Psychiatric-disorder-related behavioral phenotypes and cortical hyperactivity in a mouse model of 3q29 deletion syndrome

3q29 microdeletion, a rare recurrent copy number variant (CNV), greatly confers an increased risk of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as intellectual disability. However, disease-relevant cellular phenotypes of 3q29 deletion syndrome remain to be identified. To reveal the molecular and cellular etiology of 3q29 deletion syndrome, we generated a mouse model of human 3q29 deletion syndrome by chromosome engineering, which achieved construct validity. 3q29 deletion (Df/+) mice showed reduced body weight and brain volume and, more importantly, impaired social interaction and prepulse inhibition. Importantly, the schizophrenia-related impaired prepulse inhibition was reversed by administration of antipsychotics. These findings are reminiscent of the growth defects and neuropsychiatric behavioral phenotypes in patients with 3q29 deletion syndrome and exemplify that the mouse model achieves some part of face validity and predictive validity. Unbiased whole-brain imaging revealed that neuronal hyperactivation after a behavioral task was strikingly exaggerated in a restricted region of the cortex of Df/+ mice. We further elucidated the cellular phenotypes of neuronal hyperactivation and the reduction of parvalbumin expression in the cortex of Df/+ mice. Thus, the 3q29 mouse model provides invaluable insight into the disease-causative molecular and cellular pathology of psychiatric disorders

Multi-modal 19F NMR probe using perfluorinated cubic silsesquioxane-coated silica nanoparticles for monitoring enzymatic activity.

The establishment of (19)F NMR signal regulation and the application of this strategy to develop a multi-modal (19)F NMR probe for monitoring enzymatic activity using nanoparticles as a signal regulator is described; water-soluble perfluorinated cubic silsesquioxane was synthesized and immobilized onto the silica nanoparticles for suppressing the signals; (19)F NMR signals of the probes were recovered by releasing from nanoparticles

Bendable, Free-Standing Calcite Thin Films

Since the hardness and toughness of natural nacre are determined by hierarchical microstructures with organic matters, it is of great importance to control the microstructures of artificial free-standing CaCO₃ thin films. However, the fabrication of such films has so far been quite limited, to the extent that their mechanical properties have not been reported. To address this, free-standing calcite thin films were prepared through repeated cycles of layer-by-layer deposition of vaterite precursor composite particles with organic polymers, followed by a phase transition to calcite. In this way, two distinct calcite thin film types were produced based on either 3.2 or 1.0 wt % organic material, with subsequent three-point bending tests revealing that both exhibit elastic bending prior to fracture. More importantly, by increasing the organic content from 1.0 to 3.2 wt %, the bending strength increased from 0.95 ± 0.26 MPa to 1.90 ± 0.21 MPa