Domain Switching Characteristics in Ga-Doped HfO2 Ferroelectric Thin Films with Low Coercive Field.

The gallium-doped hafnium oxide (Ga-HfO2) films with different Ga doping concentrations were prepared by adjusting the HfO2/Ga2O3 atomic layer deposition cycle ratio for high-speed and low-voltage operation in HfO2-based ferroelectric memory. The Ga-HfO2 ferroelectric films reveal a finely modulated coercive field (Ec) from 1.1 (HfO2/Ga2O3 = 32:1) to an exceptionally low 0.6 MV/cm (HfO2/Ga2O3 = 11:1). This modulation arises from the competition between domain nucleation and propagation speed during polarization switching, influenced by the intrinsic domain density and phase dispersion in the film with specific Ga doping concentrations. Higher Ec samples exhibit a nucleation-dominant switching mechanism, while lower Ec samples undergo a transition from a nucleation-dominant to a propagation-dominant reversal mechanism as the electric field increases. This work introduces Ga as a viable dopant for low Ec and offers insights into material design strategies for HfO2-based ferroelectric memory applications.

Amygdala neuronal dyshomeostasis via 5-HT receptors mediates mood and cognitive defects in Alzheimer's disease.

Behavioral changes or neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common features in dementia and are associated with accelerated cognitive impairment and earlier deaths. However, how NPSs are intertwined with cognitive decline remains elusive. In this study, we identify that the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is a key brain region that is associated with mood disorders and memory decline in the AD course. During the process from pre- to post-onset in AD, the dysfunction of parvalbumin (PV) interneurons and pyramidal neurons in the amygdala leads to hyperactivity of pyramidal neurons in the basal state and insensitivity to external stimuli. We further demonstrate that serotonin (5-HT) receptors in distinct neurons synergistically regulate the BLA microcircuit of AD rather than 5-HT levels, in which both restrained inhibitory inputs by excessive 5-HT1AR signaling in PV interneurons and depolarized pyramidal neurons via upregulated 5-HT2AR contribute to aberrant neuronal hyperactivity. Downregulation of these two 5-HT receptors simultaneously enables neurons to resist ß-amyloid peptides (Aß) neurotoxicity and ameliorates the mood and cognitive defects. Therefore, our study reveals a crucial role of 5-HT receptors for regulating neuronal homeostasis in AD pathogenesis, and this would provide early intervention and potential targets for AD cognitive decline.

In vivo imaging reveals a synchronized correlation among neurotransmitter dynamics during propofol and sevoflurane anesthesia.

General anesthesia is widely applied in clinical practice. However, the precise mechanism of loss of consciousness induced by general anesthetics remains unknown. Here, we measured the dynamics of five neurotransmitters, including γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and dopamine, in the medial prefrontal cortex and primary visual cortex of C57BL/6 mice through in vivo fiber photometry and genetically encoded neurotransmitter sensors under anesthesia to reveal the mechanism of general anesthesia from a neurotransmitter perspective. Results revealed that the concentrations of γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine increased in the cortex during propofol-induced loss of consciousness. Dopamine levels did not change following the hypnotic dose of propofol but increased significantly following surgical doses of propofol anesthesia. Notably, the concentrations of the five neurotransmitters generally decreased during sevoflurane-induced loss of consciousness. Furthermore, the neurotransmitter dynamic networks were not synchronized in the non-anesthesia groups but were highly synchronized in the anesthetic groups. These findings suggest that neurotransmitter dynamic network synchronization may cause anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness.

Conjunctive encoding of exploratory intentions and spatial information in the hippocampus.

The hippocampus creates a cognitive map of the external environment by encoding spatial and self-motion-related information. However, it is unclear whether hippocampal neurons could also incorporate internal cognitive states reflecting an animal's exploratory intention, which is not driven by rewards or unexpected sensory stimuli. In this study, a subgroup of CA1 neurons was found to encode both spatial information and animals' investigatory intentions in male mice. These neurons became active before the initiation of exploration behaviors at specific locations and were nearly silent when the same fields were traversed without exploration. Interestingly, this neuronal activity could not be explained by object features, rewards, or mismatches in environmental cues. Inhibition of the lateral entorhinal cortex decreased the activity of these cells during exploration. Our findings demonstrate that hippocampal neurons may bridge external and internal signals, indicating a potential connection between spatial representation and intentional states in the construction of internal navigation systems.

