Enhanced Resting-State Functional Connectivity With Decreased Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations of the Salience Network in Mindfulness Novices.

Mindfulness and accordant interventions are often used as complementary treatments to psychological or psychosomatic problems. This has also been gradually integrated into daily lives for the promotion of psychological well-being in non-clinical populations. The experience of mindful acceptance in a non-judgmental way brought about the state, which was less interfered by a negative effect. Mindfulness practice often begins with focused attention (FA) meditation restricted to an inner experience. We postulate that the brain areas related to an interoceptive function would demonstrate an intrinsic functional change after mindfulness training for the mindful novices along with paying more attention to internal processes. To further explore the influence of mindfulness on the organization of the brain regions, both functional connectivity (FC) in the voxel and the region of interest (ROI) level were calculated. In the current study, 32 healthy volunteers, without any meditation experiences, were enrolled and randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based stress reduction group (MBSR) or control group (CON). Participants in the MBSR group completed 8 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and rated their mindfulness skills before and after MBSR. All subjects were evaluated via resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in both baselines and after 8 weeks. They also completed a self-report measure of their state and trait anxiety as well as a positive and negative affect. Pre- and post-MBSR assessments revealed a decreased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in the right anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC.R), left anterior and posterior insula (aIC.L, pIC.L), as well as left superior medial frontal gyrus (SFGmed.L) in MBSR practitioners. Strengthened FC between right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC.R) and aIC.R was observed. The mean ALFF values of those regions were inversely and positively linked to newly acquired mindful abilities. Along with a decreased negative affect score, our results suggest that the brain regions related to attention and interoceptive function were involved at the beginning of mindfulness. This study provides new clues in elucidating the time of evaluating the brain mechanisms of mindfulness novices.

Exosomes derived from human placental mesenchymal stem cells enhanced the recovery of spinal cord injury by activating endogenous neurogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating medical condition that can result in the irreversible loss of sensorimotor function. Current therapies fail to provide an effective recovery being crucial to develop more effective approaches. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) exosomes have been shown to be able to facilitate axonal growth and act as mediators to regulate neurogenesis and neuroprotection, holding great therapeutic potential in SCI conditions. This study aimed to assess the potential of human placental MSC (hpMSC)-derived exosomes on the functional recovery and reactivation of endogenous neurogenesis in an experimental animal model of SCI and to explore the possible mechanisms involved. METHODS: The hpMSC-derived exosomes were extracted and transplanted in an experimental animal model of SCI with complete transection of the thoracic segment. Functional recovery, the expression of neural stem/progenitor cell markers and the occurrence of neurogenesis, was assessed 60 days after the treatment. In vitro, neural stem cells (NSCs) were incubated with the isolated exosomes for 24 h, and the phosphorylation levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK), extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), and cAMP response element binding (CREB) proteins were assessed by western blot. RESULTS: Exosomes were successfully isolated and purified from hpMSCs. Intravenous injections of these purified exosomes significantly improved the locomotor activity and bladder dysfunction of SCI animals. Further study of the exosomes' therapeutic action revealed that hpMSC-derived exosomes promoted the activation of proliferating endogenous neural stem/progenitor cells as denoted by the significant increase of spinal SOX2+GFAP+, PAX6+Nestin+, and SOX1+KI67+ cells. Moreover, animals treated with exosomes exhibited a significative higher neurogenesis, as indicated by the higher percentage of DCX+MAP 2+ neurons. In vitro, hpMSC-derived exosomes promoted the proliferation of NSCs and the increase of the phosphorylated levels of MEK, ERK, and CREB. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that the use of hpMSC-derived exosomes may constitute a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of SCI.

The depression GWAS risk allele predicts smaller cerebellar gray matter volume and reduced SIRT1 mRNA expression in Chinese population.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is recognized as a primary cause of disability worldwide, and effective management of this illness has been a great challenge. While genetic component is supposed to play pivotal roles in MDD pathogenesis, the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of the illness has hampered the discovery of its genetic determinants. In this study, in an independent Han Chinese sample (1824 MDD cases and 3031 controls), we conducted replication analyses of two genetic loci highlighted in a previous Chinese MDD genome-wide association study (GWAS), and confirmed the significant association of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs12415800 near SIRT1. Subsequently, using hypothesis-free whole-brain analysis in two independent Han Chinese imaging samples, we found that individuals carrying the MDD risk allele of rs12415800 exhibited aberrant gray matter volume in the left posterior cerebellar lobe compared with those carrying the non-risk allele. Besides, in independent Han Chinese postmortem brain and peripheral blood samples, the MDD risk allele of rs12415800 predicted lower SIRT1 mRNA levels, which was consistent with the reduced expression of this gene in MDD patients compared with healthy subjects. These results provide further evidence for the involvement of SIRT1 in MDD, and suggest that this gene might participate in the illness via affecting the development of cerebellum, a brain region that is potentially underestimated in previous MDD studies.

