Lupus dermal fibroblasts are proinflammatory and exhibit a profibrotic phenotype in scarring skin disease.

Fibroblasts are stromal cells known to regulate local immune responses important for wound healing and scar formation; however, the cellular mechanisms driving damage and scarring in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) remain poorly understood. Dermal fibroblasts in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experience increased cytokine signaling in vivo, but the effect of inflammatory mediators on fibroblast responses in nonscarring versus scarring CLE subtypes is unclear. Here, we examined responses to cytokines in dermal fibroblasts from nonlesional skin of 22 patients with SLE and CLE and 34 individuals acting as healthy controls. Notably, inflammatory cytokine responses were exaggerated in SLE fibroblasts compared with those from individuals acting as healthy controls. In lesional CLE biopsies, these same inflammatory profiles were reflected in single-cell RNA-Seq of SFRP2+ and inflammatory fibroblast subsets, and TGF-ß was identified as a critical upstream regulator for inflammatory fibroblasts in scarring discoid lupus lesions. In vitro cytokine stimulation of nonlesional fibroblasts from patients who scar from CLE identified an upregulation of collagens, particularly in response to TGF-ß, whereas inflammatory pathways were more prominent in nonscarring patients. Our study revealed that SLE fibroblasts are poised to hyperrespond to inflammation, with differential responses among patients with scarring versus nonscarring disease, providing a potential skin-specific target for mitigating damage.

Internet-based technology in multiple sclerosis: Exploring perceived use and skills and actual performance.

OBJECTIVE: The use of Internet-based technology (IBT) is an important component of everyday living. However, persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) may face barriers to use. This study aimed to compare IBT perceived use and skills and actual performance in persons with MS and healthy controls (HCs). In addition, it aimed to examine IBT perceptions as a unique predictor of IBT performance beyond demographic, cognitive, motor, and affective factors in persons with MS. METHOD: Ninety-six persons with MS and 65 HCs aged 18 to 65 completed self-report and performance-based IBT measures along with assessments of cognition, motor function, and affect at a single time point. RESULTS: The MS group reported perceptions of less IBT use and poorer skills than HCs and demonstrated worse IBT performance as per accuracy and speed on the Actual Reality. In persons with MS, IBT perceptions and performance were significantly associated. Cognition and dexterity were significantly associated with IBT performance, and anxiety was associated with IBT perceptions. Disease duration, processing speed, and IBT perceptions were unique predictors of IBT performance in the MS group within a multivariate model. CONCLUSION: Persons with MS present with poorer IBT performance compared with HCs, which can limit participation. Processing speed and patient perceptions of IBT use and skills should be considered in technology design and training to improve the capabilities of persons with MS to use IBT for everyday living. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements.

Brain dopamine is critical for normal motor control, as evidenced by its importance in Parkinson Disease and related disorders. Current hypotheses are that dopamine influences motor control by 'invigorating' movements and regulating motor learning. Most evidence for these aspects of dopamine function comes from simple tasks (e.g. lever pressing). Therefore, the influence of dopamine on motor skills requiring multi-joint coordination is unknown. To determine the effects of precisely timed dopamine manipulations on the performance of a complex, finely coordinated dexterous skill, we optogenetically stimulated or inhibited midbrain dopamine neurons as rats performed a skilled reaching task. We found that reach kinematics and coordination between gross and fine movements progressively changed with repeated manipulations. However, once established, rats transitioned abruptly between aberrant and baseline reach kinematics in a dopamine-dependent manner. These results suggest that precisely timed dopamine signals have immediate and long-term influences on motor skill performance, distinct from simply 'invigorating' movement.

Interactions Between Motor Thalamic Field Potentials and Single-Unit Spiking Are Correlated With Behavior in Rats.

