Neuroscience
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In a previous study, we have shown that the small organic compound tegaserod, a drug approved for clinical application in an unrelated condition, is a mimic of the regeneration-beneficial glycan polysialic acid (PSA) in a mouse model of femoral nerve injury. Several independent observations have shown positive effects of PSA and its mimetic peptides in different paradigms of injury of the central and peripheral mammalian nervous systems. Since small organic compounds generally have advantages over metabolically rapidly degraded glycans and the proteolytically vulnerable mimetic peptides, a screen for a small PSA mimetic compound was successfully carried out, and the identified molecule proved to be beneficial in neurite outgrowth in vitro, independent of its originally described function as a 5-HT4 receptor agonist. ⋯ Immunohistology of the spinal cord rostral and caudal to the lesion site showed increased numbers of neurons, and a reduced area and intensity of glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity. Quantification of regrowth/sprouting of axons immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase and serotonin showed increased axonal density rostral and caudal to the injury site in the ventral horns of mice treated with tegaserod. The combined observations suggest that tegaserod has the potential for treatment of spinal cord injuries in higher vertebrates.
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Comparative Study
Immunolocalization of the P2X4 receptor on neurons and glia in the mammalian retina.
Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (eATP) acts as a neurotransmitter within the retina and brain, activating a range of ionotropic P2X and metabotropic P2Y receptors. In this study, the specific localization of the P2X4 receptor (P2X4-R) subunit was evaluated in the retina using fluorescence immunohistochemistry and pre-embedding immuno-electron microscopy. Punctate P2X4-R labeling was largely localized to the inner and outer plexiform layers of mouse, rat and cat retinae. ⋯ Furthermore, P2X4-R expression was also observed on Müller cells, astrocytes and microglia. These data suggest a role for P2X4-Rs in the lateral inhibitory pathways of the retina, modulating neuronal function of photoreceptors and bipolar cells. The expression on macro- and microglial cells implicates a role for P2X4-Rs in glial signaling, tissue homeostasis and immunosurveillance within the mammalian retina.
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Pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal CA3 area interconnect intensively via recurrent axonal collaterals, and such CA3-to-CA3 recurrent circuitry plays important roles in the generation of hippocampal network activities. In particular, the CA3 circuitry is able to generate spontaneous sharp waves (SPWs) when examined in vitro. These in vitro SPWs are thought to result from the network activity of GABAergic inhibitory interneurons as SPW-correlating intracellular activities are featured with strong IPSPs in pyramidal neurons and EPSPs or spikes in GABAergic interneurons. ⋯ In addition, aged CA3 pyramidal neurons displayed more positive resting potentials and had a higher propensity of burst firing than adult neurons. We postulate that alterations of GABAergic network activity may explain the reduced IPCS contributions to in vitro SPWs in aged CA3 pyramidal neurons. Overall, our present observations are supportive of the notion that excitability of hippocampal CA3 circuitry is increased in aged mice.
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Multiple sclerosis and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), are crucially dependent on the invasion of activated autoreactive lymphocytes and blood macrophages into the central nervous system (CNS). Proinflammatory mononuclear cells and activated local microglia mediate inflammation, demyelination and axonal damage at the target organ. Previously, we observed that the administration of a hybrid between the synapsin ABC domains and the B subunit of Escherichia coli heat labile-enterotoxin (LTBABC) to rats with EAE ameliorated disease by modulating the peripheral Th1 response to myelin basic protein (MBP). ⋯ Concomitantly, low levels of INF-γ and IL-17 and increased levels of IL-10 were measured in cultures of CNS infiltrating cells and spinal cord tissue. An increased frequency of CD4+CD25+Foxp3 cells was observed at the disease peak and at the beginning of the recovery stage. These results provide further evidence for the immunomodulatory properties of the fusion protein LTBABC in autoimmune demyelinating disease affecting the central nervous system.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and degenerative disorder accompanied by cognitive impairment, but effective strategies against AD are currently not available. Interestingly, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) used in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has shown neuroprotective effects in preclinical studies of AD. Lixisenatide, an effective GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist with much longer half life than GLP-1, has been licensed in the EU as a treatment for T2DM. ⋯ In the present study, we report for the first time the effects of lixisenatide on the amyloid β (Aβ) protein-induced impairments in spatial learning and memory of rats, and investigated its electrophysiological and molecular mechanisms. We found that: (1) bilateral intrahippocampal injection of Aβ25-35 resulted in a significant decline in spatial learning and memory of rats, as well as a suppression of in vivo hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP); (2) lixisenatide treatment effectively prevented the Aβ25-35-induced impairments; (3) lixisenatide inhibited the Aβ25-35 injection-induced activation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), with a significant increase in the phosphorylation of ser9 and a significant decrease in the phosphorylation of Y216. These results indicate that lixisenatide, by affecting the PI3K-Akt-GSK3β pathway, can prevent Aβ-related impairments in synaptic plasticity and spatial memory of rats, suggesting that lixisenatide may be a novel and effective treatment for AD.