Alterations of Regional Homogeneity and Functional Connectivity Following Short-Term Mindfulness Meditation in Healthy Volunteers.

Mindfulness is described as the non-judgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment. The sustained practice of mindfulness may also have beneficial effects on an individual's well-being. For instance, mindfulness meditation is an effective approach for improving emotion regulation. Specifically, the early stage of mindfulness meditation training enhances emotional monitoring systems related to attention regulation and executive function. Reduced activity in the default mode network (DMN) would probably be observed corresponding to the attenuated mind wandering. In the present study, we hypothesized that alterations in functional activity in the frontal-parietal cortex and DMN may be induced by short-term mindfulness meditation. In this study, before and after 8 weeks of weekly Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training, healthy participants were evaluated using a mindfulness questionnaire and an affect schedule, as well as via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Sixteen right-handed non-meditators were enrolled. Another 16 demographically matched healthy adults without any meditation experience were recruited as controls. Pre- and post-MBSR assessments were compared. Increased regional homogeneity in the right superior parietal lobule and left postcentral gyrus (PoCG), as well as altered functional connectivity in PoCG-related networks, were observed post-MBSR. The mindfulness questionnaire scores also improved and negative affect was significantly decreased after MBSR. Together with reduced involvement of the posterior brain, our results suggest a tendency toward stronger involvement of the parietal cortex in mindfulness beginners. This study provides novel evidence regarding the optimization of emotional processing with short-term mindfulness meditation.

Integration of GWAS and brain eQTL identifies FLOT1 as a risk gene for major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent mental disorder that affects more than 200 million people worldwide. Recent large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple risk variants that show robust association with MDD. Nevertheless, how the identified risk variants confer risk of MDD remains largely unknown. To identify risk variants that are associated with gene expression in human brain and to identify genes whose expression change may contribute to the susceptibility of MDD, we systematically integrated the genetic associations from a large-scale MDD GWAS (N = 480,359) and brain expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data (N = 494) using a Bayesian statistical framework (Sherlock). Sherlock integrative analysis showed that FLOT1 was significantly associated with MDD (P = 6.02 × 10-6), suggesting that risk variants may contribute to MDD susceptibility through affecting FLOT1 expression. We further examined the expression level of FLOT1 in MDD cases and controls and found that FLOT1 was significantly upregulated in brains and peripheral blood of MDD cases compared with controls (European sample). Interestingly, we found that FLOT1 expression was also significantly upregulated in peripheral blood of first-episode drug-naive MDD cases compared with controls (P = 1.01 × 10-7, Chinese sample). Our study identified FLOT1 as a novel MDD risk gene whose expression level may play a role in MDD. In addition, our findings also suggest that risk variants may confer risk of MDD through affecting expression of FLOT1. Further functional investigation of FLOT1 may provide new insights for MDD pathogenesis.

Draft Genome Sequence of Jiangella alkaliphila KCTC 19222T, Isolated from Cave Soil in Jeju, Republic of Korea.

We report the draft genome sequence of Jiangella alkaliphila KCTC 19222(T), isolated from cave soil in Jeju, Republic of Korea. This genome sequence, together with the previously sequenced J. gansuensis strain DSM 44835(T), identified from a desert environmental source, will give us a better understanding of the school of "evolutionary taxonomy."

Actinomadura amylolytica sp. nov. and Actinomadura cellulosilytica sp. nov., isolated from geothermally heated soil.

Two aerobic, Gram-positive actinomycetes, designated YIM 77502(T) and YIM 77510(T), were isolated from geothermally heated soil of Tengchong county, Yunnan province, south-west China. The taxonomic position of strains YIM 77502(T) and YIM 77510(T) were investigated by a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains YIM 77502(T) and YIM 77510(T) belong to the genus Actinomadura. Both strains form extensively-branched substrate and aerial mycelia which differentiated into short spore chains. The cell wall of the two strains contained meso-diaminopimelic acid, while the whole-cell sugars detected were glucose, madurose, mannose and rhamnose. The polar lipid profile of strain YIM 77502(T) was found to consist of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol mannoside, phosphatidylinositol, two unidentified phospholipids and an unidentified polar lipid, while strain YIM 77510(T) consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol mannoside and phosphatidylinositol. The respiratory quinones of strains YIM 77502(T) and YIM 77510(T) were MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H8). The major fatty acids (>10 %) of strain YIM 77502(T) were C17:0, iso-C16:0, C17:010-methyl and iso-C18:0, and those of strain YIM 77510(T) were iso-C16:0, C17:010-methyl and iso-C18:0. The G+C contents of strains YIM 77502(T) and YIM 77510(T) were determined to be 71.3 and 70.2 mol%, respectively. The DNA-DNA hybridization values of strains YIM 77502(T), YIM 77510(T) and their closest phylogenetic neighbours Actinomadura echinospora BCRC 12547(T) and Actinomadura umbrina KCTC 9343(T) were less than 70 %. Based on the morphological and physiological properties, and phylogenetic analyses, strains YIM 77502(T) and YIM 77510(T) are considered to represent two novel species of the genus Actinomadura, for which the names Actinomadura amylolytica sp. nov. (type strain YIM 77502(T) = DSM 45822(T) = CCTCC AA 2012024(T)) and Actinomadura cellulosilytica sp. nov. (type strain YIM 77510(T) = DSM 45823(T) = CCTCC AA 2012023(T)) are proposed.

