Brain research bulletin
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Brain research bulletin · Oct 2016
Cordycepin attenuates traumatic brain injury-induced impairments of blood-brain barrier integrity in rats.
Loss of blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity is a downstream event caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI). BBB integrity is affected by certain physiological conditions, including inflammation and oxidative stress. Cordycepin is a susbtance with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects. ⋯ Furthermore, cordycepin inhibited NADPH oxidase (NOX) expression and activity following TBI, probably through NOX1, but not NOX2 and NOX4. Cordycepin has protective effects against brain damages induced by TBI. The protection of cordycepin on BBB integrity was probably achieved through recovery of tight junction proteins, inhibition of local inflammation, and prevention of NOX activity.
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Brain research bulletin · Oct 2016
Postnatal changes in glutamatergic inputs of jaw-closing motoneuron dendrites.
Dendrites of masseter (jaw-closing) motoneurons (MMNs) are well developed and ramify extensively throughout the trigeminal motor nucleus and often extend into the adjacent reticular formation. It is possible that the dendrites have active properties, which are altered with the development of the orofacial musculoskeletal system. Thus, we examined the changes in somatic voltage responses evoked by photostimulation of the MMN dendrites by laser photolysis of caged glutamate from postnatal day (P) 2-5 and 9-12 rats. ⋯ In 75% of P2-5 MMNs, the step-like increase in amplitude, which was blocked by 20μM D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid application, corresponded to the NMDA spikes/plateau potentials. In contrast, at P9-12 the responses became significantly smaller in amplitude and shorter in duration and only one neuron out of 12 MMNs showed NMDA spikes/plateau potentials. These results suggest that the glutamatergic responses evoked by photostimulation of the MMN dendrites change during the first two postnatal weeks, and these changes may be involved in the transition from suckling to chewing during postnatal development.