scholarly journals Organization of Neuropeptide Y-Immunoreactive Cells in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) Visual Cortex

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Myung-Jun Lee ◽  
Won-Tae Lee ◽  
Chang-Jin Jeon
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Neuropeptide Y ◽  
Mongolian Gerbil ◽  
Meriones Unguiculatus ◽  
Major Type ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Calbindin D28k ◽  
Layer V

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is found throughout the central nervous system where it appears to be involved in the regulation of a wide range of physiological effects. The Mongolian gerbil, a member of the rodent family Muridae, is a diurnal animal and has been widely used in various aspects of biomedical research. This study was conducted to investigate the organization of NPY-immunoreactive (IR) neurons in the gerbil visual cortex using NPY immunocytochemistry. The highest density of NPY-IR neurons was located in layer V (50.58%). The major type of NPY-IR neuron was a multipolar round/oval cell type (44.57%). Double-color immunofluorescence revealed that 89.55% and 89.95% of NPY-IR neurons contained gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or somatostatin, respectively. Several processes of the NPY-IR neurons surrounded GABAergic interneurons. Although 30.81% of the NPY-IR neurons contained calretinin, NPY and calbindin-D28K-IR neurons were co-expressed rarely (3.75%) and NPY did not co-express parvalbumin. Triple-color immunofluorescence with anti-GluR2 or CaMKII antibodies suggested that some non-GABAergic NPY-IR neurons may make excitatory synaptic contacts. This study indicates that NPY-IR neurons have a notable architecture and are unique subpopulations of the interneurons of the gerbil visual cortex, which could provide additional valuable data for elucidating the role of NPY in the visual process in diurnal animals.

scholarly journals The Organization of Somatostatin-Immunoreactive Cells in the Visual Cortex of the Gerbil

Biomedicines ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Kyung-Min Kwon ◽  
Myung-Jun Lee ◽  
Han-Saem Chung ◽  
Jae-Hong Pak ◽  
Chang-Jin Jeon
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Mongolian Gerbil ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
D2 Dopamine Receptors ◽  
Calcium Calmodulin Dependent ◽  
Layer V

Somatostatin (SST) is widely expressed in the brain and plays various, vital roles involved in neuromodulation. The purpose of this study is to characterize the organization of SST neurons in the Mongolian gerbil visual cortex (VC) using immunocytochemistry, quantitative analysis, and confocal microscopy. As a diurnal animal, the Mongolian gerbil provides us with a different perspective to other commonly used nocturnal rodent models. In this study, SST neurons were located in all layers of the VC except in layer I; they were most common in layer V. Most SST neurons were multipolar round/oval or stellate cells. No pyramidal neurons were found. Moreover, 2-color immunofluorescence revealed that only 33.50%, 24.05%, 16.73%, 0%, and 64.57% of SST neurons contained gamma-aminobutyric acid, calbindin-D28K, calretinin, parvalbumin, and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, respectively. In contrast, neuropeptide Y and nitric oxide synthase were abundantly expressed, with 80.07% and 75.41% in SST neurons, respectively. Our immunocytochemical analyses of SST with D1 and D2 dopamine receptors and choline acetyltransferase, α7 and β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors suggest that dopaminergic and cholinergic fibers contact some SST neurons. The results showed some distinguishable features of SST neurons and provided some insight into their afferent circuitry in the gerbil VC. These findings may support future studies investigating the role of SST neurons in visual processing.

Transneuronal retrograde transport of attenuated pseudorabies viruses within central visual pathways