ANP32B suppresses B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia through activation of PU.1 in mice.

ANP32B, a member of the acidic leucine-rich nuclear phosphoprotein 32 kDa (ANP32) family of proteins, is critical for normal development because its constitutive knockout mice are perinatal lethal. It is also shown that ANP32B acts as a tumor-promoting gene in some kinds of cancer such as breast cancer and chronic myelogenous leukemia. Herein, we observe that ANP32B is lowly expressed in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) patients, which correlates with poor prognosis. Furthermore, we utilized the N-myc or BCR-ABLp190 -induced B-ALL mouse model to investigate the role of ANP32B in B-ALL development. Intriguingly, conditional deletion of Anp32b in hematopoietic cells significantly promotes leukemogenesis in two B-ALL mouse models. Mechanistically, ANP32B interacts with purine rich box-1 (PU.1) and enhances the transcriptional activity of PU.1 in B-ALL cells. Overexpression of PU.1 dramatically suppresses B-ALL progression, and highly expressed PU.1 significantly reverses the accelerated leukemogenesis in Anp32b-deficient mice. Collectively, our findings identify ANP32B as a suppressor gene and provide novel insight into B-ALL pathogenesis.

Propofol exerts anti-anhedonia effects via inhibiting the dopamine transporter.

Lasker's award-winning drug propofol is widely used in general anesthesia. The recreational use of propofol is reported to produce a well-rested feeling and euphoric state; yet, the neural mechanisms underlying such pleasant effects remain unelucidated. Here, we report that propofol actively and directly binds to the dopamine transporter (DAT), but not the serotonin transporter (SERT), which contributes to the rapid relief of anhedonia. Then, we predict the binding mode of propofol by molecular docking and mutation of critical binding residues on the DAT. Fiber photometry recording on awake freely moving mice and [18F] FP-CIT-PET scanning further establishes that propofol administration evokes rapid and lasting dopamine accumulation in nucleus accumbens (NAc). The enhanced dopaminergic tone drives biased activation of dopamine-receptor-1-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs) in NAc and reverses anhedonia in chronically stressed animals. Collectively, these findings suggest the therapeutic potential of propofol against anhedonia, which warrants future clinical investigations.

FBXO22 promotes leukemogenesis by targeting BACH1 in MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Selectively targeting leukemia stem cells (LSCs) is a promising approach in treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML), for which identification of such therapeutic targets is critical. Increasing lines of evidence indicate that FBXO22 plays a critical role in solid tumor development and therapy response. However, its potential roles in leukemogenesis remain largely unknown. METHODS: We established a mixed lineage leukemia (MLL)-AF9-induced AML model with hematopoietic cell-specific FBXO22 knockout mice to elucidate the role of FBXO22 in AML progression and LSCs regulation, including self-renewal, cell cycle, apoptosis and survival analysis. Immunoprecipitation combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis, Western blotting and rescue experiments were performed to study the mechanisms underlying the oncogenic role of FBXO22. RESULTS: FBXO22 was highly expressed in AML, especially in MLL-rearranged (MLLr) AML. Upon FBXO22 knockdown, human MLLr leukemia cells presented markedly increased apoptosis. Although conditional deletion of Fbxo22 in hematopoietic cells did not significantly affect the function of hematopoietic stem cells, MLL-AF9-induced leukemogenesis was dramatically abrogated upon Fbxo22 deletion, together with remarkably reduced LSCs after serial transplantations. Mechanistically, FBXO22 promoted degradation of BACH1 in MLLr AML cells, and overexpression of BACH1 suppressed MLLr AML progression. In line with this, heterozygous deletion of BACH1 significantly reversed delayed leukemogenesis in Fbxo22-deficient mice. CONCLUSIONS: FBXO22 promotes MLLr AML progression by targeting BACH1 and targeting FBXO22 might be an ideal strategy to eradicate LSCs without influencing normal hematopoiesis.

Fluoxetine reverses hyperactivity of anterior cingulate cortex and attenuates chronic stress-induced hyperalgesia.

