Cellular and molecular neurobiology
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Cell. Mol. Neurobiol. · Apr 2015
Relationship between procalcitonin serum levels and functional outcome in stroke patients.
To determine whether serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels at admission were associated with short-term functional outcome after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in a cohort Chinese sample. We prospectively studied 378 patients with AIS who were admitted within 24 h after the onset of symptoms. PCT and NIH stroke scale (NIHSS) were measured at the time of admission. ⋯ PCT was an independent prognostic marker of functional outcome [odds ratio (OR) 3.45 (2.29-4.77), adjusted for the NIHSS and other possible confounders] in patients with ischemic stroke, added significant additional predictive value to the clinical NIHSS score. In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the prognostic accuracy of PCT was higher compared to Hs-CRP and NIHSS score. PCT is an independent predictor of short-term functional outcome after ischemic stroke in Chinese sample even after correcting for possible confounding factors.
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Cell. Mol. Neurobiol. · Apr 2015
MicroRNA-29c/PTEN pathway is involved in mice brain development and modulates neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells.
Growing evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) are important mediators of brain development and neurite growth. However, the affected signaling mechanisms are not clearly clarified. In the present study, we confirm that miR-29c is expressed during mice brain development and increases neurite outgrowth via decreasing PTEN expression. ⋯ Then, using luciferase reporter assay,we demonstrate that miR-29c could directly target to the 3'-UTR of PTEN mRNA and result in down-expression of PTEN. By infecting PC12 cells with lentiviral pLKO-miR-29c or control, we also find that increasing levels of miR-29c markedly increase Akt phosphorylation level, and thus, promote neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. Together, our results identify that miR-29c is required for mice brain development and modulates neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells via targeting PTEN and has a promising therapeutic target for neural disease.
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Cell. Mol. Neurobiol. · Apr 2015
Possible involvement of convergent nociceptive input to medullary dorsal horn neurons in intraoral hyperalgesia following peripheral nerve injury.
Previous studies demonstrated that the number of c-Fos protein-like immunoreactive (c-Fos-IR) neurons in the medullary dorsal horn (MDH) evoked by noxious stimulation was increased after peripheral nerve injury, and such increase has been proposed to reflect the development of neuropathic pain state. The aim of this study was to examine the MDH for convergent collateral primary afferent input to second order neurons deafferented by peripheral nerve injury, and to explore a possibility of its contribution to the c-Fos hyperinducibility. ⋯ The number of double-labeled neurons, that presumably received convergent primary afferent input from the lingual nerve and the IAN, was significantly increased after IAN injury. These results indicated that convergent primary nociceptive input through neighboring intact nerves may contribute to the c-Fos hyperinducibility in the MDH and the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain following trigeminal nerve injury.