Experimental neurology
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Experimental neurology · Sep 2013
Loss of GABAergic neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of Engrailed-2 null mutant mice: implications for autism spectrum disorders.
The homeobox-containing transcription factor Engrailed-2 (En2) is involved in patterning and neuronal differentiation of the midbrain/hindbrain region, where it is prominently expressed. En2 mRNA is also expressed in the adult mouse hippocampus and cerebral cortex, indicating that it might also function in these brain areas. Genome-wide association studies revealed that En2 is a candidate gene for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and mice devoid of its expression (En2(-/-) mice) display anatomical, behavioral and clinical "autistic-like" features. ⋯ Here we show that the Engrailed proteins are present in postnatal GABAergic neurons of the mouse hippocampus and cerebral cortex, and adult En2(-/-) mice show reduced expression of GABAergic marker mRNAs in these areas. In addition, reduction in parvalbumin (PV), somatostatin (SOM) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) expressing interneurons is detected in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of adult En2(-/-) mice. Our results raise the possibility of a link between altered function of En2, anatomical deficits of GABAergic forebrain neurons and the pathogenesis of ASD.
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Experimental neurology · Sep 2013
The interaction between the dopaminergic forebrain projections and the medial prefrontal cortex is critical for memory of objects: implications for Parkinson's disease.
Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have implicated the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway and the prefrontal cortex in learning and memory deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease. However, little is known about how these two brain regions interact in the processing of learning and memory. We employed a disconnection procedure to test whether interaction of these regions contributes to performance in various memory tasks. ⋯ No differences between groups were found in the spatial working memory test. Our data indicate that locomotor, emotional and sensorimotor factors are not likely to confound the results of the memory tests. Thus, the interaction between the dopaminergic forebrain projections, particularly the nigrostriatal dopamine, and the medial prefrontal cortex is critical for object recognition memory but not for spatial working memory in rats.
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Experimental neurology · Sep 2013
Mobilisation of the splenic monocyte reservoir and peripheral CX₃CR1 deficiency adversely affects recovery from spinal cord injury.
Macrophages in the injured spinal cord originate from resident microglia and blood monocytes. Whether this diversity in origins contributes to their seemingly dual role in immunopathology and repair processes has remained poorly understood. Here we took advantage of Cx₃cr1(gfp) mice to visualise monocyte-derived macrophages in the injured spinal cord via adoptive cell transfer and bone marrow (BM) chimera approaches. ⋯ Adoptive transfer experiments further suggested high turnover of inflammatory monocytes in the spinal cord at 7 days post-injury. Consistent with this, only a small proportion of infiltrating cells unequivocally expressed polarisation markers for pro-inflammatory (M1) or alternatively activated (M2) macrophages at this time point. Our findings offer new insights into the origins of monocyte-derived macrophages after SCI and their contribution to functional recovery, providing a basis for further scrutiny and selective targeting of Ly6C(high) monocytes to improve outcomes from neurotraumatic events.
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Experimental neurology · Sep 2013
Anatomical correlates of recovery in single pellet reaching in spinal cord injured rats.
Modeling spinal cord injury (SCI) in animals is challenging because an appropriate combination of lesion location, lesion severity and behavioral testing is essential to analyze recovery of motor function. For particular tests such as single pellet reaching, the contribution of individual descending tracts to recovery has been investigated using specific tract ablation or graded lesions. However, it has not been established whether single pellet reaching is sufficiently sensitive for assessing the efficacy of treatments for cervical SCI (e.g., one of the currently most successful treatment approaches: rehabilitative training). ⋯ The DLQ lesion likely strikes a balance between tissue sparing and functional impairment and is, therefore, best suited to maximize the potential to observe treatment effects of plasticity-promoting treatments using single pellet reaching. Because of the specific lesion size that is necessary to observe treatment effects, the single pellet skilled reaching task can be considered a stringent behavioral test and therefore may be useful for predicting translational success of potential treatments. However, due to the variability in the success rate, the labor-intensive nature, and the limited usefulness to test functional outcome of a wide range of lesion severities, we are hesitant to continue to use single pellet reaching to assess the effectiveness of currently available treatments for cervical SCI.
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Experimental neurology · Sep 2013
ReviewOpioid administration following spinal cord injury: implications for pain and locomotor recovery.
Approximately one-third of people with a spinal cord injury (SCI) will experience persistent neuropathic pain following injury. This pain negatively affects quality of life and is difficult to treat. Opioids are among the most effective drug treatments, and are commonly prescribed, but experimental evidence suggests that opioid treatment in the acute phase of injury can attenuate recovery of locomotor function. ⋯ A review of the literature, described here, suggests that caution is warranted when administering opioids after SCI. Opioid administration may synergistically contribute to the pathology of SCI to increase the development of pain, decrease locomotor recovery, and leave individuals at risk for infection. Considering these negative implications, it is important that guidelines are established for the use of opioids following spinal cord and other central nervous system injuries.