Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN
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Tobacco smoking is a global health hazard that kills about 5 million people annually. Waterpipe smoking is among the most popular methods of tobacco consumption worldwide. In this study, we investigated whether waterpipe smoking impairs learning and memory in the hippocampus, a question of special concern due to the particular popularity of waterpipe use among youth. ⋯ We found that WTS exposure led to impaired short- and long-term memory. This impairment was accompanied by reduced hippocampal activity of catalase, SOD, GPx, GSH, and GSH/GSSG, elevated GSSG, thus marked changes in oxidative stress biomarkers. In conclusion, there is reason for concern that WTS exposure may impair cognitive ability.
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Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment is a minimally invasive technique with multiple therapeutic applications. Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel mediating Ih may regulate neuropathic pain signaling. This study aimed to determine whether PRF suppresses neuropathic pain by altering HCN channel expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. ⋯ The results showed that thermal hyperalgesia, mechano-allodynia, and mechano-hyperalgesia were lower, and DRG expression levels of HCN1 and HCN2 higher, in the PRF group compared with sham control animals (all P < 0.05 at D14). In conclusion, PRF can upregulate HCN channel expression in the DRG of rats with sciatic nerve CCI. How this regulation of Ih in nociceptive afferents contributes to the suppression of neuropathic pain by PRF remains to be determined.
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Neuropathic pain is elicited after a serious disorder of the nervous system and is along with the neural damage. It is usually chronic and challenging to treat. Transcription factor 4 (TCF4) is a key transcription factor of Wnt signaling system. ⋯ Intrathecal injection of Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor IWR-1-endo and TCF4 small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly attenuated CCI-induced mechanical allodynia and heat hyperalgesia. The results suggest that TCF4 in the dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord is involved in the maintenance of CCI-induced neuropathic pain. Targeting TCF4 or Wnt/β-catenin signaling may be a potential treatment for chronic neuropathic pain.
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Recent studies in subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD) suggest the involvement of white matter (WM) abnormalities underlying the pathogenesis of cognitive function impairment. Here, we performed magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on detecting WM damage and to investigate the correlations between DTI measures and cognitive dysfunction in SIVD patients. Fifty right-handed SIVD patients were recruited and divided into vascular cognitive impairment on dementia (VCIND) group and normal cognition (NC) group. ⋯ Furthermore, we also found that MoCA scores correlated with DTI values in all supratentorial WM tracts. The results suggested that SIVD patients demonstrated abnormal WM connectivity in all supratentorial regions. Moreover, the severity of damage in WM tracts correlated with cognitive dysfunction.
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Neuron-glial-related cell adhesion molecule (NrCAM) is a neuronal cell adhesion molecule involved in neuron-neuron and neuron-glial adhesion as well as directional signaling during axonal cone growth. NrCAM has been shown to be involved in several cellular processes in the central and peripheral nervous systems, including neurite outgrowth, axonal pathfinding and myelination, fasciculation of nerve fibers, and cell migration. This includes sensory systems such as the eye and olfactory system. ⋯ Our work indicates that NrCAM is highly expressed in the developing mammalian cochlea (position consistent with innervation). Moreover, we found that NrCAM, presented in stripe micropatterns, provide directional cues to neonatal rat inner ear spiral ganglion neurites in vitro. Our results are consistent with a role for NrCAM in the pathfinding of spiral ganglion dendrites toward their hair cell targets in the sensory epithelium.