Effects of Short Duration Overpressure on Astrocytes: An In Vitro Study

Author(s):  
Lai Yee Leung ◽  
Pamela J. VandeVord ◽  
Warren Hardy ◽  
Roche De Guzman ◽  
King H. Yang ◽  
...  

Blast wave overpressure from detonations can injure physiological systems ‘silently.’ Experimental and clinical studies have revealed the damaging effects of shock waves on different physiological systems, such as ears, lungs and gastrointestinal tracts [1, 2]. Despite the improved helmet and body armor, many veterans returning from wars suffered from neurological disorders that are being diagnosed as mild traumatic brain injury. Warden (2006) reported that most of these veterans were exposed to blast [3]. In vivo study illustrated neuronal degeneration in the brain after exposure to blast waves [4]. As with many neuronal diseases, blast-induced neuronal injury may be related to microglia and astrocyte activation. However, the underlying mechanism is not clearly understood. This study was aimed at investigating the effects of short duration overpressure on astrocytes, in terms of cell proliferation and mRNA expression of several apoptotic genes and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mira Puthettu ◽  
Stijn Vandenberghe ◽  
Stefanos Demertzis

Abstract Background During cardiac surgery, micro-air emboli regularly enter the blood stream and can cause cognitive impairment or stroke. It is not clearly understood whether the most threatening air emboli are generated by the heart-lung machine (HLM) or by the blood-air contact when opening the heart. We performed an in vitro study to assess, for the two sources, air emboli distribution in the arterial tree, especially in the brain region, during cardiac surgery with different cannulation sites. Methods A model of the arterial tree was 3D printed and included in a hydraulic circuit, divided such that flow going to the brain was separated from the rest of the circuit. Air micro-emboli were injected either in the HLM (“ECC Bubbles”) or in the mock left ventricle (“Heart Bubbles”) to simulate the two sources. Emboli distribution was measured with an ultrasonic bubble counter. Five repetitions were performed for each combination of injection site and cannulation site, where air bubble counts and volumes were recorded. Air bubbles were separated in three categories based on size. Results For both injection sites, it was possible to identify statistically significant differences between cannulation sites. For ECC Bubbles, axillary cannulation led to a higher amount of air bubbles in the brain with medium-sized bubbles. For Heart Bubbles, aortic cannulation showed a significantly bigger embolic load in the brain with large bubbles. Conclusions These preliminary in vitro findings showed that air embolic load in the brain may be dependent on the cannulation site, which deserves further in vivo exploration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Xiao ◽  
Vinay Sharma ◽  
Leila Toulabi ◽  
Xuyu Yang ◽  
Cheol Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Stress causes release of glucocorticoids from the adrenals which then circulate to the brain. High concentrations glucocorticoid from chronic severe stress results in pathophysiology in the brain, including neuronal degeneration, cell death and cognitive dysfunction, leading to diseases such as Alzheimer Disease and Major Depressive Disorders. Neurotrophic/growth factors such as BDNF, NGF and NT3 have been linked to these pathological conditions. Carboxypeptidase E (CPE), a proneuropeptide/prohormone processing enzyme, also named neurotrophic factor-α1(NFα1) is highly expressed in the stress-vulnerable hippocampal CA3 neurons, and was shown to have neuroprotective activity from in vitro studies. Here we investigated if CPE-NFα1 functions in vivo, independent of its enzymatic activity, and the mechanism underlying its action. We generated knock-in mice expressing a non-enzymatic form of CPE, CPE-E342Q, but not wild-type CPE. The CPE-E342Q mice showed significantly decreased neuropeptide content and exhibited obesity, diabetes and infertility due to lack of prohormone processing activity, similar to CPE-KO mice. However, they showed no hippocampal CA3 degeneration, exhibited neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus, and displayed normal spatial learning and memory, similar to CPE wild-type mice, after weaning stress; unlike CPE-KO mice which showed hippocampal CA3 neuronal degeneration and cognitive deficits. Binding studies showed that radiolabeled CPE bound hippocampal cell membrane specifically, in a saturable manner. Binding of CPE and CPE-E342Q to hippocampal neurons activated Erk signaling and pre-treatment with either of these proteins protected neurons against H2O2- or glutamate-induced neurotoxcity by increasing BCL2 expression. In vitro and in vivo inhibitor studies demonstrated that this neuroprotective effect was independent of tyrosine kinase receptor signaling. Taken together, the data provide evidence that CPE-NFα1 is a unique neurotrophic factor which acts through a non-tyrosine kinase receptor to activate Erk-BCL2 signaling to protect hippocampal CA3 neurons against stress-induced neurodegeneration and maintaining normal cognitive functions in mice.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Chiara Migone ◽  
Letizia Mattii ◽  
Martina Giannasi ◽  
Stefania Moscato ◽  
Andrea Cesari ◽  
...  

