98%
921
2 minutes
20
Common features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include amyloid pathology, microglia activation and synaptic dysfunction, however, the causal relationships amongst them remains unclear. Further, human data suggest susceptibility and resilience to AD neuropathology is controlled by genetic context, a factor underexplored in mouse models. To this end, we leveraged viral strategies to label an AD-vulnerable neuronal circuit in CA1 dendrites projecting to the frontal cortex in genetically diverse C57BL/6J (B6) and PWK/PhJ (PWK) mouse strains and used PLX5622 to non-invasively deplete brain microglia. Reconstructions of labeled neurons revealed microglia-dependent changes in dendritic spine density and morphology in B6 wild-type (WT) and yet a marked stability of spines across PWK mice. We further showed that synaptic changes depend on direct microglia-dendrite interactions in B6. but not PWK. mice. Collectively, these results demonstrate that microglia-dependent synaptic alterations in a specific AD-vulnerable projection pathway are differentially controlled by genetic context.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10168315 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.28.538728 | DOI Listing |
Clin Epigenetics
September 2025
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Background: Work-related stress is a well-established contributor to mental health decline, particularly in the context of burnout, a state of prolonged exhaustion. Epigenetic clocks, which estimate biological age based on DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns, have been proposed as potential biomarkers of chronic stress and its impact on biological aging and health. However, their role in mediating the relationship between work-related stress, physiological stress markers, and burnout remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenome Biol
September 2025
Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, Beijing, China.
Background: Centromeres are crucial for precise chromosome segregation and maintaining genome stability during cell division. However, their evolutionary dynamics, particularly in polyploid organisms with complex genomic architectures, remain largely enigmatic. Allopolyploid wheat, with its well-defined hierarchical ploidy series and recent polyploidization history, serves as an excellent model to explore centromere evolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Lett
September 2025
Evolutionary Animal Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
Theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that relatedness can have complex effects on social life. While high relatedness may promote sibling cooperation and altruism through indirect fitness benefits, it can also intensify competition if siblings share similar needs and competitive strategies. Moreover, low genetic diversity in highly related groups may heighten susceptibility to pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpen Biol
September 2025
National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India.
E3 ubiquitin ligases regulate the cellular proteome proteasome-dependent protein degradation; however, there exist limited studies outlining their non-canonical functions. RNA-binding ubiquitin ligases (RBULs) represent a subset of E3 ligases that harbour RNA-binding domains, making them uniquely positioned to function as both RNA-binding proteins and E3 ligases. Our initial microarray screen for E3 ligases from mouse cortical neural progenitor cells identified MEX3B, a known RNA-binding ubiquitin ligase, to be differentially expressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Biol
September 2025
Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Extreme climate events, such as storms, droughts or cold waves, wreak havoc on human and natural systems, but they can also catalyze rapid evolutionary change. Because such extreme events have historically been rare and difficult to forecast, studies of their biological impacts have mostly been serendipitous, limiting our understanding of their evolutionary consequences. However, with extreme climate events now increasing in frequency and severity due to human-induced global change, the opportunity - and need - to study their evolutionary consequences has grown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF