scholarly journals Extensive graft-derived dopaminergic innervation is maintained 24 years after transplantation in the degenerating parkinsonian brain

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (23) ◽  
pp. 6544-6549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Li ◽  
Elisabet Englund ◽  
Håkan Widner ◽  
Bengt Mattsson ◽  
Danielle van Westen ◽  
...  

Clinical trials using cells derived from embryonic ventral mesencephalon have shown that transplanted dopaminergic neurons can survive and function in the long term, as demonstrated by in vivo brain imaging using 18F-fluorodopa and 11C-raclopride positron emission tomography. Here we report the postmortem analysis of a patient with Parkinson’s disease who 24 y earlier underwent unilateral transplantation of embryonic dopaminergic neurons in the putamen and subsequently exhibited major motor improvement and recovery of striatal dopaminergic function. Histopathological analysis showed that a dense, near-normal graft-derived dopaminergic reinnervation of the putamen can be maintained for a quarter of a century despite severe host brain pathology and with no evidence of immune response. In addition, ubiquitin- and α-synuclein–positive inclusions were seen, some with the appearance of typical Lewy bodies, in 11–12% of the grafted dopaminergic neurons, reflecting the spread of pathology from the host brain to the transplants. Because the clinical benefits induced by transplantation in this patient were gradually lost after 14 y posttransplantation, our findings provide the first reported evidence, to our knowledge, that even a viable dopaminergic graft giving rise to extensive striatal reinnervation may lose its efficacy if widespread degenerative changes develop in the host brain.

2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (7) ◽  
pp. 1261-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Anne Richard ◽  
Hannah Pallubinsky ◽  
Denis P. Blondin

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has long been described according to its histological features as a multilocular, lipid-containing tissue, light brown in color, that is also responsive to the cold and found especially in hibernating mammals and human infants. Its presence in both hibernators and human infants, combined with its function as a heat-generating organ, raised many questions about its role in humans. Early characterizations of the tissue in humans focused on its progressive atrophy with age and its apparent importance for cold-exposed workers. However, the use of positron emission tomography (PET) with the glucose tracer [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) made it possible to begin characterizing the possible function of BAT in adult humans, and whether it could play a role in the prevention or treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). This review focuses on the in vivo functional characterization of human BAT, the methodological approaches applied to examine these features and addresses critical gaps that remain in moving the field forward. Specifically, we describe the anatomical and biomolecular features of human BAT, the modalities and applications of non-invasive tools such as PET and magnetic resonance imaging coupled with spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) to study BAT morphology and function in vivo, and finally describe the functional characteristics of human BAT that have only been possible through the development and application of such tools.


2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Nordbeck ◽  
Leoni Bönhof ◽  
Karl-Heinz Hiller ◽  
Sabine Voll ◽  
Paula Arias ◽  
...  

Background: Surgical procedures in small animal models of heart disease, such as artificial ligation of the coronary arteries for experimental myocardial infarction, can evoke alterations in cardiac morphology and function. Such alterations might induce artificial early or long term effects in vivo that might account for a significant bias in basic cardiovascular research, and, therefore, could potentially question the meaning of respective studies in small animal models of heart disease. Methods: Female Wistar rats were matched for weight and distributed to sham left coronary artery ligation or untreated control. Cardiac parameters were then investigated in vivo by high-field MRI over time after the surgical procedure, determining left and right ventricular morphology and function. Additionally, the time course of several metabolic and inflammatory blood parameters was determined. Results: Rats after sham surgery showed a lower body weight for up to 8 weeks after the intervention compared to healthy controls. Left and right ventricular morphology and function were not different in absolute measures in both groups 1 week after surgery. However, there was a confined difference in several cardiac parameters normalized to the body weight (bw), such as myocardial mass (2.19±0.30/0.83±0.13 vs. 1.85±0.22/0.70±0.07 mg left/right per g bw, p<0.05), or enddiastolic ventricular volume (1.31±0.36/1.21±0.31 vs. 1.14±0.20/1.07±0.17 µl left/right per g bw, p<0.05). Vice versa, after 8 weeks, cardiac masses, volumes, and output showed a trend for lower values in the sham operated rats compared to the controls in absolute measures (782.2±57.2/260.2±33.2 vs. 805.9±84.8/310.4±48.5 mg, p<0.05 for left/right ventricular mass), but not normalized to body weight. Matching these findings, blood testing revealed prolonged metabolic and inflammatory changes after surgery not related to cardiac disease. Conclusion: There is a small distinct impact of cardio-thoracic surgical procedures on the global integrity of the organism, which in the long term also includes circumscribed repercussions on cardiac morphology and function. This impact has to be considered when analyzing data from respective studies and transferring the findings to conditions in patients.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 782-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Poyot ◽  
Françoise Condé ◽  
Marie-Claude Grégoire ◽  
Vincent Frouin ◽  
Christine Coulon ◽  
...  

