Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B

Stress has been considered as a major risk factor for depressive disorders, triggering depression onset via inducing persistent dysfunctions in specialized brain regions and neural circuits. Among various regions across the brain, the lateral habenula (LHb) serves as a critical hub for processing aversive information during the dynamic process of stress accumulation, thus having been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. LHb neurons integrate aversive valence conveyed by distinct upstream inputs, many of which selectively innervate the medial part (LHbM) or lateral part (LHbL) of LHb...

Autophagy plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular homeostasis in response to various stimuli. Compared to research on nutrient deprivation-induced autophagy, the understanding of the molecular mechanisms and physiological/pathological significance of autophagy triggered by energy deprivation remains limited. A primary focus of our lab is to elucidate how cells sense energy deprivation and initiate autophagy. Using the model organisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae and mammalian cells, we found that cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage sensor Mec1, and mitochondrial aerobic respiration play essential roles in the autophagy induced by energy deprivation...

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) cause symptoms by altering the circulation levels of catecholamines and peptide hormones. Currently, the diagnosis of PPGLs relies on diagnostic imaging and the detection of catecholamines. In this study, we used ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MS) analysis to identify and measure the perioperative differential metabolites in the plasma of adrenal pheochromocytoma patients. We identified differentially expressed genes by comparing the transcriptomic data of pheochromocytoma with the normal adrenal medulla...

Thalamocortical circuitry has a substantial impact on emotion and cognition. Previous studies have demonstrated alterations in thalamocortical functional connectivity (FC), characterized by region-dependent hypo- or hyper-connectivity, among individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the dynamical reconfiguration of the thalamocortical system over time and potential abnormalities in dynamic thalamocortical connectivity associated with MDD remain unclear. Hence, we analyzed dynamic FC (dFC) between ten thalamic subregions and seven cortical subnetworks from resting-state functional magnetic resonance images of 48 patients with MDD and 57 healthy controls (HCs) to investigate time-varying changes in thalamocortical FC in patients with MDD...

Deep brain stimulation (DBS), including optical stimulation and electrical stimulation, has been demonstrated considerable value in exploring pathological brain activity and developing treatments for neural disorders. Advances in DBS microsystems based on implantable microelectrode array (MEA) probes have opened up new opportunities for closed-loop DBS (CL-DBS) in situ. This technology can be used to detect damaged brain circuits and test the therapeutic potential for modulating the output of these circuits in a variety of diseases simultaneously...

Intelligence quotient (IQ) and adaptive behavior are the influencing factors of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children entering mainstream schools. This study explored the association between parental education level, IQ, and adaptive behavior in ASD groups. A total of 257 school-age ASD children were enrolled in our study from January 2017 to June 2021. Their parents completed a standard demographic form, including age at autism diagnosis, gender, school placement, and parents' educational background. The Chinese version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) was completed by a certified assessor for each enrolled child...

The original version of this article (Weng et al., 2023) unfortunately contained a mistake. In Acknowledgments, the number (No. 226-2022-00213) of the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities is wrong. The correct number should be No. 2022FZZX01-33.

The original version of this article (Liu et al., 2021) unfortunately contained a mistake: statement of equal contribution is missing. This correction article shows that Chiyu LIU and Sixu CHEN contributed equally to this work. The original article has been corrected.

Glufosinate-ammonium herbicides are the most widely used broad-spectrum, non-selective herbicides in the world. Glufosinate-ammonium is a structural analogue of glutamate (Glu) which can irreversibly inhibit the activity of glutamine synthetase (GS) and Glu decarboxylase in plants, thereby blocking the synthesis of glutamine (Gln) from Glu and ammonia (Hoerlein, 1994). This causes the plants to die because of the nitrogen metabolism disorder and subsequent intracellular accumulation of ammonia. In humans, the characteristic features of glufosinate-ammonium herbicide poisoning include gastrointestinal symptoms and neurotoxicity (Watanabe and Sano, 1998)...

Kidney fibrosis is an inevitable result of various chronic kidney diseases (CKDs) and significantly contributes to end-stage renal failure. Currently, there is no specific treatment available for renal fibrosis. ELA13 (amino acid sequence: RRCMPLHSRVPFP) is a conserved region of ELABELA in all vertebrates; however, its biological activity has been very little studied. In the present study, we evaluated the therapeutic effect of ELA13 on transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-treated NRK-52E cells and unilateral ureteral occlusion (UUO) mice...

