Astrocytic ALKBH5 in stress response contributes to depressive-like behaviors in mice.

Epigenetic mechanisms bridge genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of major depression disorder (MDD). However, the cellular specificity and sensitivity of environmental stress on brain epitranscriptomics and its impact on depression remain unclear. Here, we found that ALKBH5, an RNA demethylase of N6-methyladenosine (m6A), was increased in MDD patients' blood and depression models. ALKBH5 in astrocytes was more sensitive to stress than that in neurons and endothelial cells. Selective deletion of ALKBH5 in astrocytes, but not in neurons and endothelial cells, produced antidepressant-like behaviors. Astrocytic ALKBH5 in the mPFC regulated depression-related behaviors bidirectionally. Meanwhile, ALKBH5 modulated glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1) m6A modification and increased the expression of GLT-1 in astrocytes. ALKBH5 astrocyte-specific knockout preserved stress-induced disruption of glutamatergic synaptic transmission, neuronal atrophy and defective Ca2+ activity. Moreover, enhanced m6A modification with S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) produced antidepressant-like effects. Our findings indicate that astrocytic epitranscriptomics contribute to depressive-like behaviors and that astrocytic ALKBH5 may be a therapeutic target for depression.

Endoscopic transsphenoidal approach in resection of intracranial clivus chondrosarcoma: A case report.

Intracranial primary chondrosarcomas are rare, accounting for <0.15% of all intracranial tumors, but exhibit a high risk of recurrence. Due to the rarity of this condition, it has proven difficult to establish efficacy-based treatment guidelines. The present study details a case of clivus chondrosarcoma exhibiting no recurrence following surgical resection using an endoscopic transsphenoidal approach and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy. A 41-year-old female presented with primary symptoms of left eye esotropia, scotoma of the left nasal visual field and double vision. Preoperative cranial magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion on the clivus, which was initially diagnosed as chordoma. However, clivus chondrosarcoma was ultimately diagnosed based on intraoperative findings and postoperative histopathology. The tumor was totally resected and 25 doses of adjuvant radiotherapy with planning gross tumor volume (60 Gy) and planning clinical target volume (50 Gy) were administered for 5 weeks. The patient was discharged at 12 days post-surgery with no obvious postoperative complications. Over the 28-month follow-up period, there was no evidence of recurrence, which may be due to the successful use of combined gross total resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. Therefore, surgical resection using an endoscopic transsphenoidal approach and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy is an effective method for treating intracranial clivus chondrosarcoma.

Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach for craniopharyngioma: A case report.

Thanks to the rapid development and progress of endoscopic technology, the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach has become one of the best surgical methods for resection of sellar and suprasellar tumors. The craniopharyngioma is usually located in the sellar region or suprasellar region, which is suitable for resection through the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach. The present report describes 21 cases of craniopharyngioma treated by endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Chongqing General Hospital from February 2014 to September 2019. The characteristics of patients and tumors, including clinical symptoms, preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, intraoperative conditions, as well as postoperative and follow-up outcomes were evaluated. The main clinical symptoms were headache in 15 cases, visual deficiency in 13 cases and growth retardation in two cases. All 21 patients with craniopharyngioma underwent endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery. Of these, 20 patients achieved gross total resection and one case achieved subtotal resection. After surgery, headache symptoms improved in 11 patients without deterioration and the vision of 11 patients improved without deterioration. The primary postoperative complications were pituitary deficiency in eight cases and permanent diabetes insipidus in five cases. The patients were followed up from one to 52 months post-operation. There was no recurrence in all patients during the follow-up period. The endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach is a safe and effective resection for craniopharyngioma. Moreover, the endoscopic endonasal trans-sphenoidal approach is one of the preferred surgical methods for treatment of sellar or suprasellar tumor.

Fully endoscopic microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm.

With the rapid development of endoscopic technology, fully endoscopic microvascular decompression (MVD) has been widely used in the treatment of hemifacial spasm (HFS), and has achieved good effect. The present study reviewed 5 cases of HFS treated by fully endoscopic MVD. After fully endoscopic MVD, the symptom of facial involuntary twitching was relieved in each of the 5 patients with an effective rate of 100%. Among the cases, 4 had no postoperative complications, such as cranial nerve dysfunction, and cerebellar or brainstem injury, while 1 patient had postoperative aseptic meningitis and recovered after follow-up treatment. In these 5 cases of MVD, endoscopy played an important role in identifying the offending blood vessels, which is of great significance to improve the surgical effect and safety. Furthermore, the postoperative effects showed that endoscopy has certain potential and advantages in MVD. Therefore, fully endoscopic MVD is also a feasible method for the treatment of HFS.

[Effects of neighbors with different sexuality and soil sterilization on biomass of Populus cathayana seedlings]. / 不同性别邻体和土壤灭菌对青杨幼苗生物量的影响.

Although plant-plant interactions have been intensively studied, few studies examined sex-related neighbor interactions in dioecious plant species. Here, we investigated the sexual diffe-rences in biomass accumulation, and analyzed the sexual neighbor effects and yields of sexual combination in Populus cathayana seedlings under the treatments of inter- and intra-sex neighbors and soil sterilization. The results showed that biomass accumulation of P. cathayana decreased in both of sexes when grown with an intra-sex neighbor. Females increased biomass accumulation under non-sterilization condition when grown with an inter-sex neighbor. Soil sterilization decreased biomass accumulation in both sexes of these plants, especially for females. Soil sterilization treatments did not significantly affect intra-sex interactions, but neutralized the positive effects in females and led the effects in males to turn from neutral to negative in inter-sex neighbors. The highest biomass in female-male combination under non-sterilization condition and the lowest biomass in male-male combination under sterilization condition were observed among combinations. These results indicated that the growth of female and male P. cathayana differed in their responses to their sexual neighbors, and that such neighbor effects were affected by soil microorganism. Our results could contribute to improve the productivity of poplar plantations in silviculture.