Biology subjects

Wei, Z.

Publications and source records attributed to Wei, Z..

183 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

MicroRNA-132 provides neuroprotection for tauopathies via multiple signaling pathways

MicroRNAs (miRNA) regulate fundamental biological processes, including neuronal plasticity, stress response, and survival. Here we describe a neuroprotective function of miR-132, the miRNA most significantly down-regulated in Alzheimers disease. miR-132 protects mouse and human wild-type neurons and more vulnerable Tau-mutant primary neurons against amyloid {beta}-peptide (A{beta}) and glutamate excitotoxicity. It lowers the levels of total, phosphorylated, acetylated, and cleaved forms of Tau implicated in tauopathies, promotes neurite elongation and branching, and reduces neuronal death. Similarly, miR-132 attenuates PHF Tau pathology and neurodegeneration and enhances long-term potentiation in the P301S Tau transgenic mice. The neuroprotective effects are mediated by direct regulation of the Tau modifiers acetyltransferase EP300, kinase GSK3{beta}, RNA-binding protein Rbfox1, and proteases Calpain 2 and Caspases 3/7. These data suggest miR-132 as a master regulator of neuronal health and indicate that miR-132 supplementation could be of therapeutic benefit for the treatment of Tau-associated neurodegenerative disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Unexpected CRISPR off-target mutation pattern in vivo are not typicallygermline-like

To the EditorSchaefer et al.1 (referred to as Study_1) recently presented the provocative conclusion that CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease can induce many unexpected off-target mutations across the genome that arise from the sites with poor homology to the gRNA. As Wilson et al.2 pointed out, however, the selection of a co-housed mouse as the control is insufficient to attribute the observed mutation differences between the CRISPR-treated mice and control mice. Therefore, the causes of these mutations need to be further investigated. In 2015, Iyer et al.3 (referred to as Study_2) used Cas9 and a pair of sgRNAs to mutate the Ar gene in vivo and off-target mutations were investigated by comparison the control mice and the offspring of the modified mice. After analyzing the whole genome sequencing (WGS) of the offspring and the control mice, they claimed that off-target mutations are rare from CRISPR-Cas9 engineering. Notably, their study only focused on indel off-target mutations. We re-analyzed the WGS data of these two studies and detected both single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and indel mutations.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2017

Approach To Insect Wing Shape And Deformation Field Measurement

Summary StatementA fine shape and deformation field measurement of insect wing is achieved by a self-developed setup. This measurement could foster investigation of insect wing stiffness distribution.\n\nAbstractFor measuring the shape and deformation of insect wing, a scanning setup adopting line laser and coaxial LED light is developed. Wing shape can be directly acquired from the line laser images by triangulation. Yet the wing deformation field can also be obtained by a self-devised algorithm that processes the images from line laser and coaxial LED simultaneously. During the experiment, three wing samples from termite and mosquito under concentrated force are scanned. The venation and corrugation could be significantly identified from shape measurement result. The deformation field is sufficiently accurate to demonstrate its variation from wing base to tip. The load conditions in experiments are also be discussed. For softer wings, local deformation is apparent if pinhead is employed to impose force. The similarity analysis is better than 5% deformation ratio as a static criterion, if the wing is simplified as a cantilever beam. The setup is proved to be effective and versatile. The shape and deformation fields would give enough details for the measurement of wing stiffness distribution.

zoology↗