Detection of Rickettsia RaoultiI Genotypes in Southern Kazakhstan

Previously it was established that different species of genus Rickettsia were detected in Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, rickettsial species spectrum of some regions of Kazakhstan has not been studied. Dermacentor niveus ticks from Southern Kazakhstan were investigated using cell cultures by shell vial technique. The first isolates close related to genotypes Rickettsia raoultii RpA4 and DnS14 were obtained. The role of these agents in tick-borne rickettsioses morbidity in Southern Kazakhstan is discussed

Upper cortical layer–driven network impairment in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is one of the most widespread and complex mental disorders. To characterize the impact of schizophrenia, we performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) of >220,000 neurons from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia and matched controls. In addition, >115,000 neurons were analyzed topographically by immunohistochemistry. Compositional analysis of snRNA-seq data revealed a reduction in abundance of GABAergic neurons and a concomitant increase in principal neurons, most pronounced for upper cortical layer subtypes, which was substantiated by histological analysis. Many neuronal subtypes showed extensive transcriptomic changes, the most marked in upper-layer GABAergic neurons, including down-regulation in energy metabolism and up-regulation in neurotransmission. Transcription factor network analysis demonstrated a developmental origin of transcriptomic changes. Last, Visium spatial transcriptomics further corroborated upper-layer neuron vulnerability in schizophrenia. Overall, our results point toward general network impairment within upper cortical layers as a core substrate associated with schizophrenia symptomatology