Dopamine (DA) plays a critical role in the brain, and the ability to directly measure dopaminergic activity is essential for understanding its physiological functions. We therefore developed red fluorescent GPCR-activation–based DA (GRAB DA ) sensors and optimized versions of green fluorescent GRAB DA sensors. In response to extracellular DA, both the red and green GRAB DA sensors exhibit a large increase in fluorescence, with subcellular resolution, subsecond kinetics, and nanomolar to submicromolar affinity. Moreover, the GRAB DA sensors resolve evoked DA release in mouse brain slices, detect evoked compartmental DA release from a single neuron in live flies, and report optogenetically elicited nigrostriatal DA release as well as mesoaccumbens dopaminergic activity during sexual behavior in freely behaving mice. Co-expressing red GRAB DA with either green GRAB DA or the calcium indicator GCaMP6s allows simultaneously tracking neuronal activity and dopaminergic signaling in distinct circuits in vivo .

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China has spread rapidly, with confirmed cases currently appearing in multiple countries. Although many details, such as the source of the virus and its ability to spread between individuals, remain unknown, an increasing number of cases have been confirmed to have been caused by human-to-human transmission. 1,2 The primary symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, dry cough, and fatigue. 2 However, some physicians in affected areas have found that some patients diagnosed with COVID-19 have not shown typical respiratory symptoms, such as fever and coughing, at the time of diagnosis; rather, some infected patients have exhibited only neurological symptoms as the initial symptoms, such as the following: (1) headache, languidness, unstable walking, and malaise, which may be due to non-specific manifestations caused by COVID-19 (the proportion of non-specific manifestations as the first symptoms needs to be further explored); (2) cerebral hemorrhage; (3) cerebral infarction; and (4) other neurological diseases. In a recent study of 214 patients with COVID-19, 78 (36.4%) patients had neurological manifestations, such as headache, dizziness, acute cerebrovascular diseases, and impaired consciousness. 3 Of these 214 patients, 40 (18.7%) patients required intensive care unit (ICU) interventions for their severe neurological involvement. 3 Currently, although there have been many cases of patients with COVID-19 complicated by cerebral hemorrhages, relevant studies on this association are lacking. Hence, the physiological relationship between COVID-19 and the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage remains unclear. Based on several lines of evidence, we hypothesize that COVID-19 may involve cranial hemorrhage. First, recent studies have shown that this novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, invades human respiratory

Background: The importance of mRNA methylation erased by ALKBH5 in mRNA biogenesis, decay, and translation control is an emerging research focus. Ectopically activated YAP is associated with the development of many human cancers. However, the mechanism whereby ALKBH5 regulates YAP expression and activity to inhibit NSCLC tumor growth and metastasis is not clear. Methods: Protein and transcript interactions were analyzed in normal lung cell and NSCLC cells. Gene expression was evaluated by qPCR and reporter assays. Protein levels were determined by immunochemical approaches. Nucleic acid interactions and status were analyzed by immunoprecipitation. Cell behavior was analyzed by standard biochemical tests. The m 6 A modification was analyzed by MeRIP. Results: Our results show that YAP expression is negatively correlated with ALKBH5 expression and plays an opposite role in the regulation of cellular proliferation, invasion, migration, and EMT of NSCLC cells. ALKBH5 reduced m 6 A modification of YAP. YTHDF3 combined YAP pre-mRNA depending on m 6 A modification. YTHDF1 and YTHDF2 competitively interacted with YTHDF3 in an m 6 A-independent manner to regulate YAP expression. YTHDF2 facilitated YAP mRNA decay via the AGO2 system, whereas YTHDF1 promoted YAP mRNA translation by interacting with eIF3a; both these activities are regulated by m 6 A modification. Furthermore, ALKBH5 decreased YAP activity by regulating miR-107/LATS2 axis in an HuR-dependent manner. Further, ALKBH5 inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in vivo by reducing the expression and activity of YAP. Conclusions: The presented findings suggest m 6 A demethylase ALKBH5 inhibits tumor growth and metastasis by reducing YTHDFs-mediated YAP expression and inhibiting miR-107/LATS2-mediated YAP activity in NSCLC. Moreover, effective inhibition of m 6 A modification of ALKBH5 might constitute a potential treatment strategy for lung cancer.

