Neuroscience
-
Although lipid peroxidation has long been associated with spinal cord injury (SCI), the specific role of lipid peroxidation-derived byproducts such as acrolein in mediating damage remains to be fully understood. Acrolein, an α-β unsaturated aldehyde, is highly reactive with proteins, DNA, and phospholipids and is considered as a second toxic messenger that disseminates and augments initial free radical events. Previously, we showed that acrolein increased following traumatic SCI and injection of acrolein induced tissue damage. ⋯ These pathological changes resulted in behavioral impairments as measured by both the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale and grid walking analysis. Electron microscopy further demonstrated that acrolein induced axonal degeneration, demyelination, and macrophage infiltration. These results, combined with our previous reports, strongly suggest that acrolein may play a critical causal role in the pathogenesis of SCI and that targeting acrolein could be an attractive strategy for repair after SCI.
-
It has been suggested that synapse-associated protein of 97-kDa molecular weight (SAP97) is a susceptibility factor for childhood and adult neuropsychiatric disorders. SAP97 is a scaffolding protein that shares direct and indirect binding partners with the Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) gene product, a gene with strong association with neuropsychiatric disorders. Here we investigated the possibility that these two proteins converge upon a common molecular pathway. ⋯ Reductions in SAP97 abundance also decrease GSK3β phosphorylation. In addition, we find that over expression of DISC1 leads to an increase in the abundance of SAP97, by inhibiting its proteasomal degradation. Our findings suggest that SAP97 and DISC1 contribute to maintaining Wnt/β-catenin signaling activity within a homeostatic range by regulating GSK3β phosphorylation.
-
The dorsal horn (DH) of the spinal cord contains a heterogenous population of neurons that process incoming sensory signals before information ascends to the brain. We have recently characterized calretinin-expressing (CR+) neurons in the DH and shown that they can be divided into excitatory and inhibitory subpopulations. The excitatory population receives high-frequency excitatory synaptic input and expresses delayed firing action potential discharge, whereas the inhibitory population receives weak excitatory drive and exhibits tonic or initial bursting discharge. ⋯ Noradrenaline and serotonin produced robust outward currents in excitatory CR+ neurons, predicting an inhibitory action on these neurons, but neither neuromodulator produced a response in CR+ inhibitory neurons. In contrast, enkephalin (along with selective mu and delta opioid receptor agonists) produced outward currents in inhibitory CR+ neurons, consistent with an inhibitory action but did not affect the excitatory CR+ population. Our findings show that the pharmacology of inhibitory inputs and neuromodulator actions on CR+ cells, along with their excitatory inputs can define these two subpopulations further, and this could be exploited to modulate discrete aspects of sensory processing selectively in the DH.
-
Dystroglycan (DG) is widely expressed in various tissues, and throughout the cerebral microvasculature. It consists of two subunits, α-DG and β-DG, and the cleavage of the latter by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 underlies a number of physiological and pathological processes. However, the involvement of MMP-2/-9-mediated β-DG cleavage in cerebral ischemia remains uncertain. ⋯ In addition, captopril exacerbated cytotoxic edema and ameliorated vasogenic edema at 24h after pMCAO, and alleviated brain edema and neurological deficit at 48h and 72h. In conclusion, this study provides novel insight into the effects of MMP-2/-9-mediated β-DG cleavage in acute cerebral ischemia. Such findings might facilitate the development of a therapeutic strategy for the optimization of MMP-2/-9 targeted treatment in cerebral ischemia.
-
Cognitive impairment, anxiety- and depressive-like symptoms are well recognized outcome of cerebral ischemia in clinical and preclinical settings. Rolipram, a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE-4) inhibitor, improves cognition and produces anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects in rodents. Rolipram also exerts anti-inflammatory effects and enhances survival of newborn hippocampal neurons in mice subjected to transient global cerebral ischemia. ⋯ Chronic treatment with rolipram attenuated the behavioral effects of BCCAO. Rolipram also decreased neurodegeneration in the CA3 while it increased dendritic arborization of DCX-immunoreactive (DCX-IR) neurons and microtubule associate MAP-2 expression in the hippocampus of BCCAO mice. These data suggest that chronic inhibition of PDE-4 can be a useful therapeutic strategy to improve the emotional and cognitive outcomes of transient global cerebral ischemia.