Analysis of 28 generations of selection for reproduction, growth, and carcass traits in swine

Selection (28 generations, G) in a Large White-Landrace composite population for traits aimed at increasing live pigs born per litter (BA), with additional selection for increased 180-d weight (WT180) and longissimus muscle area (LMA) and decreased back fat (BF10) in the last 8 generations, was practiced. Objectives herein were to estimate genetic and phenotypic responses and genetic parameters (n = 1,883 to 54,174) and to investigate whether a plateau in response for BA occurred. Line 2 (L2) was selected for an index of ovulation rate and embryo survival (G0 to G11), fully formed pigs (FF) per litter (G12 to 14), and BA and pig birth weight (PBW, G15 to G19), and its control line (LC1) was selected randomly (G0 to G21). Line 4 (L4), derived from L2, and line 5 (L5), derived from LC1, at G8 were selected in 2 stages for ovulation rate and FF (G9 to G16) and BA and PBW (G17 to G19), and their control (LC6) was selected randomly. At G20, L4 and L5 were crossed to form L45, and L4 and L2 were crossed to continue L2; L2 and L45 were subsequently selected for BA, WT180, LMA, and BF10 (G21 to G28). At G21, LC1 and LC6 were reciprocally crossed to form LC16, control for L2, and LC61, control for L45. Selection in L2 and L45 was first for BA and then for other traits among pigs selected for BA. Line sizes were 40 to 60 litters by 15 to 20 sires/G. Cumulative selection differentials (CSD) were calculated. MTDFREML was used to estimate variance components, EBV, and responses. Genetic changes at G28 in L2 were 4.63 FF and 3.66 BA, with 72% (FF) and 86% (BA) of the change occurring after G11. Two-stage selection produced similar responses (P < 0.01) in FF in L4 and L5 (0.27 and 0.29 pigs/G) but a greater response in BA in L5 (0.19 vs. 0.28 pigs/G). Genetic change in L45 from G20 to G28 was 0.17 pigs/G for both FF and BA (P < 0.01). Genetic changes at G28 in L45 were 4.16 FF and 3.68 BA. Genetic correlations of reproductive and growth traits were near zero, ranging from -0.43 (stillborn pigs/litter with BF10) to 0.21 (mummies/litter with LMA). Selection for growth traits along with litter size selection during G19 to G28 resulted in responses consistent with the selection applied and the heritability of the trait. No evidence for a selection plateau existed; selection differentials and variances of FF and BA in selection lines during G20 to G28 were similar to those in earlier generations. Over all generations, heritability of BA was 0.20 ± 0.03 and remained at approximately 0.17 in selection lines in later generations.

Concentration gradient focusing and separation in a silica nanofluidic channel with a non-uniform electroosmotic flow

The simultaneous concentration gradient focusing and separation of proteins in a silica nanofluidic channel of various geometries is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Previous modelling of a similar device [Inglis et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2011, 50, 7546] assumed a uniform velocity profile along the length of the nanochannel. Using detailed numerical analysis incorporating charge regulation and viscoelectric effects, we show that in reality the varying axial electric field and varying electric double layer thickness caused by the concentration gradient, induce a highly non-uniform velocity profile, fundamentally altering the protein trapping mechanism: the direction of the local electroosmotic flow reverses and two local vortices are formed near the centreline of the nanochannel at the low salt concentration end, enhancing trapping efficiency. Simulation results for yellow/red fluorescent protein R-PE concentration enhancement, peak focusing position and peak focusing width are in good agreement with experimental measurements, validating the model. The predicted separation of yellow/red (R-PE) from green (Dyl-Strep) fluorescent proteins mimics that from a previous experiment [Inglis et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2011, 50, 7546] conducted in a slightly different geometry. The results will inform the design of new class of matrix-free particle focusing and separation devices.

