A network approach to analyze neuronal lineage and layer innervation in the Drosophila optic lobes

Cellular diversity and gene expression profiles in the male and female brain of Aedes aegypti

BACKGROUND

Aedes aegypti is a medically-important mosquito vector that transmits arboviruses including yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses to humans. The mosquito exhibits typical sexually dimorphic behaviors such as courtship, mating, host seeking, bloodfeeding, and oviposition. All these behaviors are mainly regulated by the brain; however, little is known about the function and neuron composition of the mosquito brain. In this study, we generated an initial atlas of the adult male and female brain of Ae. aegypti using 10xGenomics based single-nucleus RNA sequencing.

RESULTS

We identified 35 brain cell clusters in male and female brains, and 15 of those clusters were assigned to known cell types. Identified cell types include glia (astrocytes), Kenyon cells, (ventral) projection neurons, monoaminergic neurons, medulla neurons, and proximal medulla neurons. In addition, the cell type compositions of male and female brains were compared to each other showing that they were quantitatively distinct, as 17 out of 35 cell clusters varied significantly in their cell type proportions. Overall, the transcriptomes from each cell cluster looked very similar between the male and female brain as only up to 25 genes were differentially expressed in these clusters. The sex determination factor Nix was highly expressed in neurons and glia of the male brain, whereas doublesex (dsx) was expressed in all neuron and glia cell clusters of the male and female brain.

CONCLUSIONS

An initial cell atlas of the brain of the mosquito Ae. aegypti has been generated showing that the cellular compositions of the male and female brains of this hematophagous insect differ significantly from each other. Although some of the rare brain cell types have not been detected in our single biological replicate, this study provides an important basis for the further development of a complete brain cell atlas as well as a better understanding of the neurobiology of the brains of male and female mosquitoes and their sexually dimorphic behaviors.

Mechanisms of interactions between lung-origin telocytes and mesenchymal stem cells to treat experimental acute lung injury

Acute lung injury is a serious form and major cause of patient death and still needs efficient therapies. The present study evidenced that co-transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and telocytes (TCs) improved the severity of experimental lung tissue inflammation, edema, and injury, where TCs increased MSCs migration into the lung and the capacity of MSCs proliferation and movement. Of molecular mechanisms, Osteopontin-dominant networks were active in MSCs and TCs, and might play supportive and nutrimental roles in the interaction between MSCs and TCs, especially activated TCs by lipopolysaccharide. The interaction between epidermal growth factor and its receptor from MSCs and TCs could play critical roles in communications between MSCs and TCs, responsible for MSCs proliferation and movement, especially after inflammatory activation. Our studies provide the evidence that TCs possess nutrimental and supportive roles in implanted MSCs, and co-transplantation of MSCs and TCs can be a new alternative in the therapy of acute lung injury.