| 1. |
- Moretti, R., et al.
(författare)
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Melatonin reduces excitotoxic blood-brain barrier breakdown in neonatal rats
- 2015
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Ingår i: Neuroscience. - : Elsevier BV. - 0306-4522. ; 311, s. 382-397
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a complex structure that protects the central nervous system from peripheral insults. Understanding the molecular basis of BBB function and dysfunction holds significant potential for future strategies to prevent and treat neurological damage. The aim of our study was (1) to investigate BBB alterations following excitotoxicity and (2) to test the protective properties of melatonin.Ibotenate, a glutamate analog, was injected intracerebrally in postnatal day 5 (P5) rat pups to mimic excitotoxic injury. Animals were than randomly divided into two groups, one receiving intraperitoneal (i.p.) melatonin injections (5. mg/kg), and the other phosphate buffer saline (PBS) injections. Pups were sacrificed 2, 4 and 18. h after ibotenate injection. We determined lesion size at 5. days by histology, the location and organization of tight junction (TJ) proteins by immunohistochemical studies, and BBB leakage by dextran extravasation. Expression levels of BBB genes (TJs, efflux transporters and detoxification enzymes) were determined in the cortex and choroid plexus by quantitative PCR.Dextran extravasation was seen 2. h after the insult, suggesting a rapid BBB breakdown that was resolved by 4. h. Extravasation was significantly reduced in melatonin-treated pups. Gene expression and immunohistochemical assays showed dynamic BBB modifications during the first 4. h, partially prevented by melatonin. Lesion-size measurements confirmed white matter neuroprotection by melatonin.Our study is the first to evaluate BBB structure and function at a very early time point following excitotoxicity in neonates. Melatonin neuroprotects by preventing TJ modifications and BBB disruption at this early phase, before its previously demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and axonal regrowth-promoting effects. © 2015 IBRO.
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| 2. |
- Rangon, Claire-Marie, et al.
(författare)
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Myelination induction by a histamine H3 receptor antagonist in a mouse model of preterm white matter injury.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Brain, behavior, and immunity. - : Elsevier BV. - 1090-2139 .- 0889-1591. ; 74, s. 265-276
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fifteen million babies are born preterm every year and a significant number suffer from permanent neurological injuries linked to white matter injury (WMI). A chief cause of preterm birth itself and predictor of the severity of WMI is exposure to maternal-fetal infection-inflammation such as chorioamnionitis. There are no neurotherapeutics for this WMI. To affect this healthcare need, the repurposing of drugs with efficacy in other white matter injury models is an attractive strategy. As such, we tested the efficacy of GSK247246, an H3R antagonist/inverse agonist, in a model of inflammation-mediated WMI of the preterm born infant recapitulating the main clinical hallmarks of human brain injury, which are oligodendrocyte maturation arrest, microglial reactivity, and hypomyelination. WMI is induced by mimicking the effects of maternal-fetal infection-inflammation and setting up neuroinflammation. We induce this process at the time in the mouse when brain development is equivalent to the human third trimester; postnatal day (P)1 through to P5 with i.p. interleukin-1β (IL-1β) injections. We initiated GSK247246 treatment (i.p at 7mg/kg or 20mg/kg) after neuroinflammation was well established (on P6) and it was administered twice daily through to P10. Outcomes were assessed at P10 and P30 with gene and protein analysis. A low dose of GSK247246 (7mg/kg) lead to a recovery in protein expression of markers of myelin (density of Myelin Basic Protein, MBP & Proteolipid Proteins, PLP) and a reduction in macro- and microgliosis (density of ionising adaptor protein, IBA1 & glial fibrillary acid protein, GFAP). Our results confirm the neurotherapeutic efficacy of targeting the H3R for WMI seen in a cuprizone model of multiple sclerosis and a recently reported clinical trial in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. Further work is needed to develop a slow release strategy for this agent and test its efficacy in large animal models of preterm infant WMI.
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| 3. |
- Albertsson, Anna-Maj, et al.
(författare)
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γδ T cells contribute to injury in the developing brain.
