scholarly journals Environmental and genetic factors support the dissociation between α-synuclein aggregation and toxicity

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (42) ◽  
pp. E6506-E6515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Villar-Piqué ◽  
Tomás Lopes da Fonseca ◽  
Ricardo Sant’Anna ◽  
Éva Mónika Szegö ◽  
Luis Fonseca-Ornelas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Inclusion Formation ◽  
Neuronal Protein

Synucleinopathies are a group of progressive disorders characterized by the abnormal aggregation and accumulation of α-synuclein (aSyn), an abundant neuronal protein that can adopt different conformations and biological properties. Recently, aSyn pathology was shown to spread between neurons in a prion-like manner. Proteins like aSyn that exhibit self-propagating capacity appear to be able to adopt different stable conformational states, known as protein strains, which can be modulated both by environmental and by protein-intrinsic factors. Here, we analyzed these factors and found that the unique combination of the neurodegeneration-related metal copper and the pathological H50Q aSyn mutation induces a significant alteration in the aggregation properties of aSyn. We compared the aggregation of WT and H50Q aSyn with and without copper, and assessed the effects of the resultant protein species when applied to primary neuronal cultures. The presence of copper induces the formation of structurally different and less-damaging aSyn aggregates. Interestingly, these aggregates exhibit a stronger capacity to induce aSyn inclusion formation in recipient cells, which demonstrates that the structural features of aSyn species determine their effect in neuronal cells and supports a lack of correlation between toxicity and inclusion formation. In total, our study provides strong support in favor of the hypothesis that protein aggregation is not a primary cause of cytotoxicity.

Validation of long-term primary neuronal cultures and network activity through the integration of reversibly bonded microbioreactors and MEA substrates

2011 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Biffi ◽  
Andrea Menegon ◽  
Francesco Piraino ◽  
Alessandra Pedrocchi ◽  
Gianfranco B. Fiore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Network Activity ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures

scholarly journals Difluoroboron β-diketonate polylactic acid oxygen nanosensors for intracellular neuronal imaging

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhuang ◽  
Suchitra Joshi ◽  
Huayu Sun ◽  
Tamal Batabyal ◽  
Cassandra L. Fraser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Oxygen Sensing ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Neuronal Cell ◽  
Quantum Yields ◽  
Poly Lactic Acid ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Mitotracker Red

AbstractCritical for metabolism, oxygen plays an essential role in maintaining the structure and function of neurons. Oxygen sensing is important in common neurological disorders such as strokes, seizures, or neonatal hypoxic–ischemic injuries, which result from an imbalance between metabolic demand and oxygen supply. Phosphorescence quenching by oxygen provides a non-invasive optical method to measure oxygen levels within cells and tissues. Difluoroboron β-diketonates are a family of luminophores with high quantum yields and tunable fluorescence and phosphorescence when embedded in certain rigid matrices such as poly (lactic acid) (PLA). Boron nanoparticles (BNPs) can be fabricated from dye-PLA materials for oxygen mapping in a variety of biological milieu. These dual-emissive nanoparticles have oxygen-insensitive fluorescence, oxygen-sensitive phosphorescence, and rigid matrix all in one, enabling real-time ratiometric oxygen sensing at micron-level spatial and millisecond-level temporal resolution. In this study, BNPs are applied in mouse brain slices to investigate oxygen distributions and neuronal activity. The optical properties and physical stability of BNPs in a biologically relevant buffer were stable. Primary neuronal cultures were labeled by BNPs and the mitochondria membrane probe MitoTracker Red FM. BNPs were taken up by neuronal cell bodies, at dendrites, and at synapses, and the localization of BNPs was consistent with that of MitoTracker Red FM. The brain slices were stained with the BNPs, and the BNPs did not significantly affect the electrophysiological properties of neurons. Oxygen maps were generated in living brain slices where oxygen is found to be mostly consumed by mitochondria near synapses. Finally, the BNPs exhibited excellent response when the conditions varied from normoxic to hypoxic and when the neuronal activity was increased by increasing K+ concentration. This work demonstrates the capability of BNPs as a non-invasive tool in oxygen sensing and could provide fundamental insight into neuronal mechanisms and excitability research.

