An intact Krüppel-like factor 9 gene is required for acute liver Period 1 mRNA response to restraint stress

Endocrinology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R Knoedler ◽  
Cristina Sáenz de Miera ◽  
Arasakumar Subramani ◽  
Robert J Denver
Keyword(s):  
Restraint Stress ◽  
Mrna Level ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Plasma Corticosterone ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Peripheral Clocks ◽  
Central Pacemaker ◽  
Acute Stressor ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Clock Protein

Abstract The clock protein period 1 (PER1) is a central component of the core transcription-translation feedback loop governing cell-autonomous circadian rhythms in animals. Transcription of Per1 is directly regulated by the glucocorticoid (GC) receptor (GR), and Per1 mRNA is induced by stressors or injection of GC. Circulating GCs may synchronize peripheral clocks with the central pacemaker located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the brain. Krüppel-like factor 9 (KLF9) is a zinc finger transcription factor that, like Per1, is directly regulated by liganded GR, and it associates in chromatin at clock- and clock-output genes, including at Per1. We hypothesized that KLF9 modulates stressor-dependent Per1 transcription. We exposed wild type (WT) and Klf9 null mice (Klf9  -/-) of both sexes to 1 hr restraint stress, which caused similar 2-2.5 fold increases in plasma corticosterone (B) in each genotype and sex. While WT mice of both sexes showed a 2-fold increase in liver Per1 mRNA level after restraint stress, this response was absent in Klf9  -/- mice. However, injection of B in WT and Klf9  -/- mice induced similar increases in Per1 mRNA. Our findings support that an intact Klf9 gene is required for liver Per1 mRNA responses to an acute stressor, but a possible role for GCs in this response requires further investigation.

Advantages of Complementary Stereo Images as Viewed with the Low-Temperature Field-Emission SEM

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1314-1315
Author(s):  
William P. Wergin ◽  
Eric F. Erbe
Keyword(s):  
Fold Increase ◽  
Horizontal Displacement ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Stereo Image ◽  
Stereo Pair ◽  
Sem Micrograph ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Pair Analysis

The eye-brain complex allows those of us with normal vision to perceive and evaluate our surroundings in three-dimensions (3-D). The principle factor that makes this possible is parallax - the horizontal displacement of objects that results from the independent views that the left and right eyes detect and simultaneously transmit to the brain for superimposition. The common SEM micrograph is a 2-D representation of a 3-D specimen. Depriving the brain of the 3-D view can lead to erroneous conclusions about the relative sizes, positions and convergence of structures within a specimen. In addition, Walter has suggested that the stereo image contains information equivalent to a two-fold increase in magnification over that found in a 2-D image. Because of these factors, stereo pair analysis should be routinely employed when studying specimens.Imaging complementary faces of a fractured specimen is a second method by which the topography of a specimen can be more accurately evaluated.

scholarly journals A Role for Xanthurenic Acid in the Control of Brain Dopaminergic Activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 6974
Author(s):  
Omar Taleb ◽  
Mohammed Maammar ◽  
Christian Klein ◽  
Michel Maitre ◽  
Ayikoe Guy Mensah-Nyagan
Keyword(s):  
Dopamine Release ◽  
Intraperitoneal Administration ◽  
Glutamate Transporter ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Xanthurenic Acid ◽  
Metabotropic Receptors ◽  
Parent Molecule ◽  
Dopaminergic Activity ◽  
The Brain

Xanthurenic acid (XA) is a metabolite of the kynurenine pathway (KP) synthetized in the brain from dietary or microbial tryptophan that crosses the blood-brain barrier through carrier-mediated transport. XA and kynurenic acid (KYNA) are two structurally related compounds of KP occurring at micromolar concentrations in the CNS and suspected to modulate some pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric and/or neurodegenerative diseases. Particularly, various data including XA cerebral distribution (from 1 µM in olfactory bulbs and cerebellum to 0.1–0.4 µM in A9 and A10), its release, and interactions with G protein-dependent XA-receptor, glutamate transporter and metabotropic receptors, strongly support a signaling and/or neuromodulatory role for XA. However, while the parent molecule KYNA is considered as potentially involved in neuropsychiatric disorders because of its inhibitory action on dopamine release in the striatum, the effect of XA on brain dopaminergic activity remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that acute local/microdialysis-infusions of XA dose-dependently stimulate dopamine release in the rat prefrontal cortex (four-fold increase in the presence of 20 µM XA). This stimulatory effect is blocked by XA-receptor antagonist NCS-486. Interestingly, our results show that the peripheral/intraperitoneal administration of XA, which has been proven to enhance intra-cerebral XA concentrations (about 200% increase after 50 mg/kg XA i.p), also induces a dose-dependent increase of dopamine release in the cortex and striatum. Furthermore, our in vivo electrophysiological studies reveal that the repeated/daily administrations of XA reduce by 43% the number of spontaneously firing dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area. In the substantia nigra, XA treatment does not change the number of firing neurons. Altogether, our results suggest that XA may contribute together with KYNA to generate a KYNA/XA ratio that may crucially determine the brain normal dopaminergic activity. Imbalance of this ratio may result in dopaminergic dysfunctions related to several brain disorders, including psychotic diseases and drug dependence.