- 2018
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Ingår i: The American journal of pathology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1525-2191 .- 0002-9440. ; 188:3, s. 757-767
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Brain injury in premature infants, especially periventricular leukomalacia, is an important cause of neurological disabilities. Inflammation contributes to the development of perinatal brain injury, but the essential mediators leading to brain injury in early life remain largely unknown. Neonates have reduced capacity for mounting conventional αβT-cell responses. However γδT-cells are already functionally competent during early development and are important in early life immunity. We investigated the potential contribution of γδT-cells to preterm brain injury by using postmortem brains from human preterm infants with periventricular leukomalacia and two animal models of preterm brain injury-the hypoxic-ischemic mouse model and a fetal sheep asphyxia model. Large numbers of γδT-cells were observed in the brains of mice, sheep, and postmortem preterm infants after injury, and depletion of γδT-cells provided protection in the mouse model. The common γδT-cell associated cytokines interferon-γ and interleukin (IL)-17A were not detectable in the brain. Although there were increased mRNA levels of Il17f and Il22 in the mouse brains after injury, neither IL-17F nor IL-22 cytokines contributed to preterm brain injury. These findings highlight unique features of injury in the developing brain where, unlike injury in the mature brain, γδT-cells function as important initiators of injury independently of common γδT-cell associated cytokines. This new finding will help to identify therapeutic targets for preventing or treating preterm infants with brain injury.
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| 4. |
- Baburamani, Ana A, et al.
(författare)
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Does Caspase-6 Have a Role in Perinatal Brain Injury?
- 2015
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Ingår i: Developmental Neuroscience. - : S. Karger AG. - 0378-5866 .- 1421-9859. ; 37:4-5, s. 321-337
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Apoptotic mechanisms are centre stage for the development of injury in the immature brain, and caspases have been shown to play a pivotal role during brain development and in response to injury. The inhibition of caspases using broad-spectrum agents such as Q-VD-OPh is neuroprotective in the immature brain. Caspase-6, an effector caspase, has been widely researched in neurodevelopmental disorders and found to be important following adult stroke, but its function in the neonatal brain has yet to be detailed. Furthermore, caspases may be important in microglial activation; microglia are required for optimal brain development and following injury, and their close involvement during neuronal cell death suggests that apoptotic cues such as caspase activation may be important in microglial activation. Therefore, in this study we aimed to investigate the possible apoptotic and non-apoptotic functions caspase-6 may have in the immature brain in response to hypoxia-ischaemia. We examined whether caspases are involved in microglial activation. We assessed cleaved caspase-6 expression following hypoxia-ischaemia and conducted primary microglial cultures to assess whether the broad-spectrum inhibitor Q-VD-OPh or caspase-6 gene deletion affected lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated microglial activation and phenotype. We observed cleaved caspase-6 expression to be low but present in the cell body and cell processes in both a human case of white matter injury and 72 h following hypoxia-ischaemia in the rat. Gene deletion of caspase-6 did not affect the outcome of brain injury following mild (50 min) or severe (60 min) hypoxia-ischaemia. Interestingly, we did note that cleaved caspase-6 was co-localised with microglia that were not of apoptotic morphology. We observed that mRNA of a number of caspases was modulated by low-dose LPS stimulation of primary microglia. Q-VD-OPh treatment and caspase-6 gene deletion did not affect microglial activation but modified slightly the M2b phenotype response by changing the time course of SOCS3 expression after LPS administration. Our results suggest that the impact of active caspase-6 in the developing brain is subtle, and we believe there are predominantly other caspases (caspase-2, -3, -8, -9) that are essential for the cell death processes in the immature brain. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel
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| 5. |
- Baburamani, Ana A, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of Trp53 gene deficiency on brain injury after neonatal hypoxia-ischemia
- 2017