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
RODNEY J. MOORE ◽  
SHERRY VINSANT ◽  
ANITA K. McCAULEY ◽  
NUWAN C. KURUKULASURIYA ◽  
DWAYNE W. GODWIN
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Pseudorabies Virus ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Visual Pathways ◽  
Thalamic Reticular Nucleus ◽  
Reticular Nucleus ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Anterograde Transport ◽  
Double Labeling ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) has been shown to be an effective transneuronal tracer within both the peripheral and the central nervous system. The only investigations of this virus in the visual system have examined anterograde transport of PRV from injection sites in the retina. In the present study, we injected attenuated forms of PRV into the primary visual cortex of both rats and cats to determine whether transneuronal retrograde infection would occur back to the retina. In rats, we made small injections into visual cortex of a strain of PRV (Bartha Blu) that contained a β-galactosidase promoter insert. In cats, we injected PRV-M201 into area V1 of visual cortex. After a 2- to 4-day incubation period, we examined tissue from these animals for the presence of the β-galactosidase marker (rats) or the virus itself (cats). Cortical PRV injections resulted in transneuronal retrograde infection of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), and retina. PRV was retinotopically distributed in the pathway. In addition, double-labeling experiments in cats using an antibody against gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were conducted to reveal PRV-labeled interneurons within the LGN and TRN. All TRN neurons were GABA+, as was a subset of LGN neurons. Only the subset of TRN neurons adjacent to the PRV-labeled sector of LGN was labeled with PRV. In addition, a subset of GABA+ interneurons in LGN was also labeled with PRV. We processed some tissue for electron microscopy to examine the morphology of the virus at various replication stages. No mature virions were detected in terminals from efferent pathways, although forms consistent with retrograde infection were encountered. We conclude that the PRV strains we have used produce a local infection that progresses primarily in the retrograde direction in the central visual pathways. The infection is transneuronal and viral replication maintains the intensity of the label throughout the chain of connected neurons, providing a means of examining detailed circuitry within the visual pathway.

Understanding Schizophrenia: Genetic Causes and Treatment

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Fatima Javeria ◽  
Shazma Altaf ◽  
Alishah Zair ◽  
Rana Khalid Iqbal
Keyword(s):  
Copy Number ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Mental Disease ◽  
Copy Number Variants ◽  
Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Severe Mental Disease

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disease. The word schizophrenia literally means split mind. There are three major categories of symptoms which include positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. The disease is characterized by symptoms of hallucination, delusions, disorganized thinking and speech. Schizophrenia is related to many other mental and psychological problems like suicide, depression, hallucinations. Including these, it is also a problem for the patient’s family and the caregiver. There is no clear reason for the disease, but with the advances in molecular genetics; certain epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the pathophysiology of the disease. Epigenetic mechanisms that are mainly involved are the DNA methylation, copy number variants. With the advent of GWAS, a wide range of SNPs is found linked with the etiology of schizophrenia. These SNPs serve as ‘hubs’; because these all are integrating with each other in causing of schizophrenia risk. Until recently, there is no treatment available to cure the disease; but anti-psychotics can reduce the disease risk by minimizing its symptoms. Dopamine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid, are the neurotransmitters which serve as drug targets in the treatment of schizophrenia. Due to the involvement of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, drugs available are already targeting certain genes involved in the etiology of the disease.

The Role of Neuropeptide Y and Peptide YY in the Development of Obesity via Gut-brain Axis

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 750-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Wu ◽  
Hengxun He ◽  
Zhibin Cheng ◽  
Yueyu Bai ◽  
Xi Ma
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neuropeptide Y ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Peptide Yy ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Gut Peptides ◽  
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Obesity is one of the main challenges of public health in the 21st century. Obesity can induce a series of chronic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension and nonalcoholic fatty liver, which seriously affect human health. Gut-brain axis, the two-direction pathway formed between enteric nervous system and central nervous system, plays a vital role in the occurrence and development of obesity. Gastrointestinal signals are projected through the gut-brain axis to nervous system, and respond to various gastrointestinal stimulation. The central nervous system regulates visceral activity through the gut-brain axis. Brain-gut peptides have important regulatory roles in the gut-brain axis. The brain-gut peptides of the gastrointestinal system and the nervous system regulate the gastrointestinal movement, feeling, secretion, absorption and other complex functions through endocrine, neurosecretion and paracrine to secrete peptides. Both neuropeptide Y and peptide YY belong to the pancreatic polypeptide family and are important brain-gut peptides. Neuropeptide Y and peptide YY have functions that are closely related to appetite regulation and obesity formation. This review describes the role of the gutbrain axis in regulating appetite and maintaining energy balance, and the functions of brain-gut peptides neuropeptide Y and peptide YY in obesity. The relationship between NPY and PYY and the interaction between the NPY-PYY signaling with the gut microbiota are also described in this review.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 and the Nervous System: From Clinical Features to Molecular Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 5475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Pennisi ◽  
Giuseppe Lanza ◽  
Luca Falzone ◽  
Francesco Fisicaro ◽  
Raffaele Ferri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Neuronal Damage ◽  
Neurological Complications ◽  
Neurological Manifestations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Inflammatory State ◽  
Acute Polyneuropathy ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Impact