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD), which occurs in about 5-7 percent of the adult population, involves heightened physical and emotional sensitivity to pain. However, its neural mechanism remains elusive and thus hinders effective clinical intervention. In this study, we employed chronic restraint stress (CRS)-induced hyperalgesia as a mouse model to investigate the neural mechanism underlying SSD and its pharmacological treatment. We found that CRS induced hyperactivity of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), whereas chemogenetic inhibition of such hyperactivity could prevent CRS-induced hyperalgesia. Systematic application and ACC local infusion of fluoxetine alleviated CRS-induced hyperalgesia. Moreover, we found that fluoxetine exerted its anti-hyperalgesic effects through inhibiting the hyperactivity of ACC and upregulating 5-HT1A receptors. Our study thus uncovers the functional role of 5-HT signaling in modulating pain sensation and provides a neural basis for developing precise clinical intervention for SSD.

ANP32B-mediated repression of p53 contributes to maintenance of normal and CML stem cells.

Proper regulation of p53 signaling is critical for the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and leukemic stem cells (LSCs). The hematopoietic cell-specific mechanisms regulating p53 activity remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that conditional deletion of acidic leucine-rich nuclear phosphoprotein 32B (ANP32B) in hematopoietic cells impairs repopulation capacity and postinjury regeneration of HSCs. Mechanistically, ANP32B forms a repressive complex with p53 and thus inhibits the transcriptional activity of p53 in hematopoietic cells, and p53 deletion rescues the functional defect in Anp32b-deficient HSCs. Of great interest, ANP32B is highly expressed in leukemic cells from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Anp32b deletion enhances p53 transcriptional activity to impair LSC function in a murine CML model and exhibits synergistic therapeutic effects with tyrosine kinase inhibitors in inhibiting CML propagation. In summary, our findings provide a novel strategy to enhance p53 activity in LSCs by inhibiting ANP32B and identify ANP32B as a potential therapeutic target in treating CML.

Hippocampal Lnx1-NMDAR multiprotein complex mediates initial social memory.

Social interaction and communication are evolutionary conserved behaviours that are developed in mammals to establish partner cognition. Deficit in sociability has been represented in human patients and animal models of neurodevelopmental disorders, which are connected with genetic variants of synaptic glutamate receptors and associated PDZ-binding proteins. However, it remains elusive how these key proteins are specialized in the cellular level for the initial social behaviour during postnatal developmental stage. Here we identify a hippocampal CA3 specifically expressed PDZ scaffold protein Lnx1 required for initial social behaviour. Through gene targeting we find that Lnx1 deficiency led to a hippocampal subregional disorder in neuronal activity and social memory impairments for partner discrimination observed in juvenile mice which also show cognitive defects in adult stage. We further demonstrate that Lnx1 deletion causes NMDA receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction and this is attributable to decreased GluN2B expression in PSD compartment and disruption of the Lnx1-NMDAR-EphB2 complex. Specific restoration of Lnx1 or EphB2 protein in the CA3 area of Lnx1-/- mice rescues the defective synaptic function and social memory. These findings thus reveal crucial roles of postsynaptic NMDAR multiprotein complex that regulates the formation of initial social memory during the adolescent period.

Paroxetine ameliorates prodromal emotional dysfunction and late-onset memory deficit in Alzheimer's disease mice.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as depression, anxiety, apathy, and irritability occur in prodromal phases of clinical Alzheimer's disease (AD), which might be an increased risk for later developing AD. Here we treated young APP/PS1 AD model mice prophylactically with serotonin-selective re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine and investigated the protective role of anti-depressant agent in emotional abnormalities and cognitive defects during disease progress. METHODS: To investigate the protective role of paroxetine in emotional abnormalities and cognitive defects during disease progress, we performed emotional behaviors of 3 months old APP/PS1 mouse following oral administration of paroxetine prophylactically starting at 1 month of age. Next, we tested the cognitive, biochemical and pathological, effects of long term administration of paroxetine at 6 months old. RESULTS: Our results showed that AD mice displayed emotional dysfunction in the early stage. Prophylactic administration of paroxetine ameliorated the initial emotional abnormalities and preserved the eventual memory function in AD mice. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that prophylactic administration of paroxetine ameliorates the emotional dysfunction and memory deficit in AD mice. These neuroprotective effects are attributable to functional restoration of glutamate receptor (GluN2A) in AD mice.

FBXO22 mediates polyubiquitination and inactivation of LKB1 to promote lung cancer cell growth.

