| 1. |
- Ardalan, Maryam, 1979, et al.
(författare)
-
Reelin cells and sex-dependent synaptopathology in autism following postnatal immune activation
- 2022
-
Ingår i: British Journal of Pharmacology. - : Wiley. - 0007-1188 .- 1476-5381. ; 179:17, s. 4400-4422
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Purpose: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders with considerably increased risk in male infants born preterm and with neonatal infection. Here, we investigated the role of postnatal immune activation on hippocampal synaptopathology by targeting Reelin+ cells in mice with ASD-like behaviours. Experimental Approach: C57/Bl6 mouse pups of both sexes received lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1mg·kg−1) on postnatal day (P) 5. At P45, animal behaviour was examined by marble burying and sociability test, followed by ex vivo brain MRI diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI). Hippocampal synaptogenesis, number and morphology of Reelin+ cells, and mRNA expression of trans-synaptic genes, including neurexin-3, neuroligin-1, and cell-adhesion molecule nectin-1, were analysed at P12 and P45. Key Results: Social withdrawal and increased stereotypic activities in males were related to increased mean diffusivity on MRI-DKI and overgrowth in hippocampus together with retention of long-thin immature synapses on apical dendrites, decreased volume and number of Reelin+ cells as well as reduced expression of trans-synaptic and cell-adhesion molecules. Conclusion and Implications: The study provides new insights into sex-dependent mechanisms that may underlie ASD-like behaviour in males following postnatal immune activation. We identify GABAergic interneurons as core components of dysmaturation of excitatory synapses in the hippocampus following postnatal infection and provide cellular and molecular substrates for the MRI findings with translational value.
|
|
| 2. |
- Ardalan, Maryam, 1979, et al.
(författare)
-
Sex-Dependent Gliovascular Interface Abnormality in the Hippocampus following Postnatal Immune Activation in Mice
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Developmental neuroscience. - : S. Karger AG. - 0378-5866 .- 1421-9859. ; 44:4-5, s. 320-330
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The neuro-gliovascular unit is a crucial structure for providing a balanced well-functioning environment for neurons and their synapses. Activation of the immune system during the developmental period is believed to affect the gliovascular unit, which may trigger neurodevelopmental and neurological/neuropsychiatric diseases. In this study, we hypothesized that vulnerability of the male brain to a neonatal insult was conditioned by sex-dependent differences in the impairment of the hippocampal gliovascular unit. Male and female C57BL/6J pups received lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 mg/kg) or saline on postnatal day (P) 5. Brains were collected at P12 and morphological quantifications of hippocampal fibrillary glial acid protein (GFAP(+)) astrocytes and ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 protein (Iba1+) microglia were performed by using 3-D image analysis together with measuring the length of CD31(+) and aquaporin-4 (AQP4(+)) vessels. We found a significant increase in the length of CD31(+) capillaries in the male LPS group compared to the saline group; however, coverage of capillaries by astrocytic end-feet (AQP4(+)) was significantly reduced. In contrast, there was a significant increase in AQP4(+) capillary length in female pups 1 week after LPS injection. GFAP(+) astrocytes via morphological changes in the hippocampus showed significant enhancement in the activity 1 week following LPS injection in male mice. We propose that neonatal inflammation could induce susceptibility to neurodevelopmental disorders through modification of hippocampal gliovascular interface in a sex-dependent manner.
|
|
| 3. |
- Bay, Vibeke, et al.
(författare)
-
Tissue processing and optimal visualization of cerebral infarcts following sub-acute focal ischemia in rats
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0891-0618 .- 1873-6300. ; 118
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transient cerebral ischemia followed by reperfusion in an infarcted brain comes with predictable acute and chronic morphological alterations in neuronal and non-neuronal cells. An accurate delineation of the cerebral infarct is not a simple task due to the complex shapes and indistinct borders of the infarction. Thus, an exact macroscopic histological approach for infarct volume estimation can lead to faster and more reliable preclinical research results. This study investigated the effect(s) of confounding factors such as fixation and tissue embedding on the quality of macroscopic visualization of focal cerebral ischemia by anti-microtubule-associated-protein-2 antibody (MAP2) with conventional Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining serving as the control. The aim was to specify the most reliable macroscopic infarct size estimation method after sub-acute focal cerebral ischemia based on the qualitative investigation. Our results showed that the ischemic area on the MAP2-stained sections could be identified macroscopically on both cryo-preserved and paraffin-embedded sections from both immersion- and perfusion-fixed brains. The HE staining did not clearly depict an infarct area for macroscopic visualization. Therefore both immersion-fixed and perfused-fixed-MAP2 stained sections can be used reliably to quantify cerebral infarcts.