Peptide oral administration is a hard goal to reach, especially if the brain is the target site. The purpose of the present study was to set up a vehicle apt to promote oral absorption of the neuropeptide dalargin (DAL), allowing it to cross the intestinal mucosal barrier, resist enzymatic degradation, and transport drugs to the brain after crossing the blood–brain barrier. Therefore, a chitosan quaternary ammonium derivative was synthesized and conjugated with methyl-β-cyclodextrin to prepare DAL-medicated nanoparticles (DAL-NP). DAL-NP particle size was 227.7 nm, zeta potential +8.60 mV, encapsulation efficiency 89%. DAL-NP protected DAL from degradation by chymotrypsin or pancreatin and tripled DAL degradation time compared to non-encapsulated DAL. Use of DAL-NP was safe for either Caco-2 or bEnd.3 cells, with the latter selected as a blood–brain barrier model. DAL-NP could also cross either the Caco-2 or bEnd.3 monolayer by the transepithelial route. The results suggest a potential DAL-NP ability to transport to the brain a DAL dose fraction administered orally, although in vivo experiments will be needed to confirm the present data obtained in vitro.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yongsheng Zeng ◽  
Chengcheng Du ◽  
Pengcheng Xiao ◽  
Yiting Lei ◽  
Piao Zhao ◽  
...  

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) induces effective chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by promoting Sox9 expression. However, BMP2 also induces chondrocyte hypertrophy and endochondral ossification by upregulating Smad7 expression, which leads to the disruption of chondrogenesis. In addition, Smad7 can be inhibited by Sox9. Therefore, the underlying mechanism is not clear. Currently, an increasing number of studies have shown that microRNAs play a pivotal role in chondrogenic and pathophysiological processes of cartilage. The purpose of this study was to determine which microRNA is increased by Sox9 and targets Smad7, thus assisting BMP2 in maintaining stable chondrogenesis. We found that miR-322-5p meets the requirement through next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatic analysis. The targeting relationship between miR-322-5p and Smad7 was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assays, qPCR, and western blotting (WB). The in vitro study indicated that overexpression of miR-322-5p significantly inhibited Smad7 expression, thus causing increased chondrogenic differentiation and decreased hypertrophic differentiation, while silencing of miR-322-5p led to the opposite results. Flow cytometry (FCM) analysis indicated that overexpression of miR-322-5p significantly decreased the rate of early apoptosis in BMP2-stimulated MSCs, while silencing of miR-322-5p increased the rate. A mouse limb explant assay revealed that the expression of miR-322-5p was negatively correlated with the length of the BMP2-stimulated hypertrophic zone of the growth plate. An in vivo study also confirmed that miR-322-5p assisted BMP2 in chondrogenic differentiation. Taken together, our results suggested that Sox9-increased miR-322-5p expression can promote BMP2-induced chondrogenesis by targeting Smad7, which can be exploited for effective tissue engineering of cartilage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. S262
Author(s):  
A. Haduch ◽  
E. Bromek ◽  
J. Wójcikowski ◽  
K. Gołembiowska ◽  
W.A. Daniel

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zi-Bin Zhang ◽  
Liu-Lin Xiong ◽  
Lu-Lu Xue ◽  
Yan-Ping Deng ◽  
Ruo-Lan Du ◽  
...  

AbstractNeonatal hypoxic–ischemic (HI) injury derived from asphyxia during perinatal period, is a serious complication of neonatal asphyxia and the main cause of neonatal acute death and chronic neurological injury. Aberrant autophagy occurs in many nervous system diseases, but its role and underlying mechanism in HI injury is largely unknown. Here, we successfully constructed a newborn rat model of HI brain injury, and the knockout-miR-127-3p (KO-miR-127-3p) rats were structured by using CRISPR/Cas9. Subsequently, the in vitro functional experiments, in vivo zea-longa scores, as well as bioinformatics analyses and biological experiments were applied. The expression of autophagy-related proteins, including ATG12, P62, Beclin-1, LC3II in HI cortex with miR-127-3p knockout was significantly decreased, and autophagic vacuoles were disappeared. Moreover, miR-127-3p has a specific regulatory effect on CISD1 expression, another crucial molecule in autophagy process. Accordingly, the overexpression of CISD1 effectively inhibited the autophagic cell death and physiological dysfunction in the brain of HI injury, whereas si-CISD1 reversed the neuroprotective effects of KO-miR-127-3p. Our findings explained the underlying mechanism for HI injury, and miR-127-3p targeting CISD1 signal could be supposed as a new treatment strategy to prevent and treat HI injury.


Author(s):  
Beverly E. Maleeff ◽  
Timothy K. Hart ◽  
Stephen J. Wood ◽  
Ronald Wetzel

Alzheimer's disease is characterized post-mortem in part by abnormal extracellular neuritic plaques found in brain tissue. There appears to be a correlation between the severity of Alzheimer's dementia in vivo and the number of plaques found in particular areas of the brain. These plaques are known to be the deposition sites of fibrils of the protein β-amyloid. It is thought that if the assembly of these plaques could be inhibited, the severity of the disease would be decreased. The peptide fragment Aβ, a precursor of the p-amyloid protein, has a 40 amino acid sequence, and has been shown to be toxic to neuronal cells in culture after an aging process of several days. This toxicity corresponds to the kinetics of in vitro amyloid fibril formation. In this study, we report the biochemical and ultrastructural effects of pH and the inhibitory agent hexadecyl-N-methylpiperidinium (HMP) bromide, one of a class of ionic micellar detergents known to be capable of solubilizing hydrophobic peptides, on the in vitro assembly of the peptide fragment Aβ.


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