Isoelectric focusing in a silica nanofluidic channel: effects of electromigration and electroosmosis

Isoelectric focusing of proteins in a silica nanofluidic channel filled with citric acid and disodium phosphate buffers is investigated via numerical simulation. Ions in the channel migrate in response to (i) the electric field acting on their charge and (ii) the bulk electroosmotic flow (which is directed toward the cathode). Proteins are focused near the low pH (anode) end when the electromigration effect is more significant and closer to the high pH (cathode) end when the electroosmotic effect dominates. We simulate the focusing behavior of Dylight labeled streptavidin (Dyl-Strep) proteins in the channel, using a relationship between the protein's charge and pH measured in a previous experiment. Protein focusing results compare well to previous experimental measurements. The effect of some key parameters, such as applied voltage, isoelectric point (pI), bulk pH, and bulk conductivity, on the protein trapping behavior in a nanofluidic channel is examined.

CREB SUMOylation by the E3 ligase PIAS1 enhances spatial memory

cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation and signaling plays an important role in long-term memory formation, but other posttranslational modifications of CREB are less known. Here, we found that CREB1Δ, the short isoform of CREB, could be sumoylated by the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) E3 ligase protein inhibitor of activated STAT1 (PIAS1) at Lys271 and Lys290 and PIAS1 SUMOylation of CREB1Δ increased the expression level of CREB1Δ. CREB1Δ could also be sumoylated by other PIAS family proteins, but not by the E3 ligases RanBP2 and Pc2 or by the E2 ligase Ubc9. Furthermore, water maze training increased the level of endogenous CREB SUMOylation in rat CA1 neurons determined by in vitro SUMOylation assay, but this effect was not observed in other brain areas. Moreover, transduction of Lenti-CREBWT to rat CA1 area facilitated, whereas transduction of Lenti-CREB double sumo-mutant (CREBK271RK290R) impaired, spatial learning and memory performance. Transduction of Lenti-CREBWT-SUMO1 fusion vector to rat CA1 area showed a more significant effect in enhancing spatial learning and memory and CREB SUMOylation. Lenti-CREBWT transduction increased, whereas Lenti-CREBK271RK290R transduction decreased, CREB DNA binding to the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) promoter and decreased bdnf mRNA expression. Knock-down of PIAS1 expression in CA1 area by PIAS1 siRNA transfection impaired spatial learning and memory and decreased endogenous CREB SUMOylation. In addition, CREB SUMOylation was CREB phosphorylation dependent and lasted longer. Therefore, CREB phosphorylation may be responsible for signal transduction during the early phase of long-term memory formation, whereas CREB SUMOylation sustains long-term memory.

Successful treatment of colorectal anastomotic stricture by using sphincterotomes

Colorectal or colocolic anastomotic stricture is a common complication after colorectal surgery. Traditionally, endoscopic balloon dilation technique was used for those patients with symptomatic stricture. The use of electroincision (radial incisions of the scar) along with pneumatic balloon dilation was reported with good result in literature. We present a novel method for relieving colorectal anastomotic stricture by using sphincterotomes, which is indicated for use in the cannulation of the biliary ducts and the transendoscopic sphincterotomy of the papilla of Vater and the sphincter of Oddi. The use of sphincterotomes in upper GI tract anastomotic stricture was reported before, but the experience in managing lower GI tract was pending. Based on our preliminary report, sphincterotomes can be an effective and safe treatment option for colorectal anastomotic stricture.

The structural and functional signatures of proteins that undergo multiple events of post-translational modification

The structural, functional, and mechanistic characterization of several types of post-translational modifications (PTMs) is well-documented. PTMs, however, may interact or interfere with one another when regulating protein function. Yet, characterization of the structural and functional signatures of their crosstalk has been hindered by the scarcity of data. To this end, we developed a unified sequence-based predictor of 23 types of PTM sites that, we believe, is a useful tool in guiding biological experiments and data interpretation. We then used experimentally determined and predicted PTM sites to investigate two particular cases of potential PTM crosstalk in eukaryotes. First, we identified proteins statistically enriched in multiple types of PTM sites and found that they show preferences toward intrinsically disordered regions as well as functional roles in transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and developmental processes. Second, we observed that target sites modified by more than one type of PTM, referred to as shared PTM sites, show even stronger preferences toward disordered regions than their single-PTM counterparts; we explain this by the need for these regions to accommodate multiple partners. Finally, we investigated the influence of single and shared PTMs on differential regulation of protein-protein interactions. We provide evidence that molecular recognition features (MoRFs) show significant preferences for PTM sites, particularly shared PTM sites, implicating PTMs in the modulation of this specific type of macromolecular recognition. We conclude that intrinsic disorder is a strong structural prerequisite for complex PTM-based regulation, particularly in context-dependent protein-protein interactions related to transcriptional and developmental processes.