Field potential (FP) oscillations are believed to coordinate brain activity over large spatiotemporal scales, with specific features (e.g., phase and power) in discrete frequency bands correlated with motor output. Furthermore, complex correlations between oscillations in distinct frequency bands (phase-amplitude, amplitude-amplitude, and phase-phase coupling) are commonly observed. However, the mechanisms underlying FP-behavior correlations and cross-frequency coupling remain unknown. The thalamus plays a central role in generating many circuit-level neural oscillations, and single-unit activity in motor thalamus (Mthal) is correlated with behavioral output. We, therefore, hypothesized that motor thalamic spiking coordinates motor system FPs and underlies FP-behavior correlations. To investigate this possibility, we recorded wideband motor thalamic (Mthal) electrophysiology as healthy rats performed a two-alternative forced-choice task. Delta (1-4 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), low gamma (30-70 Hz), and high gamma (70-200 Hz) power were strongly modulated by task performance. As in the cortex, the delta phase was correlated with beta/low gamma power and reaction time. Most interestingly, subpopulations of Mthal neurons defined by their relationship to the behavior exhibited distinct relationships with FP features. Specifically, neurons whose activity was correlated with action selection and movement speed were entrained to delta oscillations. Furthermore, changes in their activity anticipated power fluctuations in beta/low gamma bands. These complex relationships suggest mechanisms for commonly observed FP-FP and spike-FP correlations, as well as subcortical influences on motor output.

Distinct Populations of Motor Thalamic Neurons Encode Action Initiation, Action Selection, and Movement Vigor.

Motor thalamus (Mthal) comprises the ventral anterior, ventral lateral, and ventral medial thalamic nuclei in rodents. This subcortical hub receives input from the basal ganglia (BG), cerebellum, and reticular thalamus in addition to connecting reciprocally with motor cortical regions. Despite the central location of Mthal, the mechanisms by which it influences movement remain unclear. To determine its role in generating ballistic, goal-directed movement, we recorded single-unit Mthal activity as male rats performed a two-alternative forced-choice task. A large population of Mthal neurons increased their firing briefly near movement initiation and could be segregated into functional groups based on their behavioral correlates. The activity of "initiation" units was more tightly locked to instructional cues than movement onset, did not predict which direction the rat would move, and was anticorrelated with reaction time (RT). Conversely, the activity of "execution" units was more tightly locked to movement onset than instructional cues, predicted which direction the rat would move, and was anticorrelated with both RT and movement time. These results suggest that Mthal influences choice RT performance in two stages: short latency, nonspecific action initiation followed by action selection/invigoration. We discuss the implications of these results for models of motor control incorporating BG and cerebellar circuits.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Motor thalamus (Mthal) is a central node linking subcortical and cortical motor circuits, though its precise role in motor control is unclear. Here, we define distinct populations of Mthal neurons that either encode movement initiation, or both action selection and movement vigor. These results have important implications for understanding how basal ganglia, cerebellar, and motor cortical signals are integrated. Such an understanding is critical to defining the pathophysiology of a range of BG- and cerebellum-linked movement disorders, as well as refining pharmacologic and neuromodulatory approaches to their treatment.

Prognostic Significance of Dementia in Older Adults with Solid Tumors.

BACKGROUND: The public health burden of cancer and dementia in the geriatric population is well documented. There is limited data on how dementia predicts mortality among geriatric patients with solid tumors. The objective of this study is to determine the prognostic significance of dementia on survival in patients with solid tumors. METHODS: We performed a 5-year retrospective study on elderly subjects aged ≥60 years with and without dementia that were diagnosed with solid tumors. RESULTS: Among 3,460 patients with solid tumors, 132 (3.8%) patients were found to have dementia. The median age at diagnosis was 71 years. Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated that patients with dementia had an inferior median survival compared to the nondemented group (30 vs. 56 months; log-rank p < 0.001). Cox proportional hazard regression modeling identified age >80 years, female gender, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, dementia, and radiation therapy as risk factors for decreased overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that dementia is associated with shorter overall survival in elderly patients with solid tumors.

Iron supplementation dose for perinatal iron deficiency differentially alters the neurochemistry of the frontal cortex and hippocampus in adult rats.

BACKGROUND: Long-term prefrontal cortex (PFC)- and hippocampus-based cognitive deficits are the sequelae of perinatal iron deficiency, despite iron supplementation starting in the newborn period. Whether high-dose iron supplementation prevents these deficits is yet to be determined. METHODS: Perinatal iron deficiency was induced in rat pups using a low-iron (3 mg/kg diet) diet during gestation until postnatal day (P)8. Iron was supplemented using a standard (40 mg/kg diet) or a 10-fold higher (400 mg/kg diet) iron-containing diet until P21. PFC and hippocampal neurochemistry was determined using in vivo (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy at 9.4 Tesla on P90. RESULTS: Both standard and 10-fold higher iron supplementation doses corrected anemia and brain iron deficiency by P21. The neurochemical profile of the PFC in both supplementation groups was comparable with the control group. In the hippocampus, standard-dose iron supplementation resulted in lower concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and phosphoethanolamine (PE) and higher concentrations of N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) and glycerophosphocholine + phosphocholine (GPC + PC). High-dose iron supplementation resulted in lower PE and higher GPC + PC concentrations. CONCLUSION: The iron supplementation dose for perinatal iron deficiency differentially alters the neurochemical profile of the PFC and hippocampus in adults. The neurochemical changes suggest altered glutamatergic neurotransmission, hypomyelination, and abnormal phospholipid metabolism in the formerly iron-deficient (FID) hippocampus.

