Journal of neurochemistry
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Journal of neurochemistry · Mar 2004
Early anti-inflammatory treatment reduces lipid peroxidation and protein nitration after spinal cord injury in rats.
We investigated mechanisms by which a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against the CD11d subunit of the leukocyte integrin CD11d/CD18 improves neurological recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rat. The effects of an anti-CD11d mAb treatment were assessed on ED-1 expression (estimating macrophage infiltration), myeloperoxidase activity (MPO, approximating neutrophil infiltration), lipid peroxidation, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nitrotyrosine (indicating protein nitration) expression in the spinal cord lesion after severe clip-compression injury. Protein expression was evaluated by western blotting and immunocytochemistry. ⋯ The mAb treatment also attenuated the expression of iNOS and formation of nitrotyrosine at 6-72 h after SCI. These data indicate that anti-CD11d mAb treatment blocks intraspinal neutrophil and macrophage infiltration, reducing the intraspinal concentrations of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. These effects likely underlie improved tissue preservation and neurological function resulting from the mAb treatment.
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Journal of neurochemistry · Jan 2004
Comparative StudyAmyloid suppresses induction of genes critical for memory consolidation in APP + PS1 transgenic mice.
Mice transgenic for mutated forms of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) plus presenilin-1 (PS1) genes (APP + PS1 mice) gradually develop memory deficits which correlate with the extent of amyloid deposition. The expression of several immediate-early genes (IEGs: Arc, Nur77 and Zif268) and several other plasticity-related genes (GluR1, CaMKIIalpha and Na-K- ATPase alphaIII) critical for learning and memory was normal in young APP + PS1 mice preceding amyloid deposition, but declined as mice grew older and amyloid deposits accumulated. ⋯ These data imply that Abeta deposition can selectively reduce expression of multiple genes linked to synaptic plasticity, and provide a molecular basis for memory deficiencies found in transgenic APP mice and, most likely, in early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). Presumably, pharmacological agents blocking the Abeta-related inhibition of gene expression will have benefit in AD.
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Journal of neurochemistry · Dec 2003
Comparative StudyEnhancement of ischemia-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Kv1.2 by vascular endothelial growth factor via activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.
Our studies observed that, consistent with the literature, ischemic/hypoxic insults increased the expression of voltage-gated potassium channel (Kv) 1.2 potassium channel as well as elevating the endogenous level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in neurons of adult rat brain following middle cerebral artery occlusion and in SH-SY5Y cells after hypoxia and glucose deprivation. Concomitantly, we also observed that ischemic injury increased the tyrosine phosphorylation of Kv 1.2 in in vivo and in vitro; the introduction of exogenous VEGF could attenuate cell death in in vitro models. ⋯ In substantiation of this result, we used anti-sense methodology to suppress the expression of endogenous VEGF, which significantly inhibited the tyrosine phosphorylation of Kv 1.2 and increased cell death elicited by ischemic/hypoxic injury. Finally, the enhancement of the tyrosine phosphorylation of the channel by VEGF in neuronal cells was significantly attenuated in the presence of wortmannin, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K), or genestin, an inhibitor of tyrosine kinase, thus suggesting that the phosphorylation of Kv 1.2 induced by VEGF is mechanistically linked to the PI3-K pathway.
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Journal of neurochemistry · Dec 2003
Expression of galectin-3 in neuronally differentiating PC12 cells is regulated both via Ras/MAPK-dependent and -independent signalling pathways.
Galectin-3 (gal-3) is a member of the galectin family of lectins whose expression strongly depends on the cellular state. Here we show that in PC12 cells the expression of gal-3 protein is regulated via Ras- and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent and independent signalling pathways and correlates with nerve growth factor (NGF)-mediated neuronal differentiation. Gal-3 expression, activation of the MAPK ERK1/2 and neurite outgrowth are induced by NGF and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), but not by ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), epidermal growth factor, insulin or interleukin-6 (IL-6). ⋯ NGF- and staurosporine-induced gal-3-expression is also regulated at the transcriptional level. Our data suggest the presence of complex induction mechanisms of gal-3 expression in neuronally differentiating PC12 cells involving NGF-, but not CNTF- and IL-6-driven (in NGF-primed cells) Ras/MAPK-related signalling pathways. Staurosporine, in contrast, induces gal-3 expression by a Ras/MAPK-independent mechanism.
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Journal of neurochemistry · Nov 2003
Coupling gene chip analyses and rat genetic variances in identifying potential target genes that may contribute to neuropathic allodynia development.
Genetic factors and nerve injury-induced changes of gene expression in sensory neurons are potential contributors to tactile allodynia, a neuropathic pain state manifested as hypersensitivity to innocuous mechanical stimulation. To uncover genes relevant to neuropathic allodynia, we analyzed gene expression profiles in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of spinal nerve-ligated Harlan and Holtzman Sprague Dawley rats, strains with different susceptibilities to neuropathic allodynia. Using Affymetrix gene chips, we identified genes showing differential basal-level expression in these strains without injury-induced regulation. ⋯ Importantly, we identified functionally related genes that were co-regulated post injury in one or both strains. In situ hybridization and real-time PCR analyses of a subset of identified genes confirmed the patterns of the microarray data, and the former also demonstrated that injury-induced changes occurred, not only in neurons, but also in non-neuronal cells. Together, our studies provide a global view of injury plasticity in DRG of these rat stains and support a plasticity-based mechanism mediating variations in allodynia susceptibility, thus providing a source for further characterization of neuropathic pain-relevant genes and potential pathways.