Publication

The ability of stem cells to rapidly proliferate and differentiate is integral to the steady-state maintenance of tissues with high turnover such as the blood and intestine. Mutations that alter these processes can cause primary immunodeficiencies, malignancies and defects in barrier function. The Rho-kinases, Rock1 and Rock2, regulate cell shape and cytoskeletal rearrangement, activities essential to mitosis.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and its expansion to a worldwide pandemic resulted in efforts to assess and develop interventions to reduce the disease burden. Despite the introduction of vaccine programmes against SARS-CoV-2, global incidence levels in early 2022 remained high, demonstrating a need for the development of physiologically relevant models, which are essential for the identification of alternative antiviral strategies.

The golden Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) is now commonly used in preclinical research for the study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and the assessment of vaccines, drugs and therapeutics.

Ticks are important ectoparasites that are capable of transmitting multiple classes of pathogens and are currently linked with many emerging tick-borne diseases worldwide. With increasing occurrences of tick-borne diseases in both humans and veterinary species, there is a continuous need to further our understanding of ticks and the pathogens they transmit. Whole tick histology provides a full scope of the tick internal anatomy, allowing researchers to examine multiple organs of interest in a single section.

This review considers three aspects of recent work on the role of KNDy neurons in GnRH pulse generation in ruminants. First, work on basic mechanisms of pulse generation includes several tests of this hypothesis, all of which support it, and evidence that Kiss1r-containing neurons form a positive feedback circuit with the KNDy neural network that strengthen the activity of this network.

Background Appropriate host-microbe interactions are essential for enteric glial development and subsequent gastrointestinal function, but the potential mechanisms of microbe-glial communication are unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that enteric glia express the pattern recognition receptor stimulator of interferon genes (STING) and communicate with the microbiome through this pathway to modulate gastrointestinal inflammation. Methods In situ transcriptional labeling and immunohistochemistry were used to examine STING and IFNβ expression in enteric neurons and glia.

RXFP4 is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) in the relaxin family. It has recently been recognised that this receptor and its cognate ligand INSL5 may have a role in the regulation of food intake, gut motility, and other functions relevant to metabolic health and disease.  Recent data from reporter-mice showed co-location of Rxfp4 and serotonin (5-HT) in the lower gut. We used human single cell RNA sequence data (scRNASeq) and immunohistochemistry to show that RXFP4 is in a subset of gut enterochromaffin cells that produce 5-HT in humans.

Tau phosphorylation, aggregation, and toxicity are the main drivers of neurodegeneration in multiple tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau. Although aggregation and amyloid formation are often assumed to be synonymous, the ability of tau aggregates in different diseases to form amyloids in vivo has not been systematically studied.

How parasites develop and survive, and how they stimulate or modulate host immune responses are important in understanding disease pathology and for the design of new control strategies. Microarray analysis and bulk RNA sequencing have provided a wealth of data on gene expression as parasites develop through different life-cycle stages and on host cell responses to infection.

One negative emotional state from morphine protracted abstinence is anxiety which can drive craving and relapse risk in opioid addicts. Although the orexinergic system has been reported to be important in mediating emotion processing and addiction, the role of orexinergic system in anxiety from drug protracted abstinence remains elusive.