Genes Involved by Dexamethasone in Prevention of Long-Term Memory Impairment Caused by Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation

GRIN2A and Schizophrenia: Scientific Evidence and Biological Mechanisms

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder and a complex polygenic inherited disease that affects nearly 1% of the global population. Although considerable progress has been made over the past 10 years in the treatment of schizophrenia, antipsychotics are not universally effective and may have serious side effects. The hypofunction of glutamate NMDA receptors (NMDARs) in GABAergic interneurons has long been postulated to be the principal pathophysiology of schizophrenia. A recent study has shown that GRIN2A pathogenic variants are closely related to the aetiology of the disorder. GRIN2A encodes the GluN2A protein, which is a subunit of NMDAR. Most GRIN2A variants have been predicted to cause protein truncation, which results in reduced gene expression. Preclinical studies have indicated that GRIN2A mutations lead to NMDAR loss of function and substantially increase the risk of schizophrenia; however, their role in schizophrenia is not well understood. We hypothesise that the heterozygous loss of GRIN2A induces NMDAR hypofunction sufficient to confer a substantial risk of schizophrenia. Therefore, this review focuses on GRIN2A as a target for novel antipsychotics and discusses the mechanisms by which GRIN2A modulates antischizophrenic activities. Moreover, our review contributes to the understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia to facilitate finding treatments for the cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Brainstem transcriptomic changes in male Wistar rats after acute stress, comparing the use of duplex specific nuclease (DSN)

In this work, we have analyzed the transcriptomic changes in the brainstem of male Wistar rats 2 h after an acute stress exposure. We performed duplex-specific nuclease normalization of cDNA libraries and compared the results back-to-back for the first time. Based on our RNAseq data, we selected reference genes for RT-qPCR that are best suited for acute stress experiments. Most genes were upregulated. We detected a massive shift in neuropeptide Crh, Trh,Cga, Tshb, Uts2b, Tac4, Lep and neuropeptide receptor Hcrtr1, Sstr5, Bdkrb2, Crhr2 signaling, as well as glutamate Grin3b, Grm2 and GABA Gpr156, acetylcholine Chrm4,Chrne, adrenergic Adra2b receptors expression. A strong increase in the expression of intermediate filaments Krt83/Krt86/Krt80/Krt84/Krt87/Krt4/Krt76 and motor proteins Myo7a, Klc3 was detected. Remarkably, in the absence of astrocyte activation, we also observed signs of microglial activation at this time point. Both expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines Il13, Ccl24 and pro-inflammatory cytokine receptors Il9r, Il12rb1, Tnfrsf14, Tnfrsf13c, Tnfrsf25, Tnfrsf1b were increased. In the Wnt signaling pathway, we observed increased expression of ligands-receptors Wnt1, Wnt11, Ror2 and also negative regulators Notum, Sfrp5, Sost. RNAseq results after DSN treatment correlated at a high level with RNAseq results without DSN, but there was a proportion of genes that shifted their logFC values. They are mostly rare transcripts TPM 1-10 with higher 0.5-0.9 GC content.

Genetic diversity of Rhombomys opimus and Meriones meridianus with potential divergence of plague resistance in the Junggar Basin plague focus based on RT1-Db1*exon1

In the Junggar Basin plague focus, Rhombomys opimus and Meriones meridianus live together, and their parasitic fleas have a similar community structure. However, R. opimus has significantly higher positive rates of Yersinia pestis and anti-F1 antibody compared with M. meridianus. In this study, Y. pestis- and antiF1 antibody-negative R. opimus and M. penicilliger were collected in Qitai county, Fukang city and Mulei county of the eastern part of the Junggar Basin. The genomic DNA was extracted from their spleen tissues, and RT1-Db1*exon1 was amplified through PCR procedure and then sequenced. Sequence analysis was performed and molecular diversity parameters were calculated and compared. The results showed that there were significant differences in nucleotide composition, amino acid composition, number and distribution of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites and number of haplotypes between R. opimus and M. penicilliger. The nucleotide diversity (π) for R. opimus was 0.00420 ± 0.00139, the haplotype diversity (h) was 0.833 ± 0.086, and the average number of nucleotide differences (K) was 2.02564. The π for M. penicilliger was 0.06569 ± 0.02524, and the h was 1.000 ± 0.045, and the K was 10.4444. The fixation index (FST) value between R. opimus and M. penicilliger was 0.9207. Furthermore, the FST value within R. opimus (0.0275) was significantly lower than that within M. penicilliger (0.2106), indicating a greater genetic variation of M. penicilliger compared with R. opimus. In conclusion, the genetic diversity analysis based on RT1-Db1*exon1 showed that M. penicilliger had higher gene polymorphism and greater genetic differentiation compared with R. opimus in the Junggar Basin plague focus, which might be associated with the low infection rate of Y. pestis.

Integrated bioinformatics analysis of retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats with potential key genes

The tissue damage caused by transient ischemic injury is an essential component of the pathogenesis of retinal ischemia, which mainly hinges on the degree and duration of interruption of the blood supply and the subsequent damage caused by tissue reperfusion. Some research indicated that the retinal injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) was related to reperfusion time.In this study, we screened the differentially expressed circRNAs, lncRNAs, and mRNAs between the control and model group and at different reperfusion time (24h, 72h, and 7d) with the aid of whole transcriptome sequencing technology, and the trend changes in time-varying mRNA, lncRNA, circRNA were obtained by chronological analysis. Then, candidate circRNAs, lncRNAs, and mRNAs were obtained as the intersection of differentially expression genes and trend change genes. Importance scores of the genes selected the key genes whose expression changed with the increase of reperfusion time. Also, the characteristic differentially expressed genes specific to the reperfusion time were analyzed, key genes specific to reperfusion time were selected to show the change in biological process with the increase of reperfusion time.As a result, 316 candidate mRNAs, 137 candidate lncRNAs, and 31 candidate circRNAs were obtained by the intersection of differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs with trend mRNAs, trend lncRNAs and trend circRNAs, 5 key genes (Cd74, RT1-Da, RT1-CE5, RT1-Bb, RT1-DOa) were selected by importance scores of the genes. The result of GSEA showed that key genes were found to play vital roles in antigen processing and presentation, regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, and the ribosome. A network included 4 key genes (Cd74, RT1-Da, RT1-Bb, RT1-DOa), 34 miRNAs and 48 lncRNAs, and 81 regulatory relationship axes, and a network included 4 key genes (Cd74, RT1-Da, RT1-Bb, RT1-DOa), 9 miRNAs and 3 circRNAs (circRNA_10572, circRNA_03219, circRNA_11359) and 12 regulatory relationship axes were constructed, the subcellular location, transcription factors, signaling network, targeted drugs and relationship to eye diseases of key genes were predicted. 1370 characteristic differentially expressed mRNAs (spec_24h mRNA), 558 characteristic differentially expressed mRNAs (spec_72h mRNA), and 92 characteristic differentially expressed mRNAs (spec_7d mRNA) were found, and their key genes and regulation networks were analyzed.In summary, we screened the differentially expressed circRNAs, lncRNAs, and mRNAs between the control and model groups and at different reperfusion time (24h, 72h, and 7d). 5 key genes, Cd74, RT1-Da, RT1-CE5, RT1-Bb, RT1-DOa, were selected. Key genes specific to reperfusion time were selected to show the change in biological process with the increased reperfusion time. These results provided theoretical support and a reference basis for the clinical treatment.