Increasing evidence suggests that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can also invade the central nervous system (CNS). However, findings available on its neurological manifestations and their pathogenic mechanisms have not yet been systematically addressed. A literature search on neurological complications reported in patients with COVID-19 until June 2020 produced a total of 23 studies. Overall, these papers report that patients may exhibit a wide range of neurological manifestations, including encephalopathy, encephalitis, seizures, cerebrovascular events, acute polyneuropathy, headache, hypogeusia, and hyposmia, as well as some non-specific symptoms. Whether these features can be an indirect and unspecific consequence of the pulmonary disease or a generalized inflammatory state on the CNS remains to be determined; also, they may rather reflect direct SARS-CoV-2-related neuronal damage. Hematogenous versus transsynaptic propagation, the role of the angiotensin II converting enzyme receptor-2, the spread across the blood-brain barrier, the impact of the hyperimmune response (the so-called “cytokine storm”), and the possibility of virus persistence within some CNS resident cells are still debated. The different levels and severity of neurotropism and neurovirulence in patients with COVID-19 might be explained by a combination of viral and host factors and by their interaction.

scholarly journals Dissecting the Molecular Determinants of GABAA Receptors Current Rundown, a Hallmark of Refractory Human Epilepsy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 441
Author(s):  
Pierangelo Cifelli ◽  
Silvia Di Angelantonio ◽  
Veronica Alfano ◽  
Alessandra Morano ◽  
Eleonora De Felice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gabaa Receptors ◽  
Drug Resistant ◽  
Human Embryonic Kidney Cells ◽  
Inhibitory Function ◽  
Human Epilepsy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Molecular Determinants ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Heterologous Expression Systems ◽  
Important Therapeutic Target

GABAA receptors-(Rs) are fundamental for the maintenance of an efficient inhibitory function in the central nervous system (CNS). Their dysfunction is associated with a wide range of CNS disorders, many of which characterized by seizures and epilepsy. Recently, an increased use-dependent desensitization due to a repetitive GABA stimulation (GABAA current rundown) of GABAARs has been associated with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Here, we aimed to investigate the molecular determinants of GABAA current rundown with two different heterologous expression systems (Xenopus oocytes and human embryonic kidney cells; HEK) which allowed us to manipulate receptor stoichiometry and to study the GABAA current rundown on different GABAAR configurations. To this purpose, we performed electrophysiology experiments using two-electrode voltage clamp in oocytes and confirming part of our results in HEK. We found that different degrees of GABAA current rundown can be associated with the expression of different GABAAR β-subunits reaching the maximum current decrease when functional α1β2 receptors are expressed. Furthermore, the blockade of phosphatases can prevent the current rundown observed in α1β2 GABAARs. Since GABAAR represents one important therapeutic target in the treatment of human epilepsy, our results could open new perspectives on the therapeutic management of drug-resistant patients showing a GABAergic impairment.

High susceptibility of Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) to Borna disease virus

Vaccine ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 480-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yurie Nakamura ◽  
Takaaki Nakaya ◽  
Katsuro Hagiwara ◽  
Noriko Momiyama ◽  
Yumiko Kagawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Virus ◽  
Mongolian Gerbil ◽  
Meriones Unguiculatus ◽  
High Susceptibility ◽  
Borna Disease Virus ◽  
Borna Disease
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