scholarly journals Physical positioning markedly enhances brain transduction after intrathecal AAV9 infusion

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. eaau9859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Castle ◽  
Yuhsiang Cheng ◽  
Aravind Asokan ◽  
Mark H. Tuszynski
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Gene Delivery ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Intrathecal Administration ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Virus Serotype ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Brain

Several neurological disorders may benefit from gene therapy. However, even when using the lead vector candidate for intrathecal administration, adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9), the strength and distribution of gene transfer to the brain are inconsistent. On the basis of preliminary observations that standard intrathecal AAV9 infusions predominantly drive reporter gene expression in brain regions where gravity might cause cerebrospinal fluid to settle, we tested the hypothesis that counteracting vector “settling” through animal positioning would enhance vector delivery to the brain. When rats are either inverted in the Trendelenburg position or continuously rotated after intrathecal AAV9 infusion, we find (i) a significant 15-fold increase in the number of transduced neurons, (ii) a marked increase in gene delivery to cortical regions, and (iii) superior animal-to-animal consistency of gene expression. Entorhinal, prefrontal, frontal, parietal, hippocampal, limbic, and basal forebrain neurons are extensively transduced: 95% of transduced cells are neurons, and greater than 70% are excitatory. These findings provide a novel and simple method for broad gene delivery to the cortex and are of substantial relevance to translational programs for neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, stroke, and traumatic brain injury.

scholarly journals C60 Fullerene Prevents Restraint Stress-Induced Oxidative Disorders in Rat Tissues: Possible Involvement of the Nrf2/ARE-Antioxidant Pathway

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga O. Gonchar ◽  
Andriy V. Maznychenko ◽  
Nataliya V. Bulgakova ◽  
Inna V. Vereshchaka ◽  
Tomasz Tomiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Lipid Peroxidation ◽  
Protein Expression ◽  
Restraint Stress ◽  
Stress Condition ◽  
Rat Tissues ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Nrf2 Protein

The effects of C60FAS (50 and 500 μg/kg) supplementation, in a normal physiological state and after restraint stress exposure, on prooxidant/antioxidant balance in rat tissues were explored and compared with the effects of the known exogenous antioxidant N-acetylcysteine. Oxidative stress biomarkers (ROS, O2⋅−, H2O2, and lipid peroxidation) and indices of antioxidant status (MnSOD, catalase, GPx, GST, γ-GCL, GR activities, and GSH level) were measured in the brain and the heart. In addition, protein expression of Nrf2 in the nuclear and cytosol fractions as well as the protein level of antiradical enzyme MnSOD and GSH-related enzymes γ-GCLC, GPx, and GSTP as downstream targets of Nrf2 was evaluated by western blot analysis. Under a stress condition, C60FAS attenuates ROS generation and O2⋅− and H2O2 releases and thus decreases lipid peroxidation as well as increases rat tissue antioxidant capacity. We have shown that C60FAS supplementation has dose-dependent and tissue-specific effects. C60FAS strengthened the antiradical defense through the upregulation of MnSOD in brain cells and maintained MnSOD protein content at the control level in the myocardium. Moreover, C60FAS enhanced the GSH level and the activity/protein expression of GSH-related enzymes. Correlation of these changes with Nrf2 protein content suggests that under stress exposure, along with other mechanisms, the Nrf2/ARE-antioxidant pathway may be involved in regulation of glutathione homeostasis. In our study, in an in vivo model, when C60FAS (50 and 500 μg/kg) was applied alone, no significant changes in Nrf2 protein expression as well as in activity/protein levels of MnSOD and GSH-related enzymes in both tissues types were observed. All these facts allow us to assume that in the in vivo model, C60FAS affects on the brain and heart endogenous antioxidative statuses only during the oxidative stress condition.

