scholarly journals MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Does circadian and ultradian glucocorticoid exposure affect the brain?

2019 ◽  
Vol 180 (2) ◽  
pp. R73-R89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Kalafatakis ◽  
Georgina M Russell ◽  
Stafford L Lightman
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Circadian Variation ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Cellular Events ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Preclinical And Clinical Studies

Glucocorticoids are a class of systematically secreted hormones, vital for mammalian life, which are intensively investigated for more than 80 years. They regulate multiple body processes like metabolism, fluid homeostasis, immune and stress system responsivity, as well as brain function. Glucocorticoids have a complex rhythm by which they are released to circulation from the adrenal cortex. The hormone exhibits a circadian variation, with high hormonal levels being secreted just prior and during the active part of the day, and progressively lower and lower amounts being released during the inactive part of it. Underlying this diurnal variation there is a more dynamic, ultradian rhythm composed of frequent episodes of glucocorticoid secretion (hormonal pulses). Accumulating evidence from observational, in silico, in vitro and in vivo, preclinical and clinical studies suggest that both aspects of glucocorticoid rhythmicity are preserved among mammalian species and are important for brain function. The central nervous system is exposed to both aspects of the hormonal rhythm and has developed mechanisms able to perceive them and translate them to differential cellular events, genomic and non-genomic. Thus, glucocorticoid rhythmicity regulates various physiological neural and glial processes, under baseline and stressful conditions, and hormonal dysrhythmicity has been associated with cognitive and behavioural defects. This raises a number of clinical implications concerning (i) glucocorticoid involvement in neuropsychiatric disease and (ii) improving the therapeutic efficacy or expanding the role of glucocorticoid-based treatments in such conditions.

scholarly journals Intranasal Borna Disease Virus (BoDV-1) Infection: Insights into Initial Steps and Potential Contagiosity

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Kupke ◽  
Sabrina Becker ◽  
Konstantin Wewetzer ◽  
Barbara Ahlemeyer ◽  
Markus Eickmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infections ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Olfactory Pathway ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Receptor Neurons

Mammalian Bornavirus (BoDV-1) typically causes a fatal neurologic disorder in horses and sheep, and was recently shown to cause fatal encephalitis in humans with and without transplant reception. It has been suggested that BoDV-1 enters the central nervous system (CNS) via the olfactory pathway. However, (I) susceptible cell types that replicate the virus for successful spread, and (II) the role of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), remained unclear. To address this, we studied the intranasal infection of adult rats with BoDV-1 in vivo and in vitro, using olfactory mucosal (OM) cell cultures and the cultures of purified OECs. Strikingly, in vitro and in vivo, viral antigen and mRNA were present from four days post infection (dpi) onwards in the olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), but also in all other cell types of the OM, and constantly in the OECs. In contrast, in vivo, BoDV-1 genomic RNA was only detectable in adult and juvenile ORNs, nerve fibers, and in OECs from 7 dpi on. In vitro, the rate of infection of OECs was significantly higher than that of the OM cells, pointing to a crucial role of OECs for infection via the olfactory pathway. Thus, this study provides important insights into the transmission of neurotropic viral infections with a zoonotic potential.

scholarly journals Dynein 1 supports spermatid transport and spermiation during spermatogenesis in the rat testis

2018 ◽  
Vol 315 (5) ◽  
pp. E924-E948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Wen ◽  
Elizabeth I. Tang ◽  
Wing-yee Lui ◽  
Will M. Lee ◽  
Chris K. C. Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Germ Cell ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Sertoli Cells ◽  
Cytoplasmic Dynein ◽  
Seminiferous Epithelium ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Cellular Events

In the mammalian testis, spermatogenesis is dependent on the microtubule (MT)-specific motor proteins, such as dynein 1, that serve as the engine to support germ cell and organelle transport across the seminiferous epithelium at different stages of the epithelial cycle. Yet the underlying molecular mechanism(s) that support this series of cellular events remain unknown. Herein, we used RNAi to knockdown cytoplasmic dynein 1 heavy chain (Dync1h1) and an inhibitor ciliobrevin D to inactivate dynein in Sertoli cells in vitro and the testis in vivo, thereby probing the role of dynein 1 in spermatogenesis. Both treatments were shown to extensively induce disruption of MT organization across Sertoli cells in vitro and the testis in vivo. These changes also perturbed the transport of spermatids and other organelles (such as phagosomes) across the epithelium. These changes thus led to disruption of spermatogenesis. Interestingly, the knockdown of dynein 1 or its inactivation by ciliobrevin D also perturbed gross disruption of F-actin across the Sertoli cells in vitro and the seminiferous epithelium in vivo, illustrating there are cross talks between the two cytoskeletons in the testis. In summary, these findings confirm the role of cytoplasmic dynein 1 to support the transport of spermatids and organelles across the seminiferous epithelium during the epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis.