Liver kinase B1 (LKB1) regulates both cell growth and energy metabolism. Inactivated mutations of LKB1, observed in 20-30% of nonsmall cell lung cancers (NSCLC), contribute significantly to lung cancer malignancy progression. However, the upstream signalings regulating LKB1 activity remain incompletely understood. Here, we present evidence that FBXO22 interacts with and promotes polyubiquitination of LKB1. More intriguingly, FBXO22 mediates Lys-63-linked LKB1 polyubiquitination and inhibits kinase activity of LKB1. Furthermore, over-expression of FBXO22 promotes NSCLC cell growth through inhibiting LKB1-AMPK-mTOR signaling in vitro and in vivo. Clinically, FBXO22 is highly expressed in human lung adenocarcinoma and high FBXO22 expression predicts significant poor prognosis. Our study provides new insights into the upstream regulation of LKB1 activation and identifies FBXO22 as a potential therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment.

Retrograde regulation of mossy fiber axon targeting and terminal maturation via postsynaptic Lnx1.

Neuronal connections are initiated by axon targeting to form synapses. However, how the maturation of axon terminals is modulated through interacting with postsynaptic elements remains elusive. In this study, we find that ligand of Numb protein X 1 (Lnx1), a postsynaptic PDZ protein expressed in hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons, is essential for mossy fiber (MF) axon targeting during the postnatal period. Lnx1 deletion causes defective synaptic arrangement that leads to aberrant presynaptic terminals. We further identify EphB receptors as novel Lnx1-binding proteins to form a multiprotein complex that is stabilized on the CA3 neuron membrane through preventing proteasome activity. EphB1 and EphB2 are independently required to transduce distinct signals controlling MF pruning and targeting for precise DG-CA3 synapse formation. Furthermore, constitutively active EphB2 kinase rescues structure of the wired MF terminals in Lnx1 mutant mice. Our data thus define a retrograde trans-synaptic regulation required for integration of post- and presynaptic structure that participates in building hippocampal neural circuits during the adolescence period.

[Correlation between expressions of VEGF and TRPC6 and their roles in podocyte injury in rats with diabetic nephropathy].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the correlation between the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6) and their role in podocyte injury in rats with diabetic nephropathy. METHODS: Forty SD rats with diabetic nephropathy induced by intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg streptozotocin were randomized equally into 5 groups, including a diabetic nephropathy model group and 4 treatment groups, with 8 normal SD rats as the normal control group. In the 4 treatment groups, the rats received intraperitoneal injections with SU5416 at 5 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg twice a week or with LY294002 at 1 mg/kg or 2 mg/kg once daily for 8 weeks. Blood glucose, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and 24-h urinary protein levels of the rats were detected at different time points, and the pathologies in the renal tissue were observed using HE staining, PAS staining and immunohistochemistry. The expressions of VEGF, nephrin, and TRPC6 at mRNA and protein levels were detected using RT-PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with normal control rats, the diabetic rats showed significantly increased fasting blood glucose, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and 24-h urinary protein levels with decreased expressions of nephrin mRNA and protein (P<0.05) and increased expressions of VEGF and TRPC6 (P<0.05). Compared with the untreated diabetic rats, the rats with SU5416 treatment showed increased 24-h urinary protein, urea nitrogen, and nephrin expression and decreased TRPC6 expression without significant changes in fasting blood glucose, serum creatinine, or VEGF expression. The rats treated with LY294002 showed decreased 24-h urinary protein and TRPC6 expression without significant changes in fasting blood glucose, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, or expressions of nephrin and VEGF. CONCLUSION: The regulatory effect of VEGF on TRPC6 can be blocked by inhibiting VEGFR-2 or blocking PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Loss of PAFR prevents neuroinflammation and brain dysfunction after traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a principal cause of death and disability worldwide, which is a major public health problem. Death caused by TBI accounts for a third of all damage related illnesses, which 75% TBI occurred in low and middle income countries. With the increasing use of motor vehicles, the incidence of TBI has been at a high level. The abnormal brain functions of TBI patients often show the acute and long-term neurological dysfunction, which mainly associated with the pathological process of malignant brain edema and neuroinflammation in the brain. Owing to the neuroinflammation lasts for months or even years after TBI, which is a pivotal causative factor that give rise to neurodegenerative disease at late stage of TBI. Studies have shown that platelet activating factor (PAF) inducing inflammatory reaction after TBI could not be ignored. The morphological and behavioral abnormalities after TBI in wild type mice are rescued by general knockout of PAFR gene that neuroinflammation responses and cognitive ability are improved. Our results thus define a key inflammatory molecule PAF that participates in the neuroinflammation and helps bring about cerebral dysfunction during the TBI acute phase.

