Acute neuronal cell death and neuroinflammation per se do not trigger secondary autoimmune encephalitis in mice.

Patients with virus encephalitis, such as herpes simplex encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis frequently relapse with autoimmune encephalitides associated with neural autoantibodies. It has been hypothesized that the infection-induced damage to the central nervous system results in shedding of neural autoantigens, their presentation to the peripheral immune system, and initiation of a secondary autoimmune encephalitis that targets these autoantigens. To test this hypothesis, we utilized a transgenic mouse model of virus-like but sterile encephalitis.

Erythropoietin re-wires cognition-associated transcriptional networks.

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) has potent procognitive effects, likely hematopoiesis-independent, but underlying mechanisms and physiological role of brain-expressed EPO remained obscure. Here, we provide transcriptional hippocampal profiling of male mice treated with rhEPO. Based on ~108,000 single nuclei, we unmask multiple pyramidal lineages with their comprehensive molecular signatures.

Gestational age acceleration is associated with epigenetic biomarkers of prenatal physiologic stress exposure.

Background: Physiological maternal stress response, such as imbalance in the glucocorticoid pathway and immune system seems to be mediated by DNA methylation (DNAm) and might translate intrauterine stress exposures into phenotypic changes in a sex-specific manner. DNAm in specific sites can also predict newborn gestational age and gestational age acceleration (GAA). GAA occurs when the predicted biological age is higher than the chronological age.

DNA methylation mediates a randomized controlled trial home-visiting intervention during pregnancy and the Bayley infant's cognitive scores at 12 months of age.

The crosstalk between maternal stress exposure and fetal development may be mediated by epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation (DNAm). To address this matter, we collect 32 cord blood samples from low-income Brazilian pregnant adolescents participants of a pilot randomized clinical intervention study (ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT02807818).

Brain areas involved with obsessive-compulsive disorder present different DNA methylation modulation.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts and repetitive actions, that presents the involvement of the cortico-striatal areas. The contribution of environmental risk factors to OCD development suggests that epigenetic mechanisms may contribute to its pathophysiology. DNA methylation changes and gene expression were evaluated in post-mortem brain tissues of the cortical (anterior cingulate gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex) and ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus and putamen) areas from eight OCD patients and eight matched controls.

Exploring C-CAM plasticity within the Portulaca oleracea complex.

Portulaca oleracea is a C herb capable of performing CAM under drought stress. It is distributed worldwide and is either considered a polymorphic species or a complex of subspecies, due to its numerous morphological variations. We evaluated CAM plasticity within P.

C and crassulacean acid metabolism within a single leaf: deciphering key components behind a rare photosynthetic adaptation.

Although biochemically related, C and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) systems are expected to be incompatible. However, Portulaca species, including P. oleracea, operate C and CAM within a single leaf, and the mechanisms behind this unique photosynthetic arrangement remain largely unknown.

Putative contributions of the sex chromosome proteins SOX3 and SRY to neurodevelopmental disorders.

The male-biased prevalence of certain neurodevelopmental disorders and the sex-biased outcomes associated with stress exposure during gestation have been previously described. Here, we hypothesized that genes distinctively targeted by only one or both homologous proteins highly conserved across therian mammals, SOX3 and SRY, could induce sexual adaptive changes that result in a differential risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. ChIP-seq/chip data showed that SOX3/SRY gene targets were expressed in different brain cell types in mice.

Diplopods as Soil Bioindicators of Toxicity After Application of Residues From Sewage Treatment Plants and Ethanol Industry.

Residues like sewage sludge and vinasse have been reused as agricultural fertilizers, but they also present a potential to contaminate soils. Diplopods have been considered excellent bioindicators of soil contamination. In the present study, Rhinocricus padbergi were used to assess toxicity in samples of sewage sludge, biosolids, and sugarcane vinasse.