scholarly journals Aged xCT-Deficient Mice Are Less Susceptible for Lactacystin-, but Not 1-Methyl-4-Phenyl-1,2,3,6- Tetrahydropyridine-, Induced Degeneration of the Nigrostriatal Pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Bentea ◽  
Laura De Pauw ◽  
Lise Verbruggen ◽  
Lila C. Winfrey ◽  
Lauren Deneyer ◽  
...  

The astrocytic cystine/glutamate antiporter system xc– (with xCT as the specific subunit) imports cystine in exchange for glutamate and has been shown to interact with multiple pathways in the brain that are dysregulated in age-related neurological disorders, including glutamate homeostasis, redox balance, and neuroinflammation. In the current study, we investigated the effect of genetic xCT deletion on lactacystin (LAC)- and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced degeneration of the nigrostriatal pathway, as models for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Dopaminergic neurons of adult xCT knock-out mice (xCT–/–) demonstrated an equal susceptibility to intranigral injection of the proteasome inhibitor LAC, as their wild-type (xCT+/+) littermates. Contrary to adult mice, aged xCT–/– mice showed a significant decrease in LAC-induced degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neurons, depletion of striatal dopamine (DA) and neuroinflammatory reaction, compared to age-matched xCT+/+ littermates. Given this age-related protection, we further investigated the sensitivity of aged xCT–/– mice to chronic and progressive MPTP treatment. However, in accordance with our previous observations in adult mice (Bentea et al., 2015a), xCT deletion did not confer protection against MPTP-induced nigrostriatal degeneration in aged mice. We observed an increased loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons, but equal striatal DA denervation, in MPTP-treated aged xCT–/– mice when compared to age-matched xCT+/+ littermates. To conclude, we reveal age-related protection against proteasome inhibition-induced nigrostriatal degeneration in xCT–/– mice, while xCT deletion failed to protect nigral dopaminergic neurons of aged mice against MPTP-induced toxicity. Our findings thereby provide new insights into the role of system xc– in mechanisms of dopaminergic cell loss and its interaction with aging.

Author(s):  
Kevin W Gibbs ◽  
Chia-Chi Chuang Key ◽  
Lanazha Belfield ◽  
Jennifer Krall ◽  
Lina Purcell ◽  
...  

Abstract Increased age is a risk factor for poor outcomes from respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In this study, we sought to define age-related differences in lung inflammation, muscle injury, and metabolism after intratracheal lipopolysaccharide (IT-LPS) acute lung injury (ALI) in adult (6 months) and aged (18–20 months) male C57BL/6 mice. We also investigated age-related changes in muscle fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and the consequences of systemic FAO inhibition with the drug etomoxir. Aged mice had a distinct lung injury course characterized by prolonged alveolar neutrophilia and lack of response to therapeutic exercise. To assess the metabolic consequences of ALI, aged and adult mice underwent whole body metabolic phenotyping before and after IT-LPS. Aged mice had prolonged anorexia and decreased respiratory exchange ratio, indicating increased reliance on FAO. Etomoxir increased mortality in aged but not adult ALI mice, confirming the importance of FAO on survival from acute severe stress and suggesting that adult mice have increased resilience to FAO inhibition. Skeletal muscles from aged ALI mice had increased transcription of key fatty acid metabolizing enzymes, CPT-1b, LCAD, MCAD, FATP1 and UCP3. Additionally, aged mice had increased protein levels of CPT-1b at baseline and after lung injury. Surprisingly, CPT-1b in isolated skeletal muscle mitochondria had decreased activity in aged mice compared to adults. The distinct phenotype of aged ALI mice has similar characteristics to the adverse age-related outcomes of ARDS. This model may be useful to examine and augment immunologic and metabolic abnormalities unique to the critically ill aged population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Lombardo ◽  
Martina Chiacchiaretta ◽  
Andrew Tarr ◽  
WonHee Kim ◽  
Tingyi Cao ◽  
...  