AVAILABILITY

www.modpred.org.

Stationary chemical gradients for concentration gradient-based separation and focusing in nanofluidic channels

Previous work has demonstrated the simultaneous concentration and separation of proteins via a stable ion concentration gradient established within a nanochannel (Inglis Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2001, 50, 7546-7550). To gain a better understanding of how this novel technique works, we here examine experimentally and numerically how the underlying electric potential controlled ion concentration gradients can be formed and controlled. Four nanochannel geometries are considered. Measured fluorescence profiles, a direct indicator of ion concentrations within the Tris-fluorescein buffer solution, closely match depth-averaged fluorescence profiles calculated from the simulations. The simulations include multiple reacting species within the fluid bulk and surface wall charge regulation whereby the deprotonation of silica-bound silanol groups is governed by the local pH. The three-dimensional system is simulated in two dimensions by averaging the governing equations across the (varying) nanochannel width, allowing accurate numerical results to be generated for the computationally challenging high aspect ratio nanochannel geometries. An electrokinetic circuit analysis is incorporated to directly relate the potential drop across the (simulated) nanochannel to that applied across the experimental chip device (which includes serially connected microchannels). The merit of the thick double layer, potential-controlled concentration gradient as a particle focusing and separation tool is discussed, linking this work to the previously presented protein trapping experiments. We explain why stable traps are formed when the flow is in the opposite direction to the concentration gradient, allowing particle separation near the low concentration end of the nanochannel. We predict that tapered, rather than straight nanochannels are better at separating particles of different electrophoretic mobilities.

High-efficiency broadband meta-hologram with polarization-controlled dual images

Holograms, the optical devices to reconstruct predesigned images, show many applications in our daily life. However, applications of hologram are still limited by the constituent materials and therefore their working range is trapped at a particular electromagnetic region. In recent years, the metasurfaces, an array of subwavelength antenna with varying sizes, show the abilities to manipulate the phase of incident electromagnetic wave from visible to microwave frequencies. Here, we present a reflective-type and high-efficiency meta-hologram fabricated by metasurface for visible wavelength. Using gold cross nanoantennas as building blocks to construct our meta-hologram devices with thickness ∼ λ/4, the reconstructed images of meta-hologram show polarization-controlled dual images with high contrast, functioning for both coherent and incoherent light sources within a broad spectral range and under a wide range of incidence angles. The flexibility demonstrated here for our meta-hologram paves the road to a wide range of applications related to holographic images at arbitrary electromagnetic wave region.

Order-disorder interface characterization reveals critical factors for disease and drug targets

Signal transduction pathways are of critical importance in disease and regulation of cellular functions. Proteins that do not fold to a state of stable tertiary structure, known as intrinsically disordered proteins, are highly represented in signaling pathways and protein interaction networks. Important examples of disordered signaling proteins include p53 and BRCA1, and approximately 40% of Eukaryotic proteins are estimated to have significant disordered regions. Certain regions within these disordered proteins, however, can take on an ordered structure upon binding to a partner. The nature of the resulting protein-protein interactions has not yet been established. Here we categorize and identify interactions between binding segments of disordered proteins and their ordered partners using a Bayesian network framework, constructed on a test set of 964 proteins mined for Molecular Recognition Feature (MoRF) characteristics from the PDB. This framework, more specifically Bayesian network learning, enables us to investigate the underlying biological processes involved, including the sequential and structural determinants of these interactions. After the construction of the training set (80% of data), features were successively eliminated to determine relative significances. The Bayesian network model was validated on the test set with excellent accuracy(>90% AUC). Examining features underlying the model provides a plethora of new and potentially useful biological information. The results also lend themselves to a strategy for rational drug design whereby disordered regions can be targeted with a high degree of specificity and small molecule peptide mimetics of their binding regions can be utilized as drugs.

MoRFpred, a computational tool for sequence-based prediction and characterization of short disorder-to-order transitioning binding regions in proteins

Motivation: Molecular recognition features (MoRFs) are short binding regions located within longer intrinsically disordered regions that bind to protein partners via disorder-to-order transitions. MoRFs are implicated in important processes including signaling and regulation. However, only a limited number of experimentally validated MoRFs is known, which motivates development of computational methods that predict MoRFs from protein chains.

