A single-cell genomic atlas for maturation of the human cerebellum during early childhood.

Inflammation early in life is a clinically established risk factor for autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia, yet the impact of inflammation on human brain development is poorly understood. The cerebellum undergoes protracted postnatal maturation, making it especially susceptible to perturbations contributing to the risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, using single-cell genomics of postmortem cerebellar brain samples, we characterized the postnatal development of cerebellar neurons and glia in 1- to 5-year-old children, comparing individuals who had died while experiencing inflammation with those who had died as a result of an accident. Our analyses revealed that inflammation and postnatal cerebellar maturation are associated with extensive, overlapping transcriptional changes primarily in two subtypes of inhibitory neurons: Purkinje neurons and Golgi neurons. Immunohistochemical analysis of a subset of these postmortem cerebellar samples revealed no change to Purkinje neuron soma size but evidence for increased activation of microglia in those children who had experienced inflammation. Maturation-associated and inflammation-associated gene expression changes included genes implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. A gene regulatory network model integrating cell type-specific gene expression and chromatin accessibility identified seven temporally specific gene networks in Purkinje neurons and suggested that inflammation may be associated with the premature down-regulation of developmental gene expression programs.

Impaired Reorganization of Centrosome Structure Underlies Human Infantile Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: During cardiomyocyte maturation, the centrosome, which functions as a microtubule organizing center in cardiomyocytes, undergoes dramatic structural reorganization where its components reorganize from being localized at the centriole to the nuclear envelope. This developmentally programmed process, referred to as centrosome reduction, has been previously associated with cell cycle exit. However, understanding of how this process influences cardiomyocyte cell biology, and whether its disruption results in human cardiac disease, remains unknown. We studied this phenomenon in an infant with a rare case of infantile dilated cardiomyopathy (iDCM) who presented with left ventricular ejection fraction of 18% and disrupted sarcomere and mitochondria structure. METHODS: We performed an analysis beginning with an infant who presented with a rare case of iDCM. We derived induced pluripotent stem cells from the patient to model iDCM in vitro. We performed whole exome sequencing on the patient and his parents for causal gene analysis. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene knockout and correction in vitro were used to confirm whole exome sequencing results. Zebrafish and Drosophila models were used for in vivo validation of the causal gene. Matrigel mattress technology and single-cell RNA sequencing were used to characterize iDCM cardiomyocytes further. RESULTS: Whole exome sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9 gene knockout/correction identified RTTN, the gene encoding the centrosomal protein RTTN (rotatin), as the causal gene underlying the patient's condition, representing the first time a centrosome defect has been implicated in a nonsyndromic dilated cardiomyopathy. Genetic knockdowns in zebrafish and Drosophila confirmed an evolutionarily conserved requirement of RTTN for cardiac structure and function. Single-cell RNA sequencing of iDCM cardiomyocytes showed impaired maturation of iDCM cardiomyocytes, which underlie the observed cardiomyocyte structural and functional deficits. We also observed persistent localization of the centrosome at the centriole, contrasting with expected programmed perinuclear reorganization, which led to subsequent global microtubule network defects. In addition, we identified a small molecule that restored centrosome reorganization and improved the structure and contractility of iDCM cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to demonstrate a case of human disease caused by a defect in centrosome reduction. We also uncovered a novel role for RTTN in perinatal cardiac development and identified a potential therapeutic strategy for centrosome-related iDCM. Future study aimed at identifying variants in centrosome components may uncover additional contributors to human cardiac disease.

Single-Nucleus RNA-Seq Reveals Dysregulation of Striatal Cell Identity Due to Huntington's Disease Mutations.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide expansion in exon 1 of the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Cell death in HD occurs primarily in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs), but the involvement of specific MSN subtypes and of other striatal cell types remains poorly understood. To gain insight into cell type-specific disease processes, we studied the nuclear transcriptomes of 4524 cells from the striatum of a genetically precise knock-in mouse model of the HD mutation, HttQ175/+, and from wild-type controls. We used 14- to 15-month-old male mice, a time point at which multiple behavioral, neuroanatomical, and neurophysiological changes are present but at which there is no known cell death. Thousands of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were distributed across most striatal cell types, including transcriptional changes in glial populations that are not apparent from RNA-seq of bulk tissue. Reconstruction of cell type-specific transcriptional networks revealed a striking pattern of bidirectional dysregulation for many cell type-specific genes. Typically, these genes were repressed in their primary cell type, yet de-repressed in other striatal cell types. Integration with existing epigenomic and transcriptomic data suggest that partial loss-of-function of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) may underlie many of these transcriptional changes, leading to deficits in the maintenance of cell identity across virtually all cell types in the adult striatum.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Huntington's disease (HD) is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by specific loss of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the striatum, accompanied by more subtle changes in many other cell types. It is thought that changes in transcriptional regulation are an important underlying mechanism, but cell type-specific gene expression changes are not well understood, particularly at time points relevant to the onset of disease-related symptoms. Single-nucleus (sn)RNA-seq in a genetically precise mouse model enabled us to identify novel patterns of transcriptional dysregulation because of HD mutations, including bidirectional dysregulation of many cell type identity genes that may be driven by partial loss-of-function of the polycomb repressive complex (PRC). Identifying these regulators of transcriptional dysregulation in HD can be leveraged to design novel disease-modifying therapeutics.