scholarly journals Social instigation and repeated aggressive confrontations in male Swiss mice: analysis of plasma corticosterone, CRF and BDNF levels in limbic brain areas

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Madeira Fortes ◽  
Lucas Albrechet-Souza ◽  
Mailton Vasconcelos ◽  
Bruna Maria Ascoli ◽  
Ana Paula Menegolla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Plasma Corticosterone ◽  
Corticotropin Releasing Factor ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
Swiss Mice ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Resident Intruder

Abstract Introduction: Agonistic behaviors help to ensure survival, provide advantage in competition, and communicate social status. The resident-intruder paradigm, an animal model based on male intraspecific confrontations, can be an ethologically relevant tool to investigate the neurobiology of aggressive behavior. Objectives: To examine behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of aggressive behavior in male Swiss mice exposed to repeated confrontations in the resident intruder paradigm. Methods: Behavioral analysis was performed in association with measurements of plasma corticosterone of mice repeatedly exposed to a potential rival nearby, but inaccessible (social instigation), or to 10 sessions of social instigation followed by direct aggressive encounters. Moreover, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF) were measured in the brain of these animals. Control mice were exposed to neither social instigation nor aggressive confrontations. Results: Mice exposed to aggressive confrontations exhibited a similar pattern of species-typical aggressive and non-aggressive behaviors on the first and the last session. Moreover, in contrast to social instigation only, repeated aggressive confrontations promoted an increase in plasma corticosterone. After 10 aggressive confrontation sessions, mice presented a non-significant trend toward reducing hippocampal levels of CRF, which inversely correlated with plasma corticosterone levels. Conversely, repeated sessions of social instigation or aggressive confrontation did not alter BDNF concentrations at the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Conclusion: Exposure to repeated episodes of aggressive encounters did not promote habituation over time. Additionally, CRF seems to be involved in physiological responses to social stressors.

scholarly journals Regulation of β-adrenoceptor density and mRNA levels in the rat heart cell-line H9c2

1996 ◽  
Vol 317 (3) ◽  
pp. 925-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker DANGEL ◽  
Jeanette GIRAY ◽  
Dieter RATGE ◽  
Hermann WISSER
Keyword(s):  
Cell Line ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Rat Heart ◽  
Radioligand Binding ◽  
Mrna Level ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Heart Cell ◽  
H9c2 Cell ◽  
Heart Cells ◽  
Mrna Levels

The regulation of the expression of β-adrenoceptors (β-ARs) is not thoroughly understood. We demonstrate that the rat heart cell-line H9c2 expresses both β1- and β2-ARs. In radioligand-binding experiments, the maximal binding capacity of (-)-[125I]-iodocyanopindolol was determined as 18±0.6 fmol/mg of protein with a KD of 35.4±4.1 pM. Competitive radioligand-binding experiments with subtype-specific β-antagonists reveal a subtype ratio of β1- to β2-ARs of 29%:71%. With competitive reverse-transcriptase PCR we found β2-mRNA to be up to 1600 times more frequent than β1-mRNA. Treatment of the H9c2 cell-line with the β-adrenergic agonist (-)-isoproterenol (10-6 M), the antagonist (-)-propranolol (10-6 M) and the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (500 nM) induces regulatory effects on both the β-AR protein and mRNA level. Isoproterenol treatment leads to down-regulation of the total receptor number by 56±4%, due to a decrease in β2-ARs, while maintaining the β1-AR number constant. On the transcription level, both β1-and β2-mRNAs are decreased by 30% and 42% respectively. mRNA stability measurements reveal a reduced half-life of β2-mRNA from 9.3 h to 6.5 h after isoproterenol treatment. Incubation of cells with (-)-propranolol does not affect the amounts of β-ARs and their mRNAs. Dexamethasone induces a 1.8±0.2-fold increase in β-AR number over the basal level as well as a 1.9±0.2-fold increase in the amount of β2-mRNA. Because the half-life of β2-mRNA was unaffected by dexamethasone, the increased β2-mRNA level must be due to an enhanced transcription rate. The β1-mRNA levels are unchanged during dexamethasone-incubation of the cells. Our data clearly demonstrate that treatment of H9c2 rat heart cells with isoproterenol and dexamethasone induces alterations in the level of RNA stability as well as gene transcription, leading to altered receptor numbers.