scholarly journals Cytotoxic Agents in the Minor Alkaloid Groups of the Amaryllidaceae

Planta Medica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerald J. Nair ◽  
Johannes van Staden
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Cell Line ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Cytotoxic Agents ◽  
Plant Family ◽  
Structure Activity ◽  
Significant Interest ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Minor Alkaloid

AbstractOver 600 alkaloids have to date been identified in the plant family Amaryllidaceae. These have been arranged into as many as 15 different groups based on their characteristic structural features. The vast majority of studies on the biological properties of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have probed their anticancer potential. While most efforts have focused on the major alkaloid groups, the volume and diversity afforded by the minor alkaloid groups have promoted their usefulness as targets for cancer cell line screening purposes. This survey is an in-depth review of such activities described for around 90 representatives from 10 minor alkaloid groups of the Amaryllidaceae. These have been evaluated against over 60 cell lines categorized into 18 different types of cancer. The montanine and cripowellin groups were identified as the most potent, with some in the latter demonstrating low nanomolar level antiproliferative activities. Despite their challenging molecular architectures, the minor alkaloid groups have allowed for facile adjustments to be made to their structures, thereby altering the size, geometry, and electronics of the targets available for structure-activity relationship studies. Nevertheless, it was seen with a regular frequency that the parent alkaloids were better cytotoxic agents than the corresponding semisynthetic derivatives. There has also been significant interest in how the minor alkaloid groups manifest their effects in cancer cells. Among the various targets and pathways in which they were seen to mediate, their ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells is most appealing.

scholarly journals Oxidative Stress Induces Dephosphorylation of τ in Rat Brain Primary Neuronal Cultures

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1590-1597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Davis ◽  
Brian H. Anderton ◽  
Jean-Pierre Brion ◽  
C. Hugh Reynolds ◽  
Diane P. Hanger
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Rat Brain ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures

scholarly journals Ketamine decreases neuronally released glutamate via retrograde stimulation of presynaptic adenosine A1 receptors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Lazarevic ◽  
Yunting Yang ◽  
Ivana Flais ◽  
Per Svenningsson
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Intracellular Signaling ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Forced Swim Test ◽  
Glutamate Release ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Extracellular Glutamate ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Adenosine A1 Receptors ◽  
Adenosine A1

AbstractKetamine produces a rapid antidepressant response in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but the underlying mechanisms appear multifaceted. One hypothesis, proposes that by antagonizing NMDA receptors on GABAergic interneurons, ketamine disinhibits afferens to glutamatergic principal neurons and increases extracellular glutamate levels. However, ketamine seems also to reduce rapid glutamate release at some synapses. Therefore, clinical studies in MDD patients have stressed the need to identify mechanisms whereby ketamine decreases presynaptic activity and glutamate release. In the present study, the effect of ketamine and its antidepressant metabolite, (2R,6R)-HNK, on neuronally derived glutamate release was examined in rodents. We used FAST methodology to measure depolarization-evoked extracellular glutamate levels in vivo in freely moving or anesthetized animals, synaptosomes to detect synaptic recycling ex vivo and primary cortical neurons to perform functional imaging and to examine intracellular signaling in vitro. In all these versatile approaches, ketamine and (2R,6R)-HNK reduced glutamate release in a manner which could be blocked by AMPA receptor antagonism. Antagonism of adenosine A1 receptors, which are almost exclusively expressed at nerve terminals, also counteracted ketamine’s effect on glutamate release and presynaptic activity. Signal transduction studies in primary neuronal cultures demonstrated that ketamine reduced P-T286-CamKII and P-S9-Synapsin, which correlated with decreased synaptic vesicle recycling. Moreover, systemic administration of A1R antagonist counteracted the antidepressant-like actions of ketamine and (2R,6R)-HNK in the forced swim test. To conclude, by studying neuronally released glutamate, we identified a novel retrograde adenosinergic feedback mechanism that mediate inhibitory actions of ketamine on glutamate release that may contribute to its rapid antidepressant action.

