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Cindy L

@cuboidalhug.bsky.social

1.3K followers 540 following 153 posts

Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

During deep sleep, norepinephrine oscillation every ~50 sec cause blood vessels to constrict and push CSF through the brain. The frequency of norepinephrine oscillation predicts glymphatic clearance better than duration of REM sleep, deep sleep, or total sleep

Diagram showing coordinated oscillation of norepinephrine, blood vessel constriction, and intracranial CSF and blood volume during NREM sleep

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

And this figure from DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra022784 has a bit more on genetic factors

Table 1. Mutations in Genes Involved in Sex Determination and Development and Associated with Inter sex Anomalies.
Table columns: Gene (Locus), Protein and Proposed Function, Mutant Phenotype
WIl (11p13)
Transcription factor
Frasier syndrome, Denys-Drash syndrome
with Wilms' tumor

SF-1 (9q33)
Transcription factor, nuclear receptor
Gonadal and adrenal dysgenesis

SOX9 (17q24)
High-mobility-group transcription factor
Campomelic dysplasia, male gonadal dys-
genesis or XY sex reversal

DAX1 (Xp21.3)
Transcriptional regulator, nuclear-receptor
protein
Gonadal dysgenesis, congenital adrenal
hypoplasia

SRY (Ypll)
High-mobility-group transcription factor
Gonadal dysgenesis

MIS, or AMH, type I|
receptor (12q]2-13)
Serine threonine kinase receptor
Persistent müllerian duct syndrome

MIS, or AMH (19p13)
Secreted protein, causes regression of fetal müllerian duct; Leydig-cell inhibitor
Persistent müllerian duct syndrome

AR (Xq11-12)
Androgen receptor, a ligand transcription
factor
Male pseudoherm aphroditism, complete or partial androgen insensitivity syndrome

HSD17B3 (9q22)
17B-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase,
17-ketosteroid reductase 3
Male pseudohermaphroditis m

SRD5A2 (5p15)
Sa-Reductase type 2
Male pseudohermaphroditism*
* Virilization may occur at puberty.

CYP17 (10q24-25)
17-Hydroxylase: 20-22 lyase
Male pseudohermaphroditis m

CYP21 (6q21.3)
21-Hydroxylase
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, female pseudohermaphroditism

HSD3B2 (Lpl3.1)
3B-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type I|
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

CYP11B1 (8q24)
11B-Hydroxylase
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

StAR (8p11.2)
Steroid ogenic acute regulatory protein
Congenital lipoid adrenal hyperplasia

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

This protection was mediated through a tryptophan metabolite

Article excerpt: “ Restricting tryptophan, the nutrient source of bacterial indole metabolites, in the diet of I|4ra 709 Retnlb ' mice abrogated the protection against FA provided by RELMß deficiency with increased mast cell release and serum OVA-specific IgE responses and decreased the frequencies of SI-LPL RORyt* Treg Cells (Fig. 4c-f).”

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Administering a cocktail of 3 Lactobacillus probiotics (L. rhamnosus, L. gasseri, and L. reuteri) helped protect against allergic response

Article excerpt: “ Similar to the functional effects of the endogenous mouse gut Lactoba-cilli, a cocktail of three related human Lactobacillus isolates (L.gasseri, L. reuteri and L. rhamnosus) protected against the development of FA and demonstrated increased frequencies of SI-LL RORyt* Treg Cells together with decreased frequencies of Tr13 cells (Fig. 3e-h). Together, these data demonstrate that gut Lactobacilli both increase gut RORyt+ Treg and protect from FA.”

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

I don’t normally post personal stuff, but yesterday was my Ella’s last day here, after almost 16 wonderful years. She was so smart and funny and unlike any other dog I’ve met! Rest in peace, sweet pea 💕

Ella as a 10 week old puppy (black, tan, and white) hiding in grass

Ella (black, tan, and white dog) on the grass looking excited

Ella (black, tan, and white dog) sitting on a bridge in the woods looking back at the camera

Ella (black, tan, and white dog) looking up from her bed

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Exciting work from @virusesimmunity.bsky.social — how are endogenous retroviruses that integrated into human genomes long ago kept in check? An unusual type of B cell makes antibodies that recognize sugars on a wide range of viral proteins, including SARS-CoV2 and HIV www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Ghosts of viruses past could point to a way of combating all sorts of viruses

Sometimes, when a virus infects a host, bits of viral genome find their way into the host’s genome and make themselves at home. These snippets of viral DNA, called endogenous retroviruses, don’t generally make us sick—they’ve even proven weirdly helpful to us. Still, some have been linked to disease, and they would likely cause problems if allowed to run amok . Now, researchers looking at how mice keep these ancient viruses in check have discovered antiviral mechanisms that might help battle the viruses of tomorrow.

First, the team had to figure out which immune cells actually jump in when an endogenous retrovirus is activated. So they designed a kind of “bait”: virus-like particles with the outer appearance of a virus, but none of the genetic code inside. An understudied kind of B cell called B-1 cells took the bait. These “are more ancient immune cells that all of us make and are considered ‘innate-like’ in that they have characteristics of both innate and adaptive immunity,” Akiko Iwasaki, co-author on the Science Immunology paper describing the finding, said in a statement.

Most exciting was how they were hooked: B-1 cells bound to simple sugar molecules on the ends of viral proteins. Sure enough, when the team tested antibodies made by activated B-1 cells against a bevy of human viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and HIV, they glommed onto these same sugars. Iwasaki and team suspect this sugar binding is a “fundamental mechanism” by which these cells target viruses—and therefore, may prove to be a valuable target for future antiviral drugs.

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

This is what we’re dealing with here www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...

Article excerpt in which RFK Jr as 2023 pres candidate said he would order the NIH to take a break from researching infectious diseases

Continuation of article excerpt (click on link for full article)

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

RFK: “we need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place by Jan 20, so that on Jan 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH, and 600 people are going to leave,” he said to applause.

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

I’m not sure (I’m really bad with time), but it’s been listed for quite awhile now on their website

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Cindy L @cuboidalhug.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

They show epigenetic reprogramming of bone marrow progenitors of myeloid lineage — these are innate immune cells and include megakaryocytes that give rise to platelets (see above on Morgane Bomsel’s work), neutrophils (which have also been shown to be activated in LC), monocytes which give rise to

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