PDGF receptors in the rat CNS: during late neurogenesis, PDGF alpha-receptor expression appears to be restricted to glial cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage

Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.P. Pringle ◽  
H.S. Mudhar ◽  
E.J. Collarini ◽  
W.D. Richardson

Using in situ hybridization, we have visualized cells in the rat central nervous system (CNS) that contain mRNA encoding the platelet-derived growth factor alpha receptor (PDGF-alpha R). After embryonic day 16 (E16), PDGF-alpha R mRNA appears to be expressed by a subset of glial cells, but not by neurons. The temporal and spatial distribution of PDGF-alpha R+ cells, together with 125I-PDGF binding studies on subsets of glial cells in vitro, suggests that PDGF-alpha R may be expressed predominantly, or exclusively, by cells of the oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) lineage. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the numbers of PDGF-alpha R+ cells in developing and adult optic nerves correlate well with independent estimates of the number of O-2A progenitor cells in the nerve at equivalent ages. Small numbers of PDGF-alpha R+ cells are present in the brain at E16, at which time they are found outside the subventricular germinal zones, suggesting that these cells do not express PDGF-alpha R until after, or shortly before they start to migrate away from the subventricular layer towards their final destinations. Reduced numbers of PDGF-alpha R+ cells persist in the adult CNS. PDGF-alpha R is also expressed strongly in the meningeal membranes and choroid plexus, and in the inner limiting membrane of the retina.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pijush Chakraborty ◽  
Gwladys Rivière ◽  
Shu Liu ◽  
Alain Ibáñez de Opakua ◽  
Rıza Dervişoğlu ◽  
...  

AbstractPathological aggregation of the protein tau into insoluble aggregates is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases. The emergence of disease-specific tau aggregate structures termed tau strains, however, remains elusive. Here we show that full-length tau protein can be aggregated in the absence of co-factors into seeding-competent amyloid fibrils that sequester RNA. Using a combination of solid-state NMR spectroscopy and biochemical experiments we demonstrate that the co-factor-free amyloid fibrils of tau have a rigid core that is similar in size and location to the rigid core of tau fibrils purified from the brain of patients with corticobasal degeneration. In addition, we demonstrate that the N-terminal 30 residues of tau are immobilized during fibril formation, in agreement with the presence of an N-terminal epitope that is specifically detected by antibodies in pathological tau. Experiments in vitro and in biosensor cells further established that co-factor-free tau fibrils efficiently seed tau aggregation, while binding studies with different RNAs show that the co-factor-free tau fibrils strongly sequester RNA. Taken together the study provides a critical advance to reveal the molecular factors that guide aggregation towards disease-specific tau strains.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249686
Author(s):  
Diána Hudecz ◽  
Sara Björk Sigurdardóttir ◽  
Sarah Christine Christensen ◽  
Casper Hempel ◽  
Andrew J. Urquhart ◽  
...  

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is one of the main obstacles for therapies targeting brain diseases. Most macromolecules fail to pass the tight BBB, formed by brain endothelial cells interlinked by tight junctions. A wide range of small, lipid-soluble molecules can enter the brain parenchyma via diffusion, whereas macromolecules have to transcytose via vesicular transport. Vesicular transport can thus be utilized as a strategy to deliver brain therapies. By conjugating BBB targeting antibodies and peptides to therapeutic molecules or nanoparticles, it is possible to increase uptake into the brain. Previously, the synthetic peptide GYR and a peptide derived from melanotransferrin (MTfp) have been suggested as candidates for mediating transcytosis in brain endothelial cells (BECs). Here we study uptake, intracellular trafficking, and translocation of these two peptides in BECs. The peptides were synthesized, and binding studies to purified endocytic receptors were performed using surface plasmon resonance. Furthermore, the peptides were conjugated to a fluorophore allowing for live-cell imaging studies of their uptake into murine brain endothelial cells. Both peptides bound to low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1) and the human transferrin receptor, while lower affinity was observed against the murine transferrin receptor. The MTfp showed a higher binding affinity to all receptors when compared to the GYR peptide. The peptides were internalized by the bEnd.3 mouse endothelial cells within 30 min of incubation and frequently co-localized with endo-lysosomal vesicles. Moreover, our in vitro Transwell translocation experiments confirmed that GYR was able to cross the murine barrier and indicated the successful translocation of MTfp. Thus, despite binding to endocytic receptors with different affinities, both peptides are able to transcytose across the murine BECs.


2007 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 220-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica A. L. Toppin ◽  
Michael B. Harris ◽  
Anna M. Kober ◽  
J. C. Leiter ◽  
Walter M. St.-John