Amygdala EphB2 Signaling Regulates Glutamatergic Neuron Maturation and Innate Fear.

UNLABELLED: The amygdala serves as emotional center to mediate innate fear behaviors that are reflected through neuronal responses to environmental aversive cues. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the initial neuron responses is poorly understood. In this study, we monitored the innate defensive responses to aversive stimuli of either elevated plus maze or predator odor in juvenile mice and found that glutamatergic neurons were activated in amygdala. Loss of EphB2, a receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in amygdala neurons, suppressed the reactions and led to defects in spine morphogenesis and fear behaviors. We further found a coupling of spinogenesis with these threat cues induced neuron activation in developing amygdala that was controlled by EphB2. A constitutively active form of EphB2 was sufficient to rescue the behavioral and morphological defects caused by ablation of ephrin-B3, a brain-enriched ligand to EphB2. These data suggest that kinase-dependent EphB2 intracellular signaling plays a major role for innate fear responses during the critical developing period, in which spinogenesis in amygdala glutamatergic neurons was involved. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Generation of innate fear responses to threat as an evolutionally conserved brain feature relies on development of functional neural circuit in amygdala, but the molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. We here identify that EphB2 receptor tyrosine kinase, which is specifically expressed in glutamatergic neurons, is required for the innate fear responses in the neonatal brain. We further reveal that EphB2 mediates coordination of spinogenesis and neuron activation in amygdala during the critical period for the innate fear. EphB2 catalytic activity plays a major role for the behavior upon EphB-ephrin-B3 binding and transnucleus neuronal connections. Our work thus indicates an essential synaptic molecular signaling within amygdala that controls synapse development and helps bring about innate fear emotions in the postnatal developing brain.

Piezoelectric and Dielectric Properties of Multilayered BaTiO3/(Ba,Ca)TiO3/CaTiO3 Thin Films.

Highly oriented multilayered BaTiO3-(Ba,Ca)TiO3-CaTiO3 thin films were fabricated on Nb-doped (001) SrTiO3 (Nb:STO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The configurations of multilayered BaTiO3-(Ba,Ca)TiO3-CaTiO3 thin films are designed with the thickness ratio of 1:1:1 and 2:1:1 and total thickness ∼300 nm. Microstructural characterization by X-ray diffraction indicates that the as-deposited thin films are highly c-axis oriented and large in-plane strain is determined in BaTiO3 and CaTiO3 layers. Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) studies reveal an intense in-plane polarization component, whereas the out-of-plane shows inferior phase contrast. The optimized combination is found to be the BaTiO3-(Ba0.85Ca0.15)TiO3-CaTiO3 structure with combination ratio 2:1:1, which displays the largest domain switching amplitude under DC electric field, the largest room-temperature dielectric constant ∼646, a small dielectric loss of 0.03, and the largest dielectric tunability of ∼50% at 400 kV/cm. These results suggest that the enhanced dielectric and tunability performance are greatly associated with the large in-plane polarization component and domain switching.

Ephrin-B3 coordinates timed axon targeting and amygdala spinogenesis for innate fear behaviour.

Innate emotion response to environmental stimuli is a fundamental brain function that is controlled by specific neural circuits. Dysfunction of early emotional circuits may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. However, how the functional circuits are formed to prime initial emotional behaviours remain elusive. We reveal here using gene-targeted mutations an essential role for ephrin-B3 ligand-like activity in the development of innate fear in the neonatal brain. We further demonstrate that ephrin-B3 controls axon targeting and coordinates spinogenesis and neuronal activity within the amygdala. The morphological and behavioural abnormalities in ephrin-B3 mutant mice are rescued by conditional knock-in of wild-type ephrin-B3 during the critical period when axon targeting and fear responses are initiated. Our results thus define a key axonal molecule that participates in the wiring of amygdala circuits and helps bring about fear emotion during the important adolescence period.