Results: We introduce a new MoRF predictor, MoRFpred, which identifies all MoRF types (α, β, coil and complex). We develop a comprehensive dataset of annotated MoRFs to build and empirically compare our method. MoRFpred utilizes a novel design in which annotations generated by sequence alignment are fused with predictions generated by a Support Vector Machine (SVM), which uses a custom designed set of sequence-derived features. The features provide information about evolutionary profiles, selected physiochemical properties of amino acids, and predicted disorder, solvent accessibility and B-factors. Empirical evaluation on several datasets shows that MoRFpred outperforms related methods: α-MoRF-Pred that predicts α-MoRFs and ANCHOR which finds disordered regions that become ordered when bound to a globular partner. We show that our predicted (new) MoRF regions have non-random sequence similarity with native MoRFs. We use this observation along with the fact that predictions with higher probability are more accurate to identify putative MoRF regions. We also identify a few sequence-derived hallmarks of MoRFs. They are characterized by dips in the disorder predictions and higher hydrophobicity and stability when compared to adjacent (in the chain) residues.

Availability:http://biomine.ece.ualberta.ca/MoRFpred/; http://biomine.ece.ualberta.ca/MoRFpred/Supplement.pdf

Contact:lkurgan@ece.ualberta.ca

Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Exploring the binding diversity of intrinsically disordered proteins involved in one-to-many binding

Molecular recognition features (MoRFs) are intrinsically disordered protein regions that bind to partners via disorder-to-order transitions. In one-to-many binding, a single MoRF binds to two or more different partners individually. MoRF-based one-to-many protein-protein interaction (PPI) examples were collected from the Protein Data Bank, yielding 23 MoRFs bound to 2-9 partners, with all pairs of same-MoRF partners having less than 25% sequence identity. Of these, 8 MoRFs were bound to 2-9 partners having completely different folds, whereas 15 MoRFs were bound to 2-5 partners having the same folds but with low sequence identities. For both types of partner variation, backbone and side chain torsion angle rotations were used to bring about the conformational changes needed to enable close fits between a single MoRF and distinct partners. Alternative splicing events (ASEs) and posttranslational modifications (PTMs) were also found to contribute to distinct partner binding. Because ASEs and PTMs both commonly occur in disordered regions, and because both ASEs and PTMs are often tissue-specific, these data suggest that MoRFs, ASEs, and PTMs may collaborate to alter PPI networks in different cell types. These data enlarge the set of carefully studied MoRFs that use inherent flexibility and that also use ASE-based and/or PTM-based surface modifications to enable the same disordered segment to selectively associate with two or more partners. The small number of residues involved in MoRFs and in their modifications by ASEs or PTMs may simplify the evolvability of signaling network diversity.

Recurrent Intussusception: when Should Surgical Intervention be performed?

OBJECTIVE

To determine the optimal timing of surgery for recurrent intussusception.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients aged from 0 to 18 years old with diagnosis of intussusception in the Pediatric Department at Mackay Memorial Hospital between January 1995 and May 2010.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 686 children (divided into three age groups: 367 < 2 years, 289 aged 2 to 5 years, 30 > 5 years) with diagnoses of intussusception. Eighty-five of the 686 patients had recurrent intussusception, of whom 56 had two, 16 had three, 11 had four, and 2 had five episodes. The recurrence rate after the first, second, third, and fourth barium enema reductions were 15.7%, 37.7%, 68.4%, and 100.0%, respectively. The incidence of recurrence and failure rate of barium enema reduction did not differ significantly among these three age groups. Surgery was performed in 177 children (146 during the first episode and 31 in recurrent cases). The probability of eventual surgery after first enema reduction was 21.8%, after the second 35.7%, and after the third 70.0%. Lead points were found in 15 children, and all of them were found during surgery for the first episode of intussusception.

CONCLUSION

The probability of recurrence was 100% after the fourth episode of intussusception in our study. After the third episode of intussusception, the probability of recurrence and eventual surgery were 68% and 70%, respectively. From this study, surgical intervention should be considered at the third episode of intussusception.