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Ingår i: Oncotarget. - : Impact Journals, LLC. - 1949-2553. ; 8:7, s. 12081-12092
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hypoxia-ischemia (HI) can result in permanent life-long injuries such as motor and cognitive deficits. In response to cellular stressors such as hypoxia, tumor suppressor protein p53 is activated, potently initiating apoptosis and promoting Bax-dependent mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Trp53 genetic inhibition on injury development in the immature brain following HI. HI (50 min or 60 min) was induced at postnatal day 9 (PND9) in Trp53 heterozygote (het) and wild type (WT) mice. Utilizing Cre-LoxP technology, CaMK2 alpha-Cre mice were bred with Trp53-Lox mice, resulting in knockdown of Trp53 in CaMK2 alpha neurons. HI was induced at PND12 (50 min) and PND28 (40 min). Extent of brain injury was assessed 7 days following HI. Following 50 min HI at PND9, Trp53 het mice showed protection in the posterior hippocampus and thalamus. No difference was seen between WT or Trp53 het mice following a severe, 60 min HI. Cre-Lox mice that were subjected to HI at PND12 showed no difference in injury, however we determined that neuronal specific CaMK2 alpha-Cre recombinase activity was strongly expressed by PND28. Concomitantly, Trp53 was reduced at 6 weeks of age in KO-Lox Trp53 mice. Cre-Lox mice subjected to HI at PND28 showed no significant difference in brain injury. These data suggest that p53 has a limited contribution to the development of injury in the immature/juvenile brain following HI. Further studies are required to determine the effect of p53 on downstream targets.
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| 6. |
- Baburamani, Ana A, et al.
(författare)
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Microglia toxicity in preterm brain injury
- 2014
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Ingår i: Reproductive Toxicology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-6238 .- 1873-1708. ; 48, s. 106-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microglia are the resident phagocytic cells of the central nervous system. During brain development they are also imperative for apoptosis of excessive neurons, synaptic pruning, phagocytosis of debris and maintaining brain homeostasis. Brain damage results in a fast and dynamic microglia reaction, which can influence the extent and distribution of subsequent neuronal dysfunction. As a consequence, microglia responses can promote tissue protection and repair following brain injury, or become detrimental for the tissue integrity and functionality. In this review, we will describe microglia responses in the human developing brain in association with injury, with particular focus on the preterm infant. We also explore microglia responses and mechanisms of microglia toxicity in animal models of preterm white matter injury and in vitro primary microglia cell culture experiments. © 2014 The Authors.
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| 7. |
- Baburamani, Ana A, et al.
(författare)
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Mitochondrial Optic Atrophy (OPA) 1 Processing Is Altered in Response to Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.
- 2015
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Ingår i: International journal of molecular sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1422-0067. ; 16:9, s. 22509-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Perturbation of mitochondrial function and subsequent induction of cell death pathways are key hallmarks in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury, both in animal models and in term infants. Mitoprotective therapies therefore offer a new avenue for intervention for the babies who suffer life-long disabilities as a result of birth asphyxia. Here we show that after oxygen-glucose deprivation in primary neurons or in a mouse model of HI, mitochondrial protein homeostasis is altered, manifesting as a change in mitochondrial morphology and functional impairment. Furthermore we find that the mitochondrial fusion and cristae regulatory protein, OPA1, is aberrantly cleaved to shorter forms. OPA1 cleavage is normally regulated by a balanced action of the proteases Yme1L and Oma1. However, in primary neurons or after HI in vivo, protein expression of YmelL is also reduced, whereas no change is observed in Oma1 expression. Our data strongly suggest that alterations in mitochondria-shaping proteins are an early event in the pathogenesis of neonatal HI injury.
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| 8. |
- Baburamani, Ana A, et al.
(författare)
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Vulnerability of the developing brain to hypoxic-ischemic damage: Contribution of the cerebral vasculature to injury and repair?