In severe hypoxia or ischemia, normal eupneic breathing is replaced by gasping, which can serve as a powerful mechanism for “autoresuscitation.” We have proposed that gasping is generated by medullary neurons having intrinsic pacemaker bursting properties dependent on a persistent sodium current. A number of neuromodulators, including serotonin, influence persistent sodium currents. Thus we hypothesized that endogenous serotonin is essential for gasping to be generated. To assess such a critical role for serotonin, a preparation of the perfused, juvenile in situ rat was used. Activities of the phrenic, hypoglossal, and vagal nerves were recorded. We added blockers of type 1 and/or type 2 classes of serotonergic receptors to the perfusate delivered to the preparation. Eupnea continued following additions of any of the blockers. Changes were limited to an increase in the frequency of phrenic bursts and a decline in peak heights of all neural activities. In ischemia, gasping was induced following any of the blockers. Few statistically significant changes in parameters of gasping were found. We thus did not find a differential suppression of gasping, compared with eupnea, following blockers of serotonin receptors. Such a differential suppression had been proposed based on findings using an in vitro preparation. We hypothesize that multiple neurotransmitters/neuromodulators influence medullary mechanisms underlying the neurogenesis of gasping. In greatly reduced in vitro preparations, the importance of any individual neuromodulator, such as serotonin, may be exaggerated compared with its role in more intact preparations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 1163-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Pottier ◽  
Vanessa Gómez-Vallejo ◽  
Daniel Padro ◽  
Raphaël Boisgard ◽  
Frédéric Dollé ◽  
...  

Cannabinoid type 2 receptors (CB2R) have emerged as promising targets for the diagnosis and therapy of brain pathologies. However, no suitable radiotracers for accurate CB2R mapping have been found to date, limiting the investigation of the CB2 receptor expression using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. In this work, we report the evaluation of the in vivo expression of CB2R with [11C]A-836339 PET after cerebral ischemia and in two rat models of neuroinflammation, first by intrastriatal LPS and then by AMPA injection. PET images and in vitro autoradiography showed a lack of specific [11C]A-836339 uptake in these animal models demonstrating the limitation of this radiotracer to image CB2 receptor under neuroinflammatory conditions. Further, using immunohistochemistry, the CB2 receptor displayed a modest expression increase after cerebral ischemia, LPS and AMPA models. Finally, [18F]DPA-714-PET and immunohistochemistry demonstrated decreased neuroinflammation by a selective CB2R agonist, JWH133. Taken together, these findings suggest that [11C]A-836339 is not a suitable radiotracer to monitor in vivo CB2R expression by using PET imaging. Future studies will have to investigate alternative radiotracers that could provide an accurate binding to CB2 receptors following brain inflammation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria A. Trinkaus ◽  
Irene Riera-Tur ◽  
Antonio Martínez-Sánchez ◽  
Felix J.B. Bäuerlein ◽  
Qiang Guo ◽  
...  

Summaryα-Synuclein (α-Syn) aggregation is a hallmark of devastating neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease (PD) and multiple systems atrophy (MSA)1,2. α-Syn aggregates spread throughout the brain during disease progression2, suggesting mechanisms of intercellular seeding. Formation of α-Syn amyloid fibrils is observed in vitro3,4 and fibrillar α-Syn has been purified from patient brains5,6, but recent reports questioned whether disease-relevant α-Syn aggregates are fibrillar in structure7-9. Here we use cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to image neuronal Lewy body-like α-Syn inclusions in situ at molecular resolution. We show that the inclusions consist of α-Syn fibrils crisscrossing a variety of cellular organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondria and autophagic structures, without interacting with membranes directly. Neuronal inclusions seeded by recombinant or MSA patient-derived α-Syn aggregates have overall similar architecture, although MSA-seeded fibrils show higher structural flexibility. Using gold-labeled seeds we find that aggregate nucleation is predominantly mediated by α-Syn oligomers, with fibrils growing unidirectionally from the seed. Our results conclusively demonstrate that neuronal α-Syn inclusions contain α-Syn fibrils intermixed with cellular membranes, and illuminate the mechanism of aggregate nucleation.


Author(s):  
Yu Jie ◽  
Sarah L Berga ◽  
Qingying Meng ◽  
Mingjing Xia ◽  
Trudy A Kohout ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Human embryonic implantation is regulated by neuroendocrine hormones, ovarian steroids, growth factors and cytokines. Sympathetic innervation of the uterus also may play a role. Objective We tested the hypothesis that cabergoline (Cb), an agonist of type 2 dopamine receptors (DRD2), could influence endometrial decidualization in vitro. Design Immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of catecholaminergic neurons in human uterine tissue. DRD2 mRNA and protein expression in endometrial tissue and cells were validated by quantitative RT-PCR, cDNA microarrays, RNA sequencing and Western blotting. Isolated human endometrial stromal cells (ESC) were subjected to dose-response and time-course experiments in the absence or presence of decidualizing hormones (10 nM estradiol, 100 nM progesterone and 0,5 mM dibutyryl cAMP). In some cases, interleukin (IL)-1β (0.1 nM) was used as an inflammatory stimulus. Well-characterized in vitro biomarkers were quantified. Results DRD2 were maximally expressed in vivo in the mid-secretory phase of the cycle and upregulated in ESC in response to decidualizing hormones, as were classical (eg, prolactin) and emerging (eg, VEGF and connexin 43) differentiation biomarkers. Cabergoline treatment more than doubled decidual biomarker expression, whereas risperidone, a dopamine receptor antagonist, inhibited ESC differentiation by >50%. Cabergoline induced characteristic decidual morphology changes and blocked detrimental effects of IL-1β on decidual cytology. Conclusion Our results support the hypothesis that dopaminergic neurons modulate decidualization in situ. We postulate that dopamine agonists, like Cb, could be developed as therapeutic agents to enhance implantation in couples with inflammation-associated infertility.


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