The worldwide chicken gene pool encompasses a remarkable, but shrinking, number of divergently selected breeds of diverse origin. This study was a large-scale genome-wide analysis of the landscape of the complex molecular architecture, genetic variability, and detailed structure among 49 populations. These populations represent a significant sample of the world's chicken breeds from Europe (Russia, Czech Republic, France, Spain, UK, etc.), Asia (China), North America (USA), and Oceania (Australia). Based on the results of breed genotyping using the Illumina 60K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip, a bioinformatic analysis was carried out...

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have become hazardous materials due to the massive amount of plastic waste and disposable masks, but their specific health effects remain uncertain. In this study, fluorescence-labeled polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs) were injected into the circulatory systems of mice to determine the distribution and potential toxic effects of NPs in vivo. Interestingly, whole-body imaging found that PS-NPs accumulated in the testes of mice. Therefore, the toxic effects of PS-NPs on the reproduction systems and the spermatocytes cell line of male mice, and their mechanisms, were investigated...

The oyster mushroom ( Pleurotus spp.) is one of the most widely cultivated mushroom species globally. The present study investigated the effect of synbiotics on the growth and quality of Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus pulmonarius . Different synbiotics formulations were applied by spraying mushroom samples daily and measuring their growth parameters, yield, biological efficiency, proximate composition, mineral content, total phenolic content (TPC), and diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity...

Cells within tissues are subject to various mechanical forces, including hydrostatic pressure, shear stress, compression, and tension. These mechanical stimuli can be converted into biochemical signals through mechanoreceptors or cytoskeleton-dependent response processes, shaping the microenvironment and maintaining cellular physiological balance. Several studies have demonstrated the roles of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and its homolog transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) as mechanotransducers, exerting dynamic influence on cellular phenotypes including differentiation and disease pathogenesis...

Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) can be induced by various kinds of diseases, including chronic pancreatitis, acute pancreatitis, and post-pancreatectomy. The main pathogenetic mechanism of PEI involves the decline of trypsin synthesis, disorder of pancreatic fluid flow, and imbalance of secretion feedback. Animal studies have shown that PEI could induce gut bacterial overgrowth and dysbiosis, with the abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium increasing the most, which could be partially reversed by pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy...

As a potential vectored vaccine, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has been subject to various studies for vaccine development, while relatively little research has outlined the immunomodulatory effect of the virus in antigen presentation. To elucidate the key inhibitory factor in regulating the interaction of infected dendritic cells (DCs) and T cells, DCs were pretreated with the NDV vaccine strain LaSota as an inhibitor and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for further detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), flow cytometry, immunoblotting, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)...

OBJECTIVES : Distolingual root of the permanent mandibular first molar (PMFM-DLR) has been frequently reported, which may complicate the treatment of periodontitis. This study aimed to assess the morphological features of PMFM-DLR and investigate the correlation between the morphological features of PMFM-DLR and periodontal status in patients with Eastern Chinese ethnic background. MATERIALS AND METHODS : A total of 836 cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images with 1497 mandibular first molars were analyzed to observe the prevalence of PMFM-DLR at the patients and tooth levels in Eastern China...

Microplastics (MPs) have attracted growing attention worldwide as an increasingly prevalent environmental pollutant. In addition, chicken meat is currently the most widely consumed kind of poultry in the global market. Consumer demand for chicken is on the rise both at home and abroad. As a result, the safety of chicken raising has also received significant attention. The lungs play an essential role in the physiological activities of chickens, and they are also the most vulnerable organs. Lung injury is difficult to repair after the accumulation of contaminants, and the mortality rate is high, which brings huge economic losses to farmers...

The endoplasmic reticulum is a key site for protein production and quality control. More than one-third of proteins are synthesized and folded into the correct three-dimensional conformation in the endoplasmic reticulum. However, during protein folding, unfolded and/or misfolded proteins are prone to occur, which may lead to endoplasmic reticulum stress. Organisms can monitor the quality of the proteins produced by endoplasmic reticulum quality control (ERQC) and endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD), which maintain endoplasmic reticulum protein homeostasis by degrading abnormally folded proteins...

Osteoarthritis (OA), characterized by cartilage degeneration, synovial inflammation, and subchondral bone remodeling, is among the most common musculoskeletal disorders globally in people over 60 years of age. The initiation and progression of OA involves the abnormal metabolism of chondrocytes as an important pathogenic process. Cartilage degeneration features mitochondrial dysfunction as one of the important causative factors of abnormal chondrocyte metabolism. Therefore, maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis is an important strategy to mitigate OA...