- 2012
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-042X. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As clinicians attempt to understand the underlying reasons for the vulnerability of different regions of the developing brain to injury, it is apparent that little is known as to how hypoxia-ischemia may affect the cerebrovasculature in the developing infant. Most of the research investigating the pathogenesis of perinatal brain injury following hypoxia-ischemia has focused on excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and an inflammatory response, with the response of the developing cerebrovasculature receiving less attention. This is surprising as the presentation of devastating and permanent injury such as germinal matrix-intraventricular haemorrhage (GM-IVH) and perinatal stroke are of vascular origin, and the origin of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) may also arise from poor perfusion of the white matter. This highlights that cerebrovasculature injury following hypoxia could primarily be responsible for the injury seen in the brain of many infants diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Interestingly the highly dynamic nature of the cerebral blood vessels in the fetus, and the fluctuations of cerebral blood flow and metabolic demand that occur following hypoxia suggest that the response of blood vessels could explain both regional protection and vulnerability in the developing brain. However, research into how blood vessels respond following hypoxia-ischemia have mostly been conducted in adult models of ischemia or stroke, further highlighting the need to investigate how the developing cerebrovasculature responds and the possible contribution to perinatal brain injury following hypoxia. This review discusses the current concepts on the pathogenesis of perinatal brain injury, the development of the fetal cerebrovasculature and the blood brain barrier (BBB), and key mediators involved with the response of cerebral blood vessels to hypoxia. © 2012 Baburamani, Ek, Walker and Castillo-Melendez.
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| 9. |
- Ek, C. Joakim, et al.
(författare)
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Brain barrier properties and cerebral blood flow in neonatal mice exposed to cerebral hypoxia-ischemia
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. - : SAGE Publications. - 0271-678X .- 1559-7016. ; 35:5, s. 818-827
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Insults to the developing brain often result in irreparable damage resulting in long-term deficits in motor and cognitive functions. The only treatment today for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in newborns is hypothermia, which has limited clinical benefit. We have studied changes to the blood-brain barriers (BBB) as well as regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in a neonatal model of HIE to further understand the underlying pathologic mechanisms. Nine-day old mice pups, brain roughly equivalent to the near-term human fetus, were subjected to hypoxia-ischemia. Hypoxia-ischemia increased BBB permeability to small and large molecules within hours after the insult, which normalized in the following days. The opening of the BBB was associated with changes to BBB protein expression whereas gene transcript levels were increased showing direct molecular damage to the BBB but also suggesting compensatory mechanisms. Brain pathology was closely related to reductions in rCBF during the hypoxia as well as the areas with compromised BBB showing that these are intimately linked. The transient opening of the BBB after the insult is likely to contribute to the pathology but at the same time provides an opportunity for therapeutics to better reach the infarcted areas in the brain.
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| 10. |
- Kichev, Anton, et al.
(författare)
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TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) signaling and cell death in the immature central nervous system after hypoxia-ischemia and inflammation.
- 2014
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Ingår i: The Journal of biological chemistry. - 1083-351X. ; 289:13, s. 9430-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tumor Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the TNF family. The interaction of TRAIL with death receptor 4 (DR4) and DR5 can trigger apoptotic cell death. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of TRAIL signaling in neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI). Using a neonatal mouse model of HI, mRNA and protein expression of TRAIL, DR5 and the TRAIL decoy receptors osteoprotegerin (OPG), mDcTRAILR1 and mDcTRAILR2 were determined. In vitro, mRNA expression of these genes was measured in primary neurons and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) after inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α/IFN-γ) treatment and/or oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). The toxicity of these various paradigms was also measured. The expression of TRAIL, DR5, OPG and mDcTRAILR2 was significantly increased after HI. In vitro, inflammatory cytokines and OGD treatment significantly induced mRNAs for TRAIL, DR5, OPG and mDcTRAILR2 in primary neurons, and of TRAIL and OPG in OPCs. TRAIL protein was expressed primarily in microglia and astroglia whereas DR5 co-localized with neurons and OPCs in vivo. OGD enhanced TNF-α/IFN-γ toxicity in both neuronal and OPC cultures. Recombinant TRAIL exerted toxicity alone or in combination with OGD and TNF-α/IFN-γ in primary neurons but not in OPC cultures. The marked increases in the expression of TRAIL and its receptors after cytokine exposure and OGD in primary neurons and OPCs were similar to those found in our animal model of neonatal HI. The toxicity of TRAIL in primary neurons suggests that TRAIL signaling participates in neonatal brain injury after inflammation and HI.
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