers. However, the current H129 derived tracers are multisynaptic, neither bright enough to label the details of neurons nor capable of determining direct projection targets as monosynaptic tracer. METHODS: Based on the bacterial artificial chromosome of H129, we have generated a serial of recombinant viruses for neuronal circuit tracing. Among them, H129-G4 was obtained by inserting binary tandemly connected GFP cassettes into the H129 genome, and H129-ΔTK-tdT was obtained by deleting the thymidine kinase (TK) gene and adding tdTomato coding gene to the H129 genome. Then the obtained viral tracers were tested in vitro and in vivo for the tracing capacity. RESULTS: H129-G4 is capable of transmitting through multiple synapses, labeling the neurons by green florescent protein, and visualizing the morphological details of the labeled neurons. H129-ΔTK-tdT neither replicates nor spreads in neurons alone, but transmits to and labels the postsynaptic neurons with tdTomato in the presence of complementary expressed TK from a helper virus. H129-ΔTK-tdT is also capable to map the direct projectome of the specific neuron type in the given brain regions in Cre transgenic mice. In the tested brain regions where circuits are well known, the H129-ΔTK-tdT tracing patterns are consistent with the previous results. CONCLUSIONS: With the assistance of the helper virus complimentarily expressing TK, H129-ΔTK-tdT replicates in the initially infected neuron, transmits anterogradely through one synapse, and labeled the postsynaptic neurons with tdTomato. The H129-ΔTK-tdT anterograde monosynaptic tracing system offers a useful tool for mapping the direct output in neuronal circuitry. H129-G4 is an anterograde multisynaptic tracer with a labeling signal strong enough to display the details of neuron morphology.