Nocardioides nanhaiensis sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from a marine sediment sample.

A rod- to coccus-shaped, non-spore-forming actinobacterium, strain YIM M13091(T), was isolated from a marine sediment sample collected from the South China Sea and examined by a polyphasic approach to clarify its taxonomic position. This Gram-staining-positive, aerobic actinobacterium did not produce substrate mycelium and aerial hyphae, and no diffusible pigments were produced on the media tested. The optimum growth occurred at 30 °C, 1% (w/v) NaCl and pH 8.0. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate belongs to the genus Nocardioides, with low levels (≤96.2%) of sequence similarity with respect to Nocardioides kribbensis KSL-2(T) and other members of the genus Nocardioides. Whole-organism hydrolysates of the strain contained ll-2,6-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. The predominant menaquinone was MK-8(H4), with MK-8 in a minor amount. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, hydroxyphosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylcholine, were the main polar lipids detected, while iso-C(16 : 0) and C(18 : 1)ω9c were the major fatty acids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68.5 mol%. Based on phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic and genotypic data, it is concluded that the isolate represents a member of the genus Nocardioides, and the name Nocardioides nanhaiensis sp. nov. (Type strain YIM M13091(T) = JCM 18127(T) = CCTCC AA 2011020(T)) is proposed for the novel species.

Why psychosis is frequently associated with Parkinson's disease?

Psychosis is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease whose pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Parkinson's disease in conjunction with psychosis has been shown to induce injury to extracorticospinal tracts as well as within some cortical areas. In this study, Parkinson's disease patients with psychosis who did not receive antipsychotic treatment and those without psychosis underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Results revealed that in Parkinson's disease patients with psychosis, damage to the left frontal lobe, bilateral occipital lobe, left cingulated gyrus, and left hippocampal white-matter fibers were greater than damage to the substantia nigra or the globus pallidus. Damage to white-matter fibers in the right frontal lobe and right cingulate gyrus were also more severe than in the globus pallidus, but not the substantia nigra. Damage to frontal lobe and cingulate gyrus white-matter fibers was more apparent than that to occipital or hippocampal fiber damage. Compared with Parkinson's disease patients without psychosis, those with psychosis had significantly lower fractional anisotropy ratios of left frontal lobe, bilateral occipital lobe, left cingu-lated gyrus, and left hippocampus to ipsilateral substantia nigra or globus pallidus, indicating more severe damage to white-matter fibers. These results suggest that psychosis associated with Par-kinson's disease is probably associated with an imbalance in the ratio of white-matter fibers be-tween brain regions associated with psychiatric symptoms (frontal lobe, occipital lobe, cingulate gyrus, and hippocampus) and those associated with the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (the substantia nigra and globus pallidus). The relatively greater damage to white-matter fibers in psychiatric symptom-related brain regions than in extracorticospinal tracts might explain why chosis often occurs in Parkinson's disease patients.

Antidepressant effect of geranylgeranylacetone in a chronic mild stress model of depression and its possible mechanism.

Depression is a highly debilitating and widely distributed illness in the general population. Geranylgeranylacetone (GGA), a non-toxic anti-ulcer drug, has been reported to have protective effects in the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine the antidepressant effect of GGA in a chronic mild stress (CMS) model of depression. We confirmed that CMS in rats caused a reduction in locomotor activity and an increase in the levels of monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) and caspase-3 in the hippocampus. GGA treatment reversed stress-induced alterations in locomotor activity and target levels of MAO-A and caspase-3. In addition, GGA treatment induced heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression in the hippocampus. These findings suggest that GGA possesses an antidepressant activity in a CMS model of depression. The activity of GGA in the relief of depression may be mediated via the induction of Hsp70 expression to suppress MAO-A expression and the apoptosis cascade.