scholarly journals Isolation and in vitro culture of primary pia mater cells

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadi Saadeh ◽  
Jan Remsik ◽  
Camille Derderian ◽  
Yudan Chi ◽  
Adrienne Boire

AbstractThe meninges remain an unexplored area of neurobiology. These structures play host to dozens of morbid pathologies. This protocol provides a reliable way to identify and isolate pial cells from mice using robust markers of pial identity in mouse and human tissues. We describe a protocol for the extraction of pia mater cells from mice and their culture as primary cells in vitro. Using an array of transcriptomic, histological, and flow cytometric analyses, we identified Icam1 and Slc38a2 as two novel pia mater markers in vitro and in vivo. Our results confirm the fibroblastoid nature of pial cells and their ability to form a sheet-like layer that covers the brain parenchyma. To our knowledge, this is the first published protocol for the isolation, tissue culture, and marker identification of pial cells from mice. These findings will enable researchers in CNS barriers to describe pial cell functions in both health and disease.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Takahashi ◽  
Takayoshi Shimohata

Methylmercury (MeHg) causes severe damage to the central nervous system, and there is increasing evidence of the association between MeHg exposure and vascular dysfunction, hemorrhage, and edema in the brain, but not in other organs of patients with acute MeHg intoxication. These observations suggest that MeHg possibly causes blood–brain barrier (BBB) damage. MeHg penetrates the BBB into the brain parenchyma via active transport systems, mainly the l-type amino acid transporter 1, on endothelial cell membranes. Recently, exposure to mercury has significantly increased. Numerous reports suggest that long-term low-level MeHg exposure can impair endothelial function and increase the risks of cardiovascular disease. The most widely reported mechanism of MeHg toxicity is oxidative stress and related pathways, such as neuroinflammation. BBB dysfunction has been suggested by both in vitro and in vivo models of MeHg intoxication. Therapy targeted at both maintaining the BBB and suppressing oxidative stress may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for MeHg intoxication. This paper reviews studies on the relationship between MeHg exposure and vascular dysfunction, with a special emphasis on the BBB.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix C. Nebeling ◽  
Stefanie Poll ◽  
Lena C. Schmid ◽  
Manuel Mittag ◽  
Julia Steffen ◽  
...  

AbstractMicroglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, play a complex role in health and disease. They actively survey the brain parenchyma by physically interacting with other cells and structurally shaping the brain. Yet, the mechanisms underlying microglia motility and their significance for synapse stability, especially during adulthood, remain widely unresolved. Here we investigated the impact of neuronal activity on microglia motility and its implication for synapse formation and survival. We used repetitive two-photon in vivo imaging in the hippocampus of awake mice to simultaneously study microglia motility and their interaction with synapses. We found that microglia process motility depended on neuronal activity. Simultaneously, more dendritic spines emerged in awake compared to anesthetized mice. Interestingly, microglia contact rates with individual dendritic spines were associated with their stability. These results suggest that microglia are not only sensing neuronal activity, but participate in synaptic rewiring of the hippocampus during adulthood, which has profound relevance for learning and memory processes.


F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Garabedian ◽  
Charles A. Harris ◽  
Freddy Jeanneteau

Glucocorticoids via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) have effects on a variety of cell types, eliciting important physiological responses via changes in gene expression and signaling. Although decades of research have illuminated the mechanism of how this important steroid receptor controls gene expression using in vitro and cell culture–based approaches, how GR responds to changes in external signals in vivo under normal and pathological conditions remains elusive. The goal of this review is to highlight recent work on GR action in fat cells and liver to affect metabolism in vivo and the role GR ligands and receptor phosphorylation play in calibrating signaling outputs by GR in the brain in health and disease. We also suggest that both the brain and fat tissue communicate to affect physiology and behavior and that understanding this “brain-fat axis” will enable a more complete understanding of metabolic diseases and inform new ways to target them.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (26) ◽  
pp. eabg8139
Author(s):  
Cynthia Hajal ◽  
Yoojin Shin ◽  
Leanne Li ◽  
Jean Carlos Serrano ◽  
Tyler Jacks ◽  
...  

