Identification of the salmonid IL-17A/F1a/b, IL-17A/F2b, IL-17A/F3 and IL-17N genes and analysis of their expression following in vitro stimulation and infection

Peer reviewedPostprin

Distinct response of immune gene expression in peripheral blood leucocytes modulated by bacterin vaccine candidates in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss : A potential in vitro screening and batch testing system for vaccine development in aquaculture

Acknowledgements Ahmed Attaya's PhD project was funded by the Newton Fund, the British Council, and the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Hurghada, Egypt. This research was also supported financially by a grant (BB/M013022/1) from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).Peer reviewedPostprin

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of four fish-specific CC chemokine receptors CCR4La, CCR4Lc1, CCR4Lc2 and CCR11 in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

ZQ was supported financially by the “Qinglan” project of Jiangsu Province and the Overseas Training Plan for Young and Middle-aged Teachers and Principals of College and Universities in Jiangsu Province, China. This work was partially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31302221 and 31272666) and Jiangsu Province (BK2011418 and BK20151297). TW received funding from the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS), a pooling initiative funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011), and JWH was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant reference CRSII3_147649-1).Peer reviewedPostprin

Sequence and Expression Analysis of Interferon Regulatory Factor 10 (IRF10) in Three Diverse Teleost Fish Reveals Its Role in Antiviral Defense

Acknowledgments This research was supported financially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31101928), the National Science and Technology Support Program of China (2013BAD20B06), the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology (2010FB02) and the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011). Q.X. and Y.J. were supported financially by the National Scholarship Council of China. Funding: This research was supported financially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31101928), the National Science and Technology Support Program of China (2013BAD20B06), the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology (2010FB02) and the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011). Q.X. and Y.J. were supported financially by the National Scholarship Council of China. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Sequence and expression analysis of rainbow trout CXCR2, CXCR3a and CXCR3b aids interpretation of lineage-specific conversion, loss and expansion of these receptors during vertebrate evolution

Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved. Open Access funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council This work received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland). MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. Q.X. and Y.J. were supported financially by the National Scholarship Council of China, J.W.H by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/K009125/1), and M.M.M. by European Commision LIFECYCLE project (222919).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

ESC-Derived Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neurons Ameliorate the Cognitive Symptoms Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease in Mouse Models

SummaryDegeneration of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCNs) is associated with cognitive impairments of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), implying that BFCNs hold potentials in exploring stem cell-based replacement therapy for AD. However, studies on derivation of BFCNs from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are limited, and the application of ESC-derived BFCNs remains to be determined. Here, we report on differentiation approaches for directing both mouse and human ESCs into mature BFCNs. These ESC-derived BFCNs exhibit features similar to those of their in vivo counterparts and acquire appropriate functional properties. After transplantation into the basal forebrain of AD model mice, ESC-derived BFCN progenitors predominantly differentiate into mature cholinergic neurons that functionally integrate into the endogenous basal forebrain cholinergic projection system. The AD mice grafted with mouse or human BFCNs exhibit improvements in learning and memory performances. Our findings suggest a promising perspective of ESC-derived BFCNs in the development of stem cell-based therapies for treatment of AD

First in-depth analysis of the novel Th2-type cytokines in salmonid fish reveals distinct patterns of expression and modulation but overlapping bioactivities

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The VHSV-infected samples were generated within the Scottish Government funded research project FC1996 and kindly provided by Marine Scotland staff. Thanks to ELANCO for providing the A. davidanieli (Renogen). FINANCIAL SUPPORT T. W. received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland). MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. Y.J., W.H. and Q.X. were supported financially by the National Scholarship Council of China. Z.Q. was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31302221) and the overseas training plan for young and middle-aged teachers and principals of colleges and universities in Jiangsu Province, China. M.M.C. was funded by an Ángeles Alvariño postdoctoral contract from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and the Xunta de Galicia. P.D.-R. was funded by a European Commission (EC) Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (FP7). J.W.H. was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/K009125/1). This work was also supported financially by the EC, under contract Nos. 222719 (LIFECYCLE) and 311993 (TargetFish), and by the European Research Council Starting Grant 2011 (contract No. 280469).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Membrane Potential-Dependent Modulation of Recurrent Inhibition in Rat Neocortex

Dynamic balance of excitation and inhibition is crucial for network stability and cortical processing, but it is unclear how this balance is achieved at different membrane potentials (Vm) of cortical neurons, as found during persistent activity or slow Vm oscillation. Here we report that a Vm-dependent modulation of recurrent inhibition between pyramidal cells (PCs) contributes to the excitation-inhibition balance. Whole-cell recording from paired layer-5 PCs in rat somatosensory cortical slices revealed that both the slow and the fast disynaptic IPSPs, presumably mediated by low-threshold spiking and fast spiking interneurons, respectively, were modulated by changes in presynaptic Vm. Somatic depolarization (>5 mV) of the presynaptic PC substantially increased the amplitude and shortened the onset latency of the slow disynaptic IPSPs in neighboring PCs, leading to a narrowed time window for EPSP integration. A similar increase in the amplitude of the fast disynaptic IPSPs in response to presynaptic depolarization was also observed. Further paired recording from PCs and interneurons revealed that PC depolarization increases EPSP amplitude and thus elevates interneuronal firing and inhibition of neighboring PCs, a reflection of the analog mode of excitatory synaptic transmission between PCs and interneurons. Together, these results revealed an immediate Vm-dependent modulation of cortical inhibition, a key strategy through which the cortex dynamically maintains the balance of excitation and inhibition at different states of cortical activity