Positron emission tomography (PET) coupled to 6-[18F]Fluoro-L-Dopa (18F-Dopa) remains the gold standard for assessing dysfunctionality concerning the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway in Parkinson's disease and related disorders. The use of ligands of the dopamine transporters (DAT) is an attractive alternative target; consequently, the current aim was to validate one of them, 11C-PE2I, using a multiinjection modeling approach allowing accurate quantitation of DAT densities in the striatum. Experiments were performed in three controls, three MPTP-treated (parkinsonian) baboons, and one reserpine-treated baboon. 11C-PE2I B′max values obtained with this approach were compared with 18F-Dopa input rate constant values (Ki), in vitro Bmax binding of 125I-PE2I, and the number of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra estimated postmortem by stereology. In the caudate nucleus and putamen, control values for 11C-PE2I B'max were 673 and 658 pmol/mL, respectively, whereas it was strongly reduced in the MPTP-treated (B′max = 26 and 36 pmol/mL) and reserpine-treated animals (B′max = 338 and 483 pmol/mL). In vivo11C-PE2I B′max values correlated with 18F-Dopa Ki values and in vitro125I-PE2I Bmax values in the striatum and with the number of nigral dopaminergic neurons. Altogether, these data support the use of 11C-PE2I for monitoring striatal dopaminergic disorders and the effect of potential neuroprotective strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (487) ◽  
pp. eaao0750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng-Zheng Zhang ◽  
You-Rong Chen ◽  
Shao-Jie Wang ◽  
Feng Zhao ◽  
Xiao-Gang Wang ◽  
...  

Reconstruction of the anisotropic structure and proper function of the knee meniscus remains an important challenge to overcome, because the complexity of the zonal tissue organization in the meniscus has important roles in load bearing and shock absorption. Current tissue engineering solutions for meniscus reconstruction have failed to achieve and maintain the proper function in vivo because they have generated homogeneous tissues, leading to long-term joint degeneration. To address this challenge, we applied biomechanical and biochemical stimuli to mesenchymal stem cells seeded into a biomimetic scaffold to induce spatial regulation of fibrochondrocyte differentiation, resulting in physiological anisotropy in the engineered meniscus. Using a customized dynamic tension-compression loading system in conjunction with two growth factors, we induced zonal, layer-specific expression of type I and type II collagens with similar structure and function to those present in the native meniscus tissue. Engineered meniscus demonstrated long-term chondroprotection of the knee joint in a rabbit model. This study simultaneously applied biomechanical, biochemical, and structural cues to achieve anisotropic reconstruction of the meniscus, demonstrating the utility of anisotropic engineered meniscus for long-term knee chondroprotection in vivo.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Kopschina Feltes ◽  
Erik FJ de Vries ◽  
Luis E Juarez-Orozco ◽  
Ewelina Kurtys ◽  
Rudi AJO Dierckx ◽  
...  

Psychosocial stress is a risk factor for the development of depression. Recent evidence suggests that glial activation could contribute to the development of depressive-like behaviour. This study aimed to evaluate in vivo whether repeated social defeat (RSD) induces short- and long-term inflammatory and metabolic alterations in the brain through positron emission tomography (PET). Male Wistar rats ( n = 40) were exposed to RSD by dominant Long-Evans rats on five consecutive days. Behavioural and biochemical alterations were assessed at baseline, day 5/6 and day 24/25 after the RSD protocol. Glial activation (11C-PK11195 PET) and changes in brain metabolism (18F-FDG PET) were evaluated on day 6, 11 and 25 (short-term), and at 3 and 6 months (long-term). Defeated rats showed transient depressive- and anxiety-like behaviour, increased corticosterone and brain IL-1β levels, as well as glial activation and brain hypometabolism in the first month after RSD. During the third- and six-month follow-up, no between-group differences in any investigated parameter were found. Therefore, non-invasive PET imaging demonstrated that RSD induces transient glial activation and reduces brain glucose metabolism in rats. These imaging findings were associated with stress-induced behavioural changes and support the hypothesis that neuroinflammation could be a contributing factor in the development of depression.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1199-1205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Alakurtti ◽  
Jarkko J Johansson ◽  
Juho Joutsa ◽  
Matti Laine ◽  
Lars Bäckman ◽  
...  