Embryo biotechnology in the dog: a review

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Chastant-Maillard ◽  
Martine Chebrout ◽  
Sandra Thoumire ◽  
Marie Saint-Dizier ◽  
Marc Chodkiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Reproductive Physiology ◽  
Biological Models ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fertilisation Rate

Canine embryos are a scarce biological material because of difficulties in collecting in vivo-produced embryos and the inability, to date, to produce canine embryos in vitro. The procedure for the transfer of in vivo-produced embryos has not been developed adequately, with only six attempts reported in the literature that have resulted in the birth of 45 puppies. In vitro, the fertilisation rate is particularly low (∼10%) and the incidence of polyspermy particularly high. So far, no puppy has been obtained from an in vitro-produced embryo. In contrast, cloning of somatic cells has been used successfully over the past 4 years, with the birth of 41 puppies reported in the literature, a yield that is comparable to that for other mammalian species. Over the same period, canine embryonic stem sells and transgenic cloned dogs have been obtained. Thus, the latest reproductive technologies are further advanced than in vitro embryo production. The lack of fundamental studies on the specific features of reproductive physiology and developmental biology in the canine is regrettable in view of the increasing role of dogs in our society and of the current demand for new biological models in biomedical technology.

scholarly journals Locus Coeruleus Modulates Neuroinflammation in Parkinsonism and Dementia

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8630
Author(s):  
Filippo Sean Giorgi ◽  
Francesca Biagioni ◽  
Alessandro Galgani ◽  
Nicola Pavese ◽  
Gloria Lazzeri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Near Future

Locus Coeruleus (LC) is the main noradrenergic nucleus of the central nervous system, and its neurons widely innervate the whole brain. LC is severely degenerated both in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and in Parkinson’s disease (PD), years before the onset of clinical symptoms, through mechanisms that differ among the two disorders. Several experimental studies have shown that noradrenaline modulates neuroinflammation, mainly by acting on microglia/astrocytes function. In the present review, after a brief introduction on the anatomy and physiology of LC, we provide an overview of experimental data supporting a pathogenetic role of LC degeneration in AD and PD. Then, we describe in detail experimental data, obtained in vitro and in vivo in animal models, which support a potential role of neuroinflammation in such a link, and the specific molecules (i.e., released cytokines, glial receptors, including pattern recognition receptors and others) whose expression is altered by LC degeneration and might play a key role in AD/PD pathogenesis. New imaging and biochemical tools have recently been developed in humans to estimate in vivo the integrity of LC, the degree of neuroinflammation, and pathology AD/PD biomarkers; it is auspicable that these will allow in the near future to test the existence of a link between LC-neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration directly in patients.

Stress is a critical player in CYP3A, CYP2C, and CYP2D regulation: role of adrenergic receptor signaling pathways

2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (1) ◽  
pp. E40-E54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelos P. Daskalopoulos ◽  
Foteini Malliou ◽  
Georgia Rentesi ◽  
Marios Marselos ◽  
Matti A. Lang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Adrenergic Receptor ◽  
Drug Efficacy ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Repeated Restraint Stress ◽  
Pharmacological Manipulations

Stress is a critical player in the regulation of the major cytochrome P-450s ( CYPs) that metabolize the majority of the prescribed drugs. Early in life, maternal deprivation (MD) stress and repeated restraint stress (RS) modified CYP expression in a stress-specific manner. In particular, the expression of CYP3A1 and CYP2C11 was increased in the liver of MD rats, whereas RS had no significant effect. In contrast, hepatic CYP2D1/2 activity was increased by RS, whereas MD did not affect it. The primary effectors of the stress system, glucocorticoids and epinephrine, highly induced CYP3A1/2. Epinephrine also induced the expression of CYP2C11 and CYP2D1/2. Further investigation indicated that AR-agonists may modify CYP regulation. In vitro experiments using primary hepatocyte cultures treated with the AR-agonists phenylephrine, dexmedetomidine, and isoprenaline indicated an AR-induced upregulating effect on the above-mentioned CYPs mediated by the cAMP/protein kinase A and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase signaling pathways. Interestingly though, in vivo pharmacological manipulations of ARs using the same AR-agonists led to a suppressed hepatic CYP expression profile, indicating that the effect of the complex network of central and peripheral AR-linked pathways overrides that of the hepatic ARs. The AR-mediated alterations in CYP3A1/2, CYP2C11, and CYP2D1/2 expressions are potentially connected with those observed in the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5b. In conclusion, stress and AR-agonists may modify the expression of the major CYP genes involved in the metabolism of drugs used in a wide range of diseases, thus affecting drug efficacy and toxicity.

scholarly journals Nuclear Ssr4 Is Required for the In Vitro and In Vivo Asexual Cycles and Global Gene Activity of Beauveria bassiana

mSystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Shao ◽  
Qing Cai ◽  
Sen-Miao Tong ◽  
Sheng-Hua Ying ◽  
Ming-Guang Feng
Keyword(s):  
Chromatin Remodeling ◽  
Inorganic Ions ◽  
Global Gene Expression ◽  
Gene Activity ◽  
Fungal Genome ◽  
Cellular Events ◽  
First Time