Behavior and monoamine deficits in prenatal and perinatal iron deficiency are not corrected by early postnatal moderate-iron or high-iron diets in rats.

Developmental iron deficiency anemia (IDA) causes brain and behavioral deficits in rodent models, which cannot be reversed when treated at periods equivalent to later infancy in humans. This study sought to determine whether earlier iron treatment can normalize deficits of IDA in rats and what iron dose is optimal. The offspring of dams with IDA during gestation were cross-fostered at postnatal d (P) 8 to dams receiving diets with 1 of 3 iron concentrations until weaning (P21): 0.003-0.01 g/kg [totally iron deficient (TID)]; 0.04 g/kg [formerly iron deficient (FID-40)]; or 0.4 g/kg (FID-400). Always iron-sufficient control dams (CN-40) received a 0.04-g/kg iron diet. At P21, TID pups received a 0.01 g iron/kg diet; all others received a 0.04 g iron/kg diet. Hematocrit and brain iron and monoamine concentrations were assessed at P21 and P100. Pup growth, development, activity, object recognition, hesitancy, and watermaze performance were evaluated. Regional brain iron was restored by iron treatment. Regional monoamine and metabolite concentrations were elevated in FID-40 rats and reduced in FID-400 and TID rats compared with CN-40 rats. FID-40 offspring had motor delays similar to TID during lactation and FID-400 rats had elevated thigmotaxis similar to TID rats at P25 and P100 in the spatial watermaze. In conclusion, iron treatment at P8 in rats did not normalize all monoamine or behavioral measures after early IDA. Moderate iron treatment improved adult behavior, but higher iron treatment caused brain and behavioral patterns similar to TID in the short and long term.

Design, construction, and in vitro analyses of multivalent antibodies.

Some Abs are more efficacious after being cross-linked to form dimers or multimers, presumably as a result of binding to and clustering more surface target to either amplify or diversify cellular signaling. To improve the therapeutic potency of these types of Abs, we designed and generated Abs that express tandem Fab repeats with the aim of mimicking cross-linked Abs. The versatile design of the system enables the creation of a series of multivalent human IgG Ab forms including tetravalent IgG1, tetravalent F(ab')2, and linear Fab multimers with either three or four consecutively linked Fabs. The multimerized Abs target the cell surface receptors HER2, death receptor 5, and CD20, and are more efficacious than their parent mAbs in triggering antitumor cellular responses, indicating they could be useful both as reagents for study as well as novel therapeutics.

Analysis and characterization of differential gene expression during rapid trophoblastic elongation in the pig using suppression subtractive hybridization.

During late peri-implantation development, porcine conceptuses undergo a rapid (2-3 hrs) morphological transformation from a 10 mm sphere to a thin filamentous form greater than 150 mm in length. Elongation of the conceptus is important for establishing adequate placental surface area needed for embryo and fetal survival throughout gestation. Genes involved with triggering this unique transition in conceptus development are not well defined. Objective of the present study was to utilize suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) to characterize the change in gene expression during conceptus transformation from spherical (8-9 mm) to tubular (15-40 mm) to early filamentous (>150 mm) morphology. Spherical, tubular, and filamentous conceptuses were collected from pregnant gilts and subjected to SSH. Forward and reverse subtractions were performed to identify candidate genes differentially expressed during spherical to tubular and tubular to filamentous transition. A total of 384 transcripts were differentially screened to ensure unique expression. Of the transcripts screened, sequences were obtained for 142 that were confirmed to be differentially expressed among the various morphologies. Gene expression profiles during rapid trophoblastic elongation were generated for selected mRNAs using quantitative real-time PCR. During the transition from tubular to early filamentous conceptuses, s-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase and heat shock cognate 70 kDa expression were significantly enhanced. A novel unknown gene was isolated and shown to be significantly up-regulated at the onset of rapid trophoblastic elongation and further enhanced in filamentous conceptuses.