AbstractBACE1 is the first enzyme involved in APP processing, thus it is a strong therapeutic target candidate for Alzheimer’s disease. The observation of deleterious phenotypes in BACE1 Knock-out (KO) mouse models (germline and conditional) raised some concerns on the safety and tolerability of BACE1 inhibition. Here, we have employed a tamoxifen inducible BACE1 conditional Knock-out (cKO) mouse model to achieve a controlled partial depletion of BACE1 in adult mice. Biochemical and behavioural characterization was performed at two time points: 4–5 months (young mice) and 12–13 months (aged mice). A ~50% to ~70% BACE1 protein reduction in hippocampus and cortex, respectively, induced a significant reduction of BACE1 substrates processing and decrease of Aβx-40 levels at both ages. Hippocampal axonal guidance and peripheral nerve myelination were not affected. Aged mice displayed a CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP) deficit that was not associated with memory impairment. Our findings indicate that numerous phenotypes observed in germline BACE1 KO reflect a fundamental role of BACE1 during development while other phenotypes, observed in adult cKO, may be absent when partially rather than completely deleting BACE1. However, we demonstrated that partial depletion of BACE1 still induces CA1 LTP impairment, supporting a role of BACE1 in synaptic plasticity in adulthood.


Aging ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2723-2740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Morita ◽  
Kenta Jounai ◽  
Akihiko Sakamoto ◽  
Yasuyuki Tomita ◽  
Yoshihiko Sugihara ◽  
...  

Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R Williamson ◽  
Stephanie Le ◽  
Ronald L Franzen ◽  
Michael R Drew ◽  
Theresa A Jones

Stroke increases proliferation within the subventricular zone (SVZ) cytogenic niche and causes subsequent migration of newborn cells towards the site of injury. We investigated the functional consequences of age-related blunting of the SVZ cytogenic response to ischemia. We found that there was a marked reduction in proliferation and neural stem cell markers within the SVZ of middle aged (aged 12-16 months) versus young adult (aged 3-5 months) mice in the intact brain and after photothrombotic infarcts in motor cortex. Using an inducible, heritable lineage tracing system (Nestin-CreER T2 :: Ai14 mice) to quantify SVZ-derived neural precursor cells (NPCs) that migrated towards the infarct, we found that there was a considerable age-related reduction in the number of NPCs in peri-infarct cortex. These findings indicate a marked diminishment of SVZ NPC proliferation and migration after focal ischemia by middle age. Next, we assessed the contributions of the SVZ cytogenic response to recovery of skilled motor function. We used glial fibrillary acidic protein-thymidine kinase mice to conditionally ablate NPCs with ganciclovir administration. In young adult mice, NPC ablation significantly impaired recovery of motor performance on the single seed reaching task after motor cortical infarcts. By contrast, NPC ablation did not affect motor recovery in middle aged mice. Importantly, the magnitude of recovery was less in middle aged mice—regardless of NPC ablation—than in control young adult mice. Middle aged mice recovered similarly to young adult mice lacking NPCs. These results indicate that SVZ cytogenesis contributes to functional improvements after cortical infarcts and that the diminishment of the cytogenic response with age may be implicated in age-related worsening of outcome after stroke. Restoration of SVZ cytogenesis in aged animals might improve behavioral recovery.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslava Ruzankina ◽  
Carolina Pinzon-Guzman ◽  
Amma Asare ◽  
Tony Ong ◽  
Laura Pontano ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4341
Author(s):  
Lorena Cuenca-Bermejo ◽  
Elisa Pizzichini ◽  
Valeria C. Gonçalves ◽  
María Guillén-Díaz ◽  
Elena Aguilar-Moñino ◽  
...  

The diurnal rodent Octodon degus (O. degus) is considered an attractive natural model for Alzheimer’s disease and other human age-related features. However, it has not been explored so far if the O. degus could be used as a model to study Parkinson’s disease. To test this idea, 10 adult male O. degus were divided into control group and MPTP-intoxicated animals. Motor condition and cognition were examined. Dopaminergic degeneration was studied in the ventral mesencephalon and in the striatum. Neuroinflammation was also evaluated in the ventral mesencephalon, in the striatum and in the dorsal hippocampus. MPTP animals showed significant alterations in motor activity and in visuospatial memory. Postmortem analysis revealed a significant decrease in the number of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral mesencephalon of MPTP animals, although no differences were found in their striatal terminals. We observed a significant increase in neuroinflammatory responses in the mesencephalon, in the striatum and in the hippocampus of MPTP-intoxicated animals. Additionally, changes in the subcellular expression of the calcium-binding protein S100β were found in the astrocytes in the nigrostriatal pathway. These findings prove for the first time that O. degus are sensitive to MPTP intoxication and, therefore, is a suitable model for experimental Parkinsonism in the context of aging.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (S1) ◽  
pp. 35-35
Author(s):  
Pamela C. Zuckerman ◽  
Chao Liu ◽  
Alesha B. Castillo