Although brain metastases are common in cancer patients, little is known about the mechanisms of cancer extravasation across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a key step in the metastatic cascade that regulates the entry of cancer cells into the brain parenchyma. Here, we show, in a three-dimensional in vitro BBB microvascular model, that astrocytes promote cancer cell transmigration via their secretion of C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2). We found that this chemokine, produced primarily by astrocytes, promoted the chemotaxis and chemokinesis of cancer cells via their C-C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2), with no notable changes in vascular permeability. These findings were validated in vivo, where CCR2-deficient cancer cells exhibited significantly reduced rates of arrest and transmigration in mouse brain capillaries. Our results reveal that the CCL2-CCR2 astrocyte-cancer cell axis plays a fundamental role in extravasation and, consequently, metastasis to the brain.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Saboori ◽  
Ali Sadegh

The interface between the brain and the skull consists of three fibrous tissue layers, dura mater, arachnoid, and pia mater, known as the meninges, and strands of collagen tissues connecting the arachnoid to the pia mater, known as trabeculae. The space between the arachnoid and the pia mater is filled with cerebrospinal fluid which stabilizes the shape and position of the brain during head movements or impacts. The histology and architecture of the subarachnoid space trabeculae in the brain are not well established in the literature. The only recognized fact about the trabeculae is that they are made of collagen fibers surrounded by fibroblast cells and they have pillar- and veil-like structures. In this work the histology and the architecture of the brain trabeculae were studied, via a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments using cadaveric and animal tissue. In the cadaveric study fluorescence and bright field microscopy were employed while scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used for the animal studies. The results of this study reveal that the trabeculae are collagen based type I, and their architecture is in the form of tree-shaped rods, pillars, and plates and, in some regions, they have a complex network morphology.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (40) ◽  
pp. 12486-12491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Clark ◽  
Mark E. Davis

Most therapeutic agents are excluded from entering the central nervous system by the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Receptor mediated transcytosis (RMT) is a common mechanism used by proteins, including transferrin (Tf), to traverse the BBB. Here, we prepared Tf-containing, 80-nm gold nanoparticles with an acid-cleavable linkage between the Tf and the nanoparticle core to facilitate nanoparticle RMT across the BBB. These nanoparticles are designed to bind to Tf receptors (TfRs) with high avidity on the blood side of the BBB, but separate from their multidentate Tf–TfR interactions upon acidification during the transcytosis process to allow release of the nanoparticle into the brain. These targeted nanoparticles show increased ability to cross an in vitro model of the BBB and, most important, enter the brain parenchyma of mice in greater amounts in vivo after systemic administration compared with similar high-avidity nanoparticles containing noncleavable Tf. In addition, we investigated this design with nanoparticles containing high-affinity antibodies (Abs) to TfR. With the Abs, the addition of the acid-cleavable linkage provided no improvement to in vivo brain uptake for Ab-containing nanoparticles, and overall brain uptake was decreased for all Ab-containing nanoparticles compared with Tf-containing ones. These results are consistent with recent reports of high-affinity anti-TfR Abs trafficking to the lysosome within BBB endothelium. In contrast, high-avidity, Tf-containing nanoparticles with the acid-cleavable linkage avoid major endothelium retention by shedding surface Tf during their transcytosis.


1999 ◽  
Vol 190 (9) ◽  
pp. 1351-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo Del Maschio ◽  
Ada De Luigi ◽  
Ines Martin-Padura ◽  
Manfred Brockhaus ◽  
Tamas Bartfai ◽  
...  

The mechanisms that govern leukocyte transmigration through the endothelium are not yet fully defined. Junctional adhesion molecule (JAM) is a newly cloned member of the immunoglobulin superfamily which is selectively concentrated at tight junctions of endothelial and epithelial cells. A blocking monoclonal antibody (BV11 mAb) directed to JAM was able to inhibit monocyte transmigration through endothelial cells in in vitro and in vivo chemotaxis assays. In this study, we report that BV11 administration was able to attenuate cytokine-induced meningitis in mice. The intravenous injection of BV11 mAb significantly inhibited leukocyte accumulation in the cerebrospinal fluid and infiltration in the brain parenchyma. Blood–brain barrier permeability was also reduced by the mAb. We conclude that JAM may be a new target in limiting the inflammatory response that accompanies meningitis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Eva van der Wijk ◽  
Theodosia Georgakopoulou ◽  
Jisca Majolée ◽  
Jan S. M. van Bezu ◽  
Miesje M. van der Stoel ◽  
...  