Differential effects of arsenic on calcium signaling in primary keratinocytes and malignant (HSC-1) cells

Arsenic is highly toxic to living cells, especially skin, and skin cancer is induced by drinking water containing arsenic. The molecular mechanisms of arsenic-induced cancer, however, are not well understood. To examine the initial processes in the development of arsenic-induced cancer, we analyzed calcium signaling at an early stage of arsenic treatment of human primary cells and compared the effects with those observed with arsenic treatment in carcinoma-derived cells. We found that arsenic inhibited inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) function in the endoplasmic reticulum by inducing phosphorylation, which led to decreased intracellular calcium levels. Blockade of IP3R phosphorylation by the serine/threonine protein kinase Akt inhibitor wortmannin rescued calcium signaling. In contrast, arsenic treatment of cells derived from a carcinoma (human squamous carcinoma; HSC-1) for 1h had no obvious effect. Taken together, these results suggest that arsenic-induced reduction in calcium signaling is one of the initial mechanisms underlying the malignant transformation in the development of skin cancer.

Can clinical features stratify use of endoscopy for dyspeptic patients with high background prevalence of upper gastrointestinal cancer?

BACKGROUND

Whether clinical features can stratify priority of endoscopy remains controversial for dyspeptic patients with high background prevalence of upper gastrointestinal cancer.

AIM

To examine the predictive performance of clinical features for cancerous lesions in dyspeptic patients in Taiwan.

METHODS

Between April 2008 and July 2009, 2530 consecutive dyspeptic outpatients underwent prospective evaluation with standardized questionnaire and then upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Performance of using age thresholds and alarm symptoms to predict malignancy was determined. Independent risk factors associated with malignancy and those with negative endoscopic findings were identified.

RESULTS

Malignant lesions were found in 31 patients (1.2%) and were independently associated with age, male gender, gastrointestinal bleeding, weight loss, and alcohol consumption. Any symptom of weight loss, bleeding and dysphagia, or simply age >45 years predicted 97% of cancer cases, with the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values being 96.8%, 29.3%, 1.7%, and 99.9%, respectively. This strategy achieved a low negative likelihood ratio (0.11) and a high diagnostic odds ratio (12.45). Negative endoscopic finding (n=1377, 54.4%) was independently associated with younger age, female gender, no use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and no tobacco or alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

Absence of weight loss, dysphagia, and gastrointestinal bleeding predicts low likelihood of malignancy in dyspeptic Taiwanese patients aged <45 years.

Correlates of anti-EBV EBNA1 IgA positivity among unaffected relatives from nasopharyngeal carcinoma multiplex families

Background:

To determine whether non-viral nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) risk factors might be associated with (and mediated through) Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) serological responses linked to NPC risk, we evaluated predictors of risk of anti-EBNA1 IgA seropositivity and other markers among unaffected relatives from a large NPC family study in Taiwan.

Methods:

Multivariate logistic regression conditioned on family was used to examine the associations between sociodemographic, dietary, lifestyle, and occupational variables and risk of anti-EBV EBNA1 IgA positivity, anti-VCA IgA, and anti-DNase positivity.

Results:

Among 2393 unaffected relatives from 319 multiplex families, 1180 (49.3%) were anti-EBV EBNA1 IgA seropositive. None of the associations with anti-EBNA1 IgA were statistically significant, except for being 31–50 years of age (vs <30, adjusted ORs 0.51–0.57). For one or more EBV serological markers, there were suggestive associations for older age, GuangDong firm salted fish, betel use, current alcohol use, and male gender.

Conclusion:

Overall, we found little evidence to suggest that non-viral NPC risk factors significantly alter EBV serological patterns, suggesting that non-viral NPC risk factors act through pathways independent of EBV serological responses.