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Our goal is to assess age-related changes in osteogenic stem cell populations of bone tissue. We hypothesize that aging mice have reduced osteogenic capacity in response to physical stimulation due to aging-associated decline in osteoprogenitor cell number and their proliferative capacity. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Mechanical loading: The NYU School of Medicine Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved all procedures. The response of tibial periosteal cells to physical stimulation or mechanical loading was assessed in 16-week-old adult (n=6) and aged 78-week-old female (n=4) mice subjected to 4 consecutive days of strain-matched axial compressive loading (1400 μm, 120 cycles, 2 Hz). Whole Mount Staining: Baseline periosteal cell numbers and nuclear morphology were assessed by whole bone DAPI staining of the antero-medial region of the tibiae in adult and aged mice (n=6). Immunohistochemistry: Tibiae were fixed in 4% PFA, decalcified in 19% EDTA, OCT-embedded, and thickly sectioned (150 μm) at midshaft. Sca1+, Prrx1+, and Ki67+cell numbers were quantified by simultaneous fluorescent immunohistochemical staining from loaded and nonloaded contralateral tibiae. Nonimmune species specific serum served as negative controls. Imaging: 3D image datasets of the periosteum at the antero-medial region of the tibial midshaft were acquired by multi-photon and confocal microscopy. Quantification of Sca1+, Prrx1+, and Ki67+ cells was carried out using Particle Analysis software (ImageJ) and Imaris 7.4.2 Surface Rendering Statistics functions. Cell number was normalized to periosteal area (~0.04 mm2). A Student t-test determined significance at p<0.05. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: At baseline, aged periosteal cell nuclei (DAPI+) area (14% decrease, p<0.0001), nuclei number, and Prrx1+ cell number (22% decrease) was significantly lower compared with adult mice. In loaded adult mice, Prrx1+but not Sca1+cell number increased significantly (35%, p=0.0115). Proliferating Sca1+(top panel) and Prrx1+(top panel) cells also increased with loading, 62%, p=0.0253 and 115%, p=0.0004, respectively, in adult but not aged mice. The percentage of Prrx1+ cells undergoing proliferation (co-expressing Ki67+) in the total Prrx1+ cell population increased significantly with loading (bottom panel). Aged mice did not exhibit significant differences in loaded versus nonloaded controls for all other outcomes. Our data suggest fundamental changes in periosteal cell morphology, number and response to mechanical loading with aging. The significant increase in total Prrx1+ cell number and the number of Prrx1+ cells undergoing proliferation with loading in adult mice, suggest that the Prrx1+ cell population expands through proliferation. In fact, loading resulted in a 2-fold increase in the percentage of Prrx1+ preosteogenic cells undergoing proliferation. Accordingly, the significant age-related decrease in Prrx1+ cells may explain, in part, the attenuation of load-induced bone formation in aged mice. Loading resulted in greater numbers of proliferating Sca1+ cells (the more primitive cell) in adult mice, though this represented only a small percentage (<10%) of the total Sca1+ population. Mechanical loading expands the Prrx1+ pre-osteogenic cell population, but not the more primitive Sca1+ population. However, this load-induced osteogenic effect in the periosteum is not observed in aged mice, which may explain age-related diminishment of load-induced bone formation. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Mechanical loading presents an inexpensive treatment for increasing bone mass and bone strength, but may be insufficient to prevent or reverse age-related bone loss due to reduced numbers of osteogenic progenitors in the periosteum. Therapeutic approaches targeting the osteogenic capacity of periosteal cells will be required to address declining mechanoresponsiveness with age.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina S. Hernandes ◽  
Cecília C. Café-Mendes ◽  
Luiz R. G. Britto