Anoxia and adenosine induce increased cerebral blood flow rate in crucian carp

1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (2) ◽  
pp. R590-R595 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Nilsson ◽  
P. Hylland ◽  
C. O. Lofman
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Crucian Carp ◽  
Blood Flow Rate ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Liver Glycogen ◽  
Glycolytic Flux ◽  
Brain Blood Flow ◽  
Atp Production ◽  
The Brain

The crucian carp (Carassius carassius) has the rare ability to survive prolonged anoxia, indicating an extraordinary capacity for glycolytic ATP production, especially in a highly energy-consuming organ like the brain. For the brain to be able to increase its glycolytic flux during anoxia and profit from the large liver glycogen store, an increased glucose delivery from the blood would be expected. Nevertheless, the effect of anoxia on brain blood flow in crucian carp has never been studied previously. We have used epireflection microscopy to directly observe and measure blood flow rate on the brain surface (optic lobes) during normoxia and anoxia in crucian carp. We have also examined the possibility that adenosine participates in the regulation of brain blood flow rate in crucian carp. The results showed a 2.16-fold increase in brain blood flow rate during anoxia. A similar increase was seen after topical application of adenosine during normoxia, while adenosine was without effect during anoxia. Moreover, superfusing the brain with the adenosine receptor blocker aminophylline inhibited the effect of anoxia on brain blood flow rate, clearly suggesting a mediatory role of adenosine in the anoxia-induced increase in brain blood flow rate.

scholarly journals REV-ERBα mediates complement expression and diurnal regulation of microglial synaptic phagocytosis

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Percy Griffin ◽  
Patrick W Sheehan ◽  
Julie M Dimitry ◽  
Chun Guo ◽  
Michael F Kanan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Daily Variation ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Astrocyte Activation ◽  
Synaptic Regulation ◽  
Microglial Phagocytosis ◽  
Synapse Loss ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Master Clock ◽  
Clock Protein ◽  
Diurnal Regulation

The circadian clock regulates various aspects of brain health including microglial and astrocyte activation. Here, we report that deletion of the master clock protein BMAL1 in mice robustly increases expression of complement genes, including C4b and C3, in the hippocampus. BMAL1 regulates expression of the transcriptional repressor REV-ERBα, and deletion of REV-ERBα causes increased expression of C4b transcript in neurons and astrocytes as well as C3 protein primarily in astrocytes. REV-ERBα deletion increased microglial phagocytosis of synapses and synapse loss in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. Finally, we observed diurnal variation in the degree of microglial synaptic phagocytosis which was antiphase to REV-ERBα expression. This daily variation in microglial synaptic phagocytosis was abrogated by global REV-ERBα deletion, which caused persistently elevated synaptic phagocytosis. This work uncovers the BMAL1-REV-ERBα axis as a regulator of complement expression and synaptic phagocytosis in the brain, linking circadian proteins to synaptic regulation.

scholarly journals Neuronal spreading and plaque induction of intracellular Aβ and its disruption of Aβ homeostasis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas T. Roos ◽  
Megg G. Garcia ◽  
Isak Martinsson ◽  
Rana Mabrouk ◽  
Bodil Israelsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Homogenate ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Amyloid Beta Peptide ◽  
Intracellular Accumulation ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Cellular Models ◽  
Beta Peptide ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) is thought to have prion-like properties promoting its spread throughout the brain in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the cellular mechanism(s) of this spread remains unclear. Here, we show an important role of intracellular Aβ in its prion-like spread. We demonstrate that an intracellular source of Aβ can induce amyloid plaques in vivo via hippocampal injection. We show that hippocampal injection of mouse AD brain homogenate not only induces plaques, but also damages interneurons and affects intracellular Aβ levels in synaptically connected brain areas, paralleling cellular changes seen in AD. Furthermore, in a primary neuron AD model, exposure of picomolar amounts of brain-derived Aβ leads to an apparent redistribution of Aβ from soma to processes and dystrophic neurites. We also observe that such neuritic dystrophies associate with plaque formation in AD-transgenic mice. Finally, using cellular models, we propose a mechanism for how intracellular accumulation of Aβ disturbs homeostatic control of Aβ levels and can contribute to the up to 10,000-fold increase of Aβ in the AD brain. Our data indicate an essential role for intracellular prion-like Aβ and its synaptic spread in the pathogenesis of AD.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document