Human gut microbiome is a promising target for managing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Measures altering gut microbiota like oral intake of probiotics or berberine (BBR), a bacteriostatic agent, merit metabolic homoeostasis. We hence conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with newly diagnosed T2D patients from 20 centres in China. Four-hundred-nine eligible participants were enroled, randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) and completed a 12-week treatment of either BBR-alone, probiotics+BBR, probiotics-alone, or placebo, after a one-week run-in of gentamycin pretreatment. The changes in glycated haemoglobin, as the primary outcome, in the probiotics+BBR (least-squares mean [95% CI], −1.04[−1.19, −0.89]%) and BBR-alone group (−0.99[−1.16, −0.83]%) were significantly greater than that in the placebo and probiotics-alone groups (−0.59[−0.75, −0.44]%, −0.53[−0.68, −0.37]%, P < 0.001). BBR treatment induced more gastrointestinal side effects. Further metagenomics and metabolomic studies found that the hypoglycaemic effect of BBR is mediated by the inhibition of DCA biotransformation by Ruminococcus bromii. Therefore, our study reports a human microbial related mechanism underlying the antidiabetic effect of BBR on T2D. (Clinicaltrial.gov Identifier: NCT02861261).

Expression of the ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCB6 has been associated with multiple cellular functions, including resistance to several cytotoxic agents, iron homeostasis, and porphyrin transport. To further elucidate its physiological function and/or role in drug resistance, we determined the subcellular location of ABCB6. Using three novel ABCB6-specific antibodies, Western blot analysis of cells expressing cDNA-derived or endogenous ABCB6 revealed two distinct molecular weight forms. Confocal microscopy indicates that the protein localizes to both mitochondria and the plasma membrane. Differential centrifugation revealed that the lower molecular weight form predominantly resides in the mitochondria, while the larger protein form is more abundant in the plasma membrane. Preliminary studies indicate that ABCB6 is functionally relevant in the plasma membrane, where its expression prevents the accumulation of specific porphyrins in the cell. Digitonin solubilization of mitochondria demonstrated that ABCB6 is present in the outer mitochondrial membrane, while back-titration assays with the ABCB6-specific antibodies reveal that the nucleotide binding domain of ABCB6 is cytoplasmic. These studies are the first to demonstrate that ABCB6 exists in two molecular weight forms, is localized to both the outer mitochondrial membrane and the plasma membrane, and plays a functional role in the plasma membrane.

Serotonin (5-HT) is a phylogenetically conserved monoamine neurotransmitter modulating important processes in the brain. To directly visualize the release of 5-HT, we developed a genetically encoded G PC R - A ctivation- B ased 5-HT (GRAB 5-HT ) sensor with high sensitivity, selectivity, subsecond kinetics, and subcellular resolution. GRAB 5-HT detects 5-HT release in multiple physiological and pathological conditions in both flies and mice, and provides new insights into the dynamics and mechanisms of 5-HT signaling.

A navigator-led ACP program was feasible and may be associated with lower rates of resource utilization near EOL.

The SNAC1 gene belongs to the stress-related NAC superfamily of transcription factors. It was identified from rice and overexpressed in cotton cultivar YZ1 by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. SNAC1-overexpressing cotton plants showed more vigorous growth, especially in terms of root development, than the wild-type plants in the presence of 250 mM NaCl under hydroponic growth conditions. The content of proline was enhanced but the MDA content was decreased in the transgenic cotton seedlings under drought and salt treatments compared to the wild-type. Furthermore, SNAC1-overexpressing cotton plants also displayed significantly improved tolerance to both drought and salt stresses in the greenhouse. The performances of the SNAC1-overexpressing lines under drought and salt stress were significantly better than those of the wild-type in terms of the boll number. During the drought and salt treatments, the transpiration rate of transgenic plants significantly decreased in comparison to the wild-type, but the photosynthesis rate maintained the same at the flowering stage in the transgenic plants. These results suggested that overexpression of SNAC1 improve more tolerance to drought and salt in cotton through enhanced root development and reduced transpiration rates.