Role of Ca2+ in α-Amino-3-Hydroxy-5-Methyl-4-Isoxazolepropionic Acid-Mediated Polyphosphoinositide Turnover in Primary Neuronal Cultures

2008 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 2325-2332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Hsuan Lee ◽  
David L. Deupree ◽  
Shine-Chi Chen ◽  
Lung-Sen Kao ◽  
Jang-Yen Wu
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures

scholarly journals Regulation of Cholesterol Homeostasis by the Liver X Receptors in the Central Nervous System

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1378-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl D. Whitney ◽  
Michael A. Watson ◽  
Jon L. Collins ◽  
William G. Benson ◽  
Tammy M. Stone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Cholesterol Efflux ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Cholesterol Homeostasis ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Lxr Agonists

Abstract The nuclear oxysterol receptors liver X receptor-α [LXRα (NR1H3)] and LXRβ (NR1H2) coordinately regulate genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis. Although both LXR subtypes are expressed in the brain, their roles in this tissue remain largely unexplored. In this report, we show that LXR agonists have marked effects on gene expression in murine brain tissue both in vitro and in vivo. In primary astrocyte cultures, LXR agonists regulated several established LXR target genes, including ATP binding cassette transporter A1, and enhanced cholesterol efflux. In contrast, little or no effect on gene expression or cholesterol efflux was detected in primary neuronal cultures. Treatment of mice with a selective LXR agonist resulted in the induction of several LXR target genes related to cholesterol homeostasis in the cerebellum and hippocampus. These data provide the first evidence that the LXRs regulate cholesterol homeostasis in the central nervous system. Because dysregulation of cholesterol balance is implicated in central nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Niemann-Pick disease, pharmacological manipulation of the LXRs may prove beneficial in the treatment of these disorders.

scholarly journals Medicinal Leech CNS as a Model for Exosome Studies in the Crosstalk between Microglia and Neurons

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 4124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Raffo-Romero ◽  
Tanina Arab ◽  
Issa Al-Amri ◽  
Francoise Le Marrec-Croq ◽  
Christelle Van Camp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transforming Growth Factor Beta ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Primary Cultures ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Medicinal Leech ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Primary Neuronal Cultures ◽  
A Cell

In healthy or pathological brains, the neuroinflammatory state is supported by a strong communication involving microglia and neurons. Recent studies indicate that extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, play a key role in the physiological interactions between cells allowing central nervous system (CNS) development and/or integrity. The present report used medicinal leech CNS to investigate microglia/neuron crosstalk from ex vivo approaches as well as primary cultures. The results demonstrated a large production of exosomes from microglia. Their incubation to primary neuronal cultures showed a strong interaction with neurites. In addition, neurite outgrowth assays demonstrated microglia exosomes to exhibit significant neurotrophic activities using at least a Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-β) family member, called nGDF (nervous Growth/Differentiation Factor). Of interest, the results also showed an EV-mediated dialog between leech microglia and rat cells highlighting this communication to be more a matter of molecules than of species. Taken together, the present report brings a new insight into the microglia/neuron crosstalk in CNS and would help deciphering the molecular evolution of such a cell communication in brain.

scholarly journals STUDIES ON HOST FACTORS IN PNEUMOCOCCUS INFECTIONS

1934 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Goodner
Keyword(s):  
Blood Cell ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Host Factors ◽  
Type I ◽  
Specific Antibodies ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Cell Counts ◽  
Blood Cell Counts ◽  
White Blood Cell Counts ◽  
Extrinsic And Intrinsic Factors

The power of specific antipneumococcus serum to protect rabbits against infection with Type I Pneumococcus has been studied with reference to the capacity of the animal to utilize the specific antibodies. Under conditions ensuring relatively controlled genetic factors it was found that heavier animals and those with high white blood cell counts are much better able to utilize the passively conferred immune principles. The interrelationships of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors responsible for immunity have been discussed.

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