Ssr4 is known to serve as a cosubunit of chromatin-remodeling SWI/SNF and RSC complexes in yeasts but has not been functionally characterized in fungi. This study unveils for the first time the pleiotropic effects caused by deletion of ssr4 and its role in mediating global gene expression in a fungal insect pathogen. Our findings confirm an essential role of Ssr4 in hydrophobin biosynthesis and assembly required for growth, differentiation, and development of aerial hyphae for conidiation and conidial adhesion to insect surface and its essentiality for insect pathogenicity and virulence-related cellular events. Importantly, Ssr4 can regulate nearly one-fourth of all genes in the fungal genome in direct and indirect manners, including dozens involved in gene activity and hundreds involved in metabolism and/or transport of carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, and/or inorganic ions. These findings highlight a significance of Ssr4 for filamentous fungal lifestyle.

scholarly journals Role of Vitamin E and the Orexin System in Neuroprotection

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1098
Author(s):  
Maria Ester La Torre ◽  
Ines Villano ◽  
Marcellino Monda ◽  
Antonietta Messina ◽  
Giuseppe Cibelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin E ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Antioxidant Properties ◽  
Phenotypic Change ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Specific Receptors

Microglia are the first line of defense at the level of the central nervous system (CNS). Phenotypic change in microglia can be regulated by various factors, including the orexin system. Neuroinflammation is an inflammatory process mediated by cytokines, by the lack of interaction of specific receptors such as the OX2-OX2R complex, caused by systemic tissue damage or, more often, associated with direct damage to the CNS. Chronic activation of microglia could lead to long-term neurodegenerative diseases. This review aims to explore how tocopherol (vitamin E) and the orexin system may play a role in the prevention and treatment of microglia inflammation and, consequently, in neurodegenerative diseases thanks to its antioxidant properties. The results of animal and in vitro studies provide evidence to support the use of tocopherol for a reduction in microglia inflammation as well as a greater activation of the orexinergic system. Although there is much in vivo and in vitro evidence of vitamin E antioxidant and protective abilities, there are still conflicting results for its use as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases that speculate that vitamin E, under certain conditions or genetic predispositions, can be pro-oxidant and harmful.

scholarly journals ADF/Cofilin Is Not Essential but Is Critically Important for Actin Activities during Phagocytosis in Tetrahymena thermophila

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1080-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanami Shiozaki ◽  
Kentaro Nakano ◽  
Yasuharu Kushida ◽  
Taro Q. P. Noguchi ◽  
Taro Q. P. Uyeda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽  
Food Vacuole ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vacuole Formation ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Cellular Events ◽  
Food Vacuoles

ABSTRACT ADF/cofilin is a highly conserved actin-modulating protein. Reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in vivo through severing and depolymerizing of F-actin by this protein is essential for various cellular events, such as endocytosis, phagocytosis, cytokinesis, and cell migration. We show that in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila , the ADF/cofilin homologue Adf73p associates with actin on nascent food vacuoles. Overexpression of Adf73p disrupted the proper localization of actin and inhibited the formation of food vacuoles. In vitro , recombinant Adf73p promoted the depolymerization of filaments made of T. thermophila actin (Act1p). Knockout cells lacking the ADF73 gene are viable but grow extremely slowly and have a severely decreased rate of food vacuole formation. Knockout cells have abnormal aggregates of actin in the cytoplasm. Surprisingly, unlike the case in animals and yeasts, in Tetrahymena , ADF/cofilin is not required for cytokinesis. Thus, the Tetrahymena model shows promise for future studies of the role of ADF/cofilin in vivo .

Epigenetics in Neurodegenerative Diseases: The Role of Histone Deacetylases

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sorabh Sharma ◽  
K.C. Sarathlal ◽  
Rajeev Taliyan
Keyword(s):  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Histone Acetylation ◽  
Histone Deacetylases ◽  
Hdac Inhibitors ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
In Vivo Animal Models ◽  
Preclinical And Clinical Studies

Background & Objective: Imbalance in histone acetylation levels and consequently the dysfunction in transcription are associated with a wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Histone proteins acetylation and deacetylation is carried out by two opposite acting enzymes, histone acetyltransferases and histone deacetylases (HDACs), respectively. In-vitro and in-vivo animal models of neurodegenerative diseases and post mortem brains of patients have been reported overexpressed level of HDACs. In recent past numerous studies have indicated that HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs) might be a promising class of therapeutic agents for treating these devastating diseases. HDACs being a part of repressive complexes, the outcome of their inhibition has been attributed to enhanced gene expression due to heightened histone acetylation. Beneficial effects of HDACIs has been explored both in preclinical and clinical studies of these diseases. Thus, their screening as future therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases has been widely explored. Conclusion: In this review, we focus on the putative role of HDACs in neurodegeneration and further discuss their potential as a new therapeutic avenue for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

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