|
|
| 4. |
- Gober, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Microglia activation in postmortem brains with schizophrenia demonstrates distinct morphological changes between brain regions
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Brain Pathology. - : Wiley. - 1015-6305 .- 1750-3639. ; 32:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a psychiatric disorder that can include symptoms of disorganized speech and thoughts with uncertain underlying mechanisms possibly linked to over-activated microglia. In this study, we used brain samples from sixteen donors with SCZ and thirteen control donors to assess the differential activation of microglia by quantifying density and 3D reconstruction of microglia stained with ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1 (Iba1). Our samples consisted of sections from the frontal, temporal, and cingulate cortical gray matter, subcortical white matter regions (SCWM), and included the anterior corpus callosum. In the first series of studies, we performed a density analysis followed by a spatial analysis to ascertain the microglial density, distribution, and soma size in SCZ brains. Second, we performed a series of morphological quantification techniques to investigate the arborization patterns of the microglia in SCZ. The results demonstrated an increase in microglia density in the cortical gray matter regions in SCZ cases, while in the SCWM, there was a significant increase in microglia density in the frontal and temporal, but not in the other brain regions of interest (ROIs). Spatial analysis using the "nearest neighbor" demonstrated that there was no effect in "clustering", but there were shorter distances between microglia seen in the SCZ cases. The morphological measures showed that there was a region-dependent increase in the microglia soma size in the SCZ cases while the Sholl analysis revealed a significant decrease in the microglia arborization in the SCZ cases across all the ROI's studied. An in-depth 3D reconstruction of microglia in Brodmann area 9 cortical region found that there was a significant association between age and reduced microglial arborization in the SCZ cases. This region-dependent age association can help determine whether longitudinal changes in microglial activation across age are brain region-dependent, which may point to potential therapeutic targets.
|
|
| 5. |
- Jabbari Shiadeh, Seyedeh Marziyeh, et al.
(författare)
-
Long-term impact of maternal obesity on the gliovascular unit and ephrin signaling in the hippocampus of adult offspring
- 2024
-
Ingår i: JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION. - 1742-2094. ; 21:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundChildren born to obese mothers are at increased risk of developing mood disorders and cognitive impairment. Experimental studies have reported structural changes in the brain such as the gliovascular unit as well as activation of neuroinflammatory cells as a part of neuroinflammation processing in aged offspring of obese mothers. However, the molecular mechanisms linking maternal obesity to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes are not well established. The ephrin system plays a major role in a variety of cellular processes including cell-cell interaction, synaptic plasticity, and long-term potentiation. Therefore, in this study we determined the impact of maternal obesity in pregnancy on cortical, hippocampal development, vasculature and ephrin-A3/EphA4-signaling, in the adult offspring in mice.MethodsMaternal obesity was induced in mice by a high fat/high sugar Western type of diet (HF/HS). We collected brain tissue (prefrontal cortex and hippocampus) from 6-month-old offspring of obese and lean (control) dams. Hippocampal volume, cortical thickness, myelination of white matter, density of astrocytes and microglia in relation to their activity were analyzed using 3-D stereological quantification. mRNA expression of ephrin-A3, EphA4 and synaptic markers were measured by qPCR in the brain tissue. Moreover, expression of gap junction protein connexin-43, lipocalin-2, and vascular CD31/Aquaporin 4 were determined in the hippocampus by immunohistochemistry.ResultsVolume of hippocampus and cortical thickness were significantly smaller, and myelination impaired, while mRNA levels of hippocampal EphA4 and post-synaptic density (PSD) 95 were significantly lower in the hippocampus in the offspring of obese dams as compared to offspring of controls. Further analysis of the hippocampal gliovascular unit indicated higher coverage of capillaries by astrocytic end-feet, expression of connexin-43 and lipocalin-2 in endothelial cells in the offspring of obese dams. In addition, offspring of obese dams demonstrated activation of microglia together with higher density of cells, while astrocyte cell density was lower.ConclusionMaternal obesity affects brain size, impairs myelination, disrupts the hippocampal gliovascular unit and decreases the mRNA expression of EphA4 and PSD-95 in the hippocampus of adult offspring. These results indicate that the vasculature-glia cross-talk may be an important mediator of altered synaptic plasticity, which could be a link between maternal obesity and neurodevelopmental/neuropsychiatric disorders in the offspring.
|
|
| 6. |
- Kawamura, Takuya, et al.
(författare)
-
Therapeutic Effect of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide for Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury in Neonatal Mice
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Asn Neuro. - 1759-0914. ; 15
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A clinical challenge remains in the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in newborns. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) has beneficial effects in animal models of adult stroke. Here, we aimed to understand the short- and long-term neuroprotective effects of NAD+-promoting substance nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) in a well-established brain injury model in neonatal mice. Postnatal day (PND) 9 male and female mice were subjected to cerebral hypoxia-ischemia and treated with saline or NMN (50 mg/kg) immediately after hypoxia-ischemia. At different time points after hypoxia-ischemia, hippocampal NAD+, caspase-3 activity, protein expression of SIRT1, SIRT6, release of high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), long-term neuropathological outcome, short-term developmental behavior, and long-term motor and memory function were evaluated. Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia reduced NAD+ and SIRT6 levels, but not SIRT1, in the injured hippocampus, while HMGB1 release was significantly increased. NMN treatment normalized hippocampal NAD+ and SIRT6 levels, while caspase-3 activity and HMGB1 release were significantly reduced. NMN alleviated tissue loss in the long-term and improved early developmental behavior, as well as motor and memory function. This study shows that NMN treatment provides neuroprotection in a clinically relevant neonatal animal model of hypoxia-ischemia in mice suggesting as a possible novel treatment for neonatal brain injury.Summary StatementNeonatal hypoxia-ischemia reduces nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and SIRT6 levels in the injured hippocampus.Hippocampal high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) release is significantly increased after neonatal hypoxia-ischemia.Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) treatment normalizes hippocampal NAD+ and SIRT6 levels, with significant decrease in caspase-3 activity and HMGB1 release.NMN improves early developmental behavior, as well as motor and memory function. Graphical AbstractThis is a visual representation of the abstract.
|
|