We measured the long-term test–retest reliability of [11C]raclopride binding in striatal subregions, the thalamus and the cortex using the bolus-plus-infusion method and a high-resolution positron emission scanner. Seven healthy male volunteers underwent two positron emission tomography (PET) [11C]raclopride assessments, with a 5-week retest interval. D2/3 receptor availability was quantified as binding potential using the simplified reference tissue model. Absolute variability (VAR) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values indicated very good reproducibility for the striatum and were 4.5%/0.82, 3.9%/0.83, and 3.9%/0.82, for the caudate nucleus, putamen, and ventral striatum, respectively. Thalamic reliability was also very good, with VAR of 3.7% and ICC of 0.92. Test-retest data for cortical areas showed good to moderate reproducibility (6.1% to 13.1%). Our results are in line with previous test–retest studies of [11C]raclopride binding in the striatum. A novel finding is the relatively low variability of [11C]raclopride binding, providing suggestive evidence that extrastriatal D2/3 binding can be studied in vivo with [11C]raclopride PET to be verified in future studies.


1986 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 301-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Stefoni ◽  
A. Nanni Costa ◽  
G. Liviano D'Arcangelo ◽  
M. Biavati ◽  
S. lannelli ◽  
...  

Biocompatibility of charcoal hemoperfusion was studied in a group of 15 uremic patients, evaluating the effects of long-term treatment on some structural and functional parameters of circulating lymphocytes: in vivo distribution of T-cell subsets; surface T3, T4 and T8 antigen expression, in vivo and in vitro DNA synthesis. A comparative analysis was performed with patients on conventional dialysis using cuprophan membranes.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 860-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiji Fukuda ◽  
Huimin Bian ◽  
Andrew G. King ◽  
Louis M. Pelus

Abstract Mobilized peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells (PBSCs) demonstrate accelerated engraftment compared with bone marrow; however, mechanisms responsible for enhanced engraftment remain unknown. PBSCs mobilized by GROβ (GROβΔ4/CXCL2Δ4) or the combination of GROβΔ4 plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) restore neutrophil and platelet recovery faster than G-CSF–mobilized PBSCs. To determine mechanisms responsible for faster hematopoietic recovery, we characterized immunophenotype and function of the GROβ-mobilized grafts. PBSCs mobilized by GROβΔ4 alone or with G-CSF contained significantly more Sca-1+-c-kit+-lineage− (SKL) cells and more primitive CD34−-SKL cells compared with cells mobilized by G-CSF and demonstrated superior competitive long-term repopulation activity, which continued to increase in secondary and tertiary recipients. GROβΔ4-mobilized SKL cells adhered better to VCAM-1+ endothelial cells compared with G-CSF–mobilized cells. GROβΔ4-mobilized PBSCs did not migrate well to the chemokine stromal derived factor (SDF)-1α in vitro that was associated with higher CD26 expression. However, GROβΔ4-mobilized SKL and c-Kit+ lineage− (KL) cells homed more efficiently to marrow in vivo, which was not affected by selective CXCR4 and CD26 antagonists. These data suggest that GROβΔ4-mobilized PBSCs are superior in reconstituting long-term hematopoiesis, which results from differential mobilization of early stem cells with enhanced homing and long-term repopulating capacity. In addition, homing and engraftment of GROβΔ4-mobilized cells is less dependent on the SDF-1α/CXCR4 axis.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferruccio Fazio ◽  
Daniela Perani ◽  
Maria Carla Gilardi ◽  
Fabio Colombo ◽  
Stefano F. Cappa ◽  
...  

Human amnesia is a clinical syndrome exhibiting the failure to recall past events and to learn new information. Its “pure” form, characterized by a selective impairment of long-term memory without any disorder of general intelligence or other cognitive functions, has been associated with lesions localized within Papez's circuit and some connected areas. Thus, amnesia could be due to a functional disconnection between components of this or other neural structures involved in long-term learning and retention. To test this hypothesis, we measured regional cerebral metabolism with 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET) in 11 patients with “pure” amnesia. A significant bilateral reduction in metabolism in a number of interconnected cerebral regions (hippocampal formation, thalamus, cingulate gyrus, and frontal basal cortex) was found in the amnesic patients in comparison with normal controls. The metabolic impairment did not correspond to alterations in structural anatomy as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These results are the first in vivo evidence for the role of a functional network as a basis of human memory.


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