Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most prevalent chronic liver diseases worldwide, but there are few studied warning signs for early detection of the disease. Here, researchers study alterations that occur in a mouse model of NAFLD, which indicate the onset of NAFLD sooner. Earlier detection of diseases can lead to better prevention and treatment.

Van der Woude syndrome is a common birth defect caused by mutations in the gene Irf6. In this project, students used microarray expression analysis from wild-type and Irf6-deficient mice in order to identify gene networks or pathways differentially regulated due to the Irf6 mutation. They found NF-κB pathway to be activated in deficient mice.

In this study, we performed orthotopic auto-transplantation of fresh ovarian tissues by transplanting unilateral half ovarian tissue to the contralateral ovary in the ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) strain of outbred, heterogeneous mice to determine if the transplanted tissue could be functional. We found that the freshly transplanted mouse ovarian tissue survived and functional, as histochemical and immunofluorescence assays have shown that not only both follicles at different developing stages and corpus luteum are available, but the morphology of them are properly maintained within the transplanted tissue.

Disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is related to many neurological disorders, and can be caused by oxidative stress to cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) composing the BBB. The authors of the paper investigated the protective effects of the total saponins in the leaves of Panax notoginseng (LPNS) on oxidative-stress-induced damage in a mouse cerebral microvascular endothelial cell line.

Identifying treatments that can stimulate hair growth use could help those struggling with undesirable hair loss. Here, the authors show that Fibroblast Growth Factors can stimulate the division of cells isolated from the mouse hair follicle. Their results suggest that this family of growth factors might be helpful in stimulating hair growth in living animals as well.

Although no comprehensive characterization of schizophrenia exists, there is a general consensus that patients have electrical dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex. The authors designed a novel piezoelectric silk-based implant and optimized electrical output through the addition of conductive materials zinc oxide (ZnO) and aluminum nitride (AlN). With further research and compatibility studies, this implant could rectify electrical misfiring in the infralimbic prefrontal cortex.

The purpose of our study was to determine if direct administration of CXCL1/KC to cardiomyocytes causes negative changes to cell density or proliferation. This molecule has been shown to reduce inflammation in certain instances. Homocysteine models the direct effect of an inflammatory agent on cardiomyocytes. Our question was whether these molecules directly impact cell density through an interaction with the cell proliferation process. We hypothesized that cells treated with CXCL1/KC would maintain the same cell density as untreated cells. In contrast, cells treated with Homocysteine or both Homocysteine and CXCL1/KC, were expected to have a higher cell density that than that of untreated cells.

To address whether odor sensory circuits are organized topographically, the authors investigate whether the neuronal responses to similar odors amongst different mice mapped similarly in brain.

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are lymph node-like structures that form at sites of inflammation, and their presence in cancer patients is predictive of a better clinical outcome. One significant obstacle to TLS formation is reduced immune cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment (TME). Recent studies have shown that vasculature normalizing (VN) agents may override this defect to improve tissue perfusion and increased immune cell entry into the TME. However, their effects on immune cell and tumor cell phenotype remain understudied. Here the authors investigate whether treating tumor cells with VN would reduce their immunosuppressive phenotype and promote production of chemokine that recruit immune cells and foster TLS formation.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common disease affecting 6 million people in the U.S., but no cure exists. To create therapy for AD, it is critical to detect amyloid-β protein in the brain at the early stage of AD because the accumulation of amyloid-β over 20 years is believed to cause memory impairment. However, it is difficult to examine amyloid-β in patients’ brains. In this study, we hypothesized that we could accurately predict the presence of amyloid-β using EEG data and machine learning.