A pilot study assessing the effect of prolonged administration of high daily doses of vitamin D on the clinical course of vitiligo and psoriasis.

Autoimmunity has been associated with vitamin D deficiency and resistance, with gene polymorphisms related to vitamin D metabolism frequently described in affected patients. High doses of vitamin D3 may conceivably compensate for inherited resistance to its biological effects. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of prolonged high-dose vitamin D3 treatment of patients with psoriasis and vitiligo. Nine patients with psoriasis and 16 patients with vitiligo received vitamin D3 35,000 IU once daily for six months in association with a low-calcium diet (avoiding dairy products and calcium-enriched foods like oat, rice or soya "milk") and hydration (minimum 2.5 L daily). All psoriasis patients were scored according to "Psoriasis Area and Severity Index" (PASI) at baseline and after treatment. Evaluation of clinical response of vitiligo patients required a quartile grading scale. All patients presented low vitamin D status (serum 25(OH)D3 ≤ 30 ng/mL) at baseline. After treatment 25(OH)D3 levels significantly increased (from 14.9 ± 7.4 to 106.3 ± 31.9 ng/mL and from 18.4 ± 8.9 to 132.5 ± 37.0 ng/mL) and PTH levels significantly decreased (from 57.8 ± 16.7 to 28.9 ± 8.2 pg/mL and from 55.3 ± 25.0 to 25.4 ± 10.7 pg/mL) in patients with psoriasis and vitiligo respectively. PTH and 25(OH)D3 serum concentrations correlated inversely. The PASI score significantly improved in all nine patients with psoriasis. Fourteen of 16 patients with vitiligo had 25-75% repigmentation. Serum urea, creatinine and calcium (total and ionized) did not change and urinary calcium excretion increased within the normal range. High-dose vitamin D3 therapy may be effective and safe for vitiligo and psoriasis patients.

Registro de Aedes albopictus em áreas epizoóticas de Febre Amarela das Regiões Sudeste e Sul do Brasil (Diptera: Culicidae) / Aedes albopictus appearence in epizootic areas of jungle Yellow Fever in South-Eatern and Soutern Regions of Brazil (Diptera: Culicidae)

Durante estudo biológico e ecológico sobre mosquitos levado a cabo em área com registro de epidemia de febre amarela silvestre e epizootia em macacos, foram encontrados adultos de Aedes albopictus. A tendência da espécie para invadir ambiente extradomiciliar potencializada a chance de infecção natural, ao tempo em que evolui para formar um elo entre focos naturais dos vírus e o ambiente urbano. Esta nota técnica representa um alerta aos gestores dos três poderes públicos sobre perspectivas de mudanças no perfil epidemiológico atual da Febre Amarela no Brasil...

During biological and ecological study on mosquitoes carried out on area with registers of epidemic of jungle yellow fever and monkey epizootic were found some adults of Aedes albopictus. The tendency of this species to invade the extra-domicile environment brings out the possibility of natural infection, and at the same time evolving to form a link between natural focus of the virus and the urban environment. This Technical Note represents an alert to the three government levels about the perspectives of changes in the actual epidemiological profile of yellow fever in Brazil.

Necrosis of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) infected cells rarely is preceded by apoptosis.

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV)-infected cells were labeled with Annexin V and propidium iodide in order to determine the proportion of cells, which developed necrosis and/or apoptosis during the time course of infection. Contrasting with earlier reports, we found that at any time during IPNV multiplication cycle, the percentage of apoptotic cells never exceeded the 12% of the whole population of the infected cells. In addition, the percentage of necrotic cells increased continuously until reaching the 75% of the infected cells at 15 h post infection. Apoptotic cells were also identified by in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated BrdUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Our results are in accordance with the idea that apoptosis rarely precedes necrosis.

Validaçäo da técnica de impregnaçäo de glóbulos homeopáticos / Validation of homeopathic globules impregnation technique

O presente trbalho compara os resultados obtidos na impregnação de glóbulos com uma solução corante com o uso de 4 diferentes técnicas. Para cada técnica foram experimentadas simples impregnações na faixa de 2 porcento v/p à 5 porecento v/p e tríplice...

Validação da técnica de impregnação de glóbulos homeopáticos / Validation of homeopathic globules impregnation technique

O presente trbalho compara os resultados obtidos na impregnação de glóbulos com uma solução corante com o uso de 4 diferentes técnicas. Para cada técnica foram experimentadas simples impregnações na faixa de 2 porcento v/p à 5 porecento v/p e tríplice... (AU)