AbstractConsidering its intolerance to ischemia, it is of critical importance for the brain to efficiently process microvascular occlusions and maintain tissue perfusion. In addition to collateral microvascular flow and enzymatic degradation of emboli, the endothelium has the potential to engulf microparticles and thereby recanalize the vessel, through a process called angiophagy. Here, we set out to study the dynamics of angiophagy in relation to cytoskeletal remodeling in vitro and reperfusion in vivo. We show that polystyrene microspheres and fibrin clots are actively taken up by (brain) endothelial cells in vitro, and chart the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton during this process using live cell imaging. Whereas microspheres were taken up through the formation of a cup structure by the apical endothelial membrane, fibrin clots were completely engulfed by the cells, marked by dense F-actin accumulation surrounding the clot. Both microspheres and fibrin clots were retained in the endothelial cells. Notably, fibrin clots were not degraded intracellularly. Using an in vivo microembolization rat model, in which microparticles are injected into the common carotid artery, we found that microspheres are transported by the endothelium from the microvasculature into the brain parenchyma. Microembolization with microspheres caused temporal opening of the blood–brain barrier and vascular nonperfusion, followed by microsphere extravasation and restoration of vessel perfusion over time. Taken together, angiophagy is accompanied by active cytoskeletal remodeling of the endothelium, and is an effective mechanism to restore perfusion of the occluded microvasculature in vivo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Faresjö ◽  
Gillian Bonvicini ◽  
Xiaotian T. Fang ◽  
Ximena Aguilar ◽  
Dag Sehlin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Transferrin receptor (TfR1) mediated enhanced brain delivery of antibodies have been studied extensively in preclinical settings. However, the brain pharmacokinetics, i.e. brain entry, distribution and elimination are still not fully understood for this class of antibodies. The overall aim of the study was to compare the brain pharmacokinetics of two BBB-penetrating bispecific antibodies of different size (210 vs 58 kDa). Specifically, we wanted to investigate if the faster systemic clearance of the smaller non-IgG antibody di-scFv3D6-8D3, in comparison with the IgG-based bispecific antibody mAb3D6-scFv8D3, was also reflected in the brain. Methods Wild-type (C57/Bl6) mice were injected with 125I-iodinated ([125I]) mAb3D6-scFv8D3 (n = 46) or [125I]di-scFv3D6-8D3 (n = 32) and euthanized 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, or 24 h post injection. Ex vivo radioactivity in whole blood, peripheral organs and brain was measured by γ-counting. Ex vivo autoradiography and nuclear track emulsion were performed on brain sections to investigate brain and parenchymal distribution. Capillary depletion was carried out at 2, 6, and 24 h after injection of [125I]mAb3D6-scFv8D3 (n = 12) or [125I]di-scFv3D6-8D3 (n = 12), to estimate the relative levels of radiolabelled antibody in brain capillaries versus brain parenchyma. In vitro binding kinetics for [125I]mAb3D6-scFv8D3 or [125I]di-scFv3D6-8D3 to murine TfR were determined by LigandTracer. Results [125I]di-scFv3D6-8D3 showed faster elimination from blood, lower brain Cmax, and Tmax, a larger parenchymal-to-capillary concentration ratio, and a net elimination from brain at an earlier time point after injection compared with the larger [125I]mAb3D6-scFv8D3. However, the elimination rate from brain did not differ between the antibodies. The study also indicated that [125I]di-scFv3D6-8D3 displayed lower avidity than [125I]mAb3D6-scFv8D3 towards TfR1 in vitro and potentially in vivo, at least at the BBB. Conclusion A smaller size and lower TfR1 avidity are likely important for fast parenchymal delivery, while elimination of brain-associated bispecific antibodies may not be dependent on these characteristics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (23) ◽  
pp. 2736-2759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hualong Fu ◽  
Mengchao Cui

The β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques presented within the brain parenchyma have been widely proved to be one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis, the accumulation of Aβ plaques in the brain is intrinsic and fundamental for disease onset, and much research about the early diagnosis of AD is based on this. A recent development in Aβ detection has focused on the mapping of the molecule events in the brain using an exquisite, noninvasive, and inexpensive optical imaging technique, which has stimulated the rapid development of Aβ-specific fluorescent probes. Among them, nearinfrared (NIR) fluorophores have gained adequate attention due to the weak light attenuation in tissues and avoidance from auto-fluorescence of biological matter. In this review, we showcase the current developments of fluorescent probes that are subject to in vitro or in vivo detection of Aβ plaques in the brain, and give an emphasis on the probes used for in vivo twophoton microscopy and NIR imaging by highlighting their biological and photochemical properties.


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