Subclassifying disordered proteins by the CH-CDF plot method

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are associated with a wide range of functions. We suggest that sequence-based subtypes, which we call flavors, may provide the basis for different biological functions. The problem is to find a method that separates IDPs into different flavor / function groups. Here we discuss one approach, the (Charge-Hydropathy) versus (Cumulative Distribution Function) plot or CH-CDF plot, which is based the combined use of the CH and CDF disorder predictors. These two predictors are based on significantly different inputs and methods. This CH-CDF plot partitions all proteins into 4 groups: structured, mixed, disordered, and rare. Studies of the Protein Data Bank (PDB) entries and homologous show different structural biases for each group classified by the CH-CDF plot. The mixed class has more order-promoting residues and more ordered regions than the disordered class. To test whether this partition accomplishes any functional separation, we performed gene ontology (GO) term analysis on each class. Some functions are indeed found to be related to subtypes of disorder: the disordered class is highly active in mitosis-related processes among others. Meanwhile, the mixed class is highly associated with signaling pathways, where having both ordered and disordered regions could possibly be important.

Intrinsic protein disorder and protein-protein interactions

Intrinsically disordered proteins often bind to more than one partner. In this study, we focused on 11 sets of complexes in which the same disordered segment becomes bound to two or more distinct partners. For this collection of protein complexes, two or more partners of each disordered segment were selected to have less than 25% amino acid identity at structurally aligned positions. As it turned out that most of the examples so selected had similar 3D structure, the studied set was reduced to just these similar-fold cases. Based on the analyses of the interacting partners, the average sequence identity of the partners' binding regions showed substantially higher conservation as compared to the nonbinding regions: The residue identities, averaged over the 11 sets of partner proteins, were as follows: binding residues, 42 ± 6%; nonbinding residues 20 ± 3%; nonbinding buried residues 26 ± 5%; and nonbinding surface residues 16 ± 3%. The higher sequence identity of the binding residues compared to the other sets of residues provides evidence that these observed interactions are likely to be meaningful biological interactions, not artifacts. Since many of the features of the various interactions indicate that the disordered binding segments were likely to have been disordered before binding, these results also add further weight to the existence and function of intrinsically disordered regions inside cells.

A three-dimensional flexible microprobe array for neural recording assembled through electrostatic actuation

We designed, fabricated and tested a novel three-dimensional flexible microprobe to record neural signals of a lateral giant nerve fiber of the escape circuit of an American crayfish. An electrostatic actuation folded planar probes into three-dimensional neural probes with arbitrary orientations for neuroscientific applications. A batch assembly based on electrostatic forces simplified the fabrication and was non-toxic. A novel fabrication for these three-dimensional flexible probes used SU-8 and Parylene technology. The mechanical strength of the neural probe was great enough to penetrate into a bio-gel. A flexible probe both decreased the micromotion and alleviated tissue encapsulation of the implant caused by chronic inflammation of tissue when an animal breathes or moves. The cortex consisted of six horizontal layers, and the neurons of the cortex were arranged in vertical structures; the three-dimensional microelectrode arrays were suitable to investigate the cooperative activity for neurons in horizontal separate layers and in vertical cortical columns. With this flexible probe we recorded neural signals of a lateral giant cell from an American crayfish. The response amplitude of action potentials was about 343 µV during 1 ms period; the average recorded data had a ratio of signal to noise as great as 30.22 ± 3.58 dB. The improved performance of this electrode made feasible the separation of neural signals according to their distinct shapes. The cytotoxicity indicated a satisfactory biocompatibility and non-toxicity of the flexible device fabricated in this work.

An active, flexible carbon nanotube microelectrode array for recording electrocorticograms

A variety of microelectrode arrays (MEAs) has been developed for monitoring intra-cortical neural activity at a high spatio-temporal resolution, opening a promising future for brain research and neural prostheses. However, most MEAs are based on metal electrodes on rigid substrates, and the intra-cortical implantation normally causes neural damage and immune responses that impede long-term recordings. This communication presents a flexible, carbon-nanotube MEA (CMEA) with integrated circuitry. The flexibility allows the electrodes to fit on the irregular surface of the brain to record electrocorticograms in a less invasive way. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) further improve both the electrode impedance and the charge-transfer capacity by more than six times. Moreover, the CNTs are grown on the polyimide substrate directly to improve the adhesion to the substrate. With the integrated recording circuitry, the flexible CMEA is proved capable of recording the neural activity of crayfish in vitro, as well as the electrocorticogram of a rat cortex in vivo, with an improved signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, the proposed CMEA can be employed as a less-invasive, biocompatible and reliable neuro-electronic interface for long-term usage.