Several lines of investigation have implicated oxidative stress in Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathogenesis, but the mechanisms involved are still unclear. In this study, we characterized the involvement of NADPH oxidase (Nox), a multisubunit enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of oxygen, in the 6-hydroxydopamine- (6-OHDA-) induced PD mice model and compared for the first time the effects of this neurotoxin in mice lackinggp91phox-/-, the catalytic subunit of Nox2, and pharmacological inhibition of Nox with apocynin. Six-OHDA induced increased protein expression ofp47phox, a Nox subunit, in striatum.gp91phox-/-mice appear to be completely protected from dopaminergic cell loss, whereas the apocynin treatment conferred only a limited neuroprotection. Wt mice treated with apocynin andgp91phox-/-mice both exhibited ameliorated apomorphine-induced rotational behavior. The microglial activation observed within the striatum and the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of 6-OHDA-injected Wt mice was prevented by apocynin treatment and was not detected ingp91phox-/-mice. Apocynin was not able to attenuate astrocyte activation in SN. The results support a role for Nox2 in the 6-OHDA-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and glial cell activation in the nigrostriatal pathway and reveal that no comparable 6-OHDA effects were observed between apocynin-treated andgp91phox-/-mice groups.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea KH Stavoe ◽  
Erika LF Holzbaur

SUMMARYAutophagy defects have been implicated in multiple late-onset neurodegenerative diseases. Since aging is the most common risk factor in neurodegeneration, we asked how autophagy is modulated in aging neurons. We compared the dynamics of autophagosome biogenesis in neurons from young adult and aged mice, identifying a significant decrease in biogenesis during aging. Autophagosome assembly kinetics are disrupted, with frequent production of stalled isolation membranes in neurons from aged mice; these precursors failed to resolve into LC3-positive autophagosomes. We did not detect alterations in the initial induction/nucleation steps of autophagosome formation. However, we found that the transmembrane protein Atg9 remained aberrantly associated with stalled isolation membranes, suggesting a specific disruption in the WIPI-dependent retrieval of Atg9. Depletion of WIPI2 from young neurons was sufficient to induce a similar deficit. Further, exogenous expression of WIPI2 in neurons from aged mice was sufficient to restore autophagosome biogenesis to the rates seen in neurons from young adult mice, suggesting a novel therapeutic target for age-associated neurodegeneration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (12) ◽  
pp. 5765-5774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Chen ◽  
Jennifer K. Kordich ◽  
Erin T. Williams ◽  
Nathan Levine ◽  
Allyson Cole-Strauss ◽  
...  

Mutations in thevacuolar protein sorting 35 ortholog(VPS35) gene represent a cause of late-onset, autosomal dominant familial Parkinson’s disease (PD). A single missense mutation, D620N, is considered pathogenic based upon its segregation with disease in multiple families with PD. At present, the mechanism(s) by which familialVPS35mutations precipitate neurodegeneration in PD are poorly understood. Here, we employ a germlineD620N VPS35knockin (KI) mouse model of PD to formally establish the age-related pathogenic effects of the D620N mutation at physiological expression levels. Our data demonstrate that a heterozygous or homozygous D620N mutation is sufficient to reproduce key neuropathological hallmarks of PD as indicated by the progressive degeneration of nigrostriatal pathway dopaminergic neurons and widespread axonal pathology. Unexpectedly, endogenous D620N VPS35 expression induces robust tau-positive somatodendritic pathology throughout the brain as indicated by abnormal hyperphosphorylated and conformation-specific tau, which may represent an important and early feature of mutant VPS35-induced neurodegeneration in PD. In contrast, we find no evidence for α-synuclein–positive neuropathology in agedVPS35KI mice, a hallmark of Lewy body pathology in PD. D620N VPS35 expression also fails to modify the lethal neurodegenerative phenotype of human A53T-α-synuclein transgenic mice. Finally, by crossingVPS35KI and null mice, our data demonstrate that a singleD620N VPS35allele is sufficient for survival and early maintenance of dopaminergic neurons, indicating that the D620N VPS35 protein is fully functional. Our data raise the tantalizing possibility of a pathogenic interplay between mutant VPS35 and tau for inducing neurodegeneration in PD.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document