| 1. |
- Brys, Ivani, et al.
(författare)
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Neurophysiological effects in cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuits of antidyskinetic treatment with 5-HT1A receptor biased agonists
- 2018
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 302, s. 155-168
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, the biased and highly selective 5-HT1A agonists, NLX-112, F13714 and F15599, have been shown to alleviate dyskinesia in rodent and primate models of Parkinson's disease, while marginally interfering with antiparkinsonian effects of levodopa. To provide more detailed information on the processes underlying the alleviation of dyskinesia, we have here investigated changes in the spectral contents of local field potentials in cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuits following treatment with this novel group of 5-HT1A agonists or the prototypical agonist, 8-OH-DPAT. Dyskinetic symptoms were consistently associated with 80 Hz oscillations, which were efficaciously suppressed by all 5-HT1A agonists and reappeared upon co-administration of the antagonist, WAY100635. At the same time, the peak-frequency of fast 130 Hz gamma oscillations and their cross-frequency coupling to low-frequency delta oscillations were modified to a different extent by each of the 5-HT1A agonists. These findings suggest that the common antidyskinetic effects of these drugs may be chiefly attributable to a reversal of the brain state characterized by 80 Hz gamma oscillations, whereas the differential effects on fast gamma oscillations may reflect differences in pharmacological properties that might be of potential relevance for non-motor symptoms.
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| 2. |
- Caudal, D, et al.
(författare)
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Depressive-like phenotype induced by AAV-mediated overexpression of human α-synuclein in midbrain dopaminergic neurons.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 273, s. 243-252
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons and by the presence of aggregates containing α-synuclein called Lewy bodies. Viral vector-induced overexpression of α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons represents a model of PD which recapitulates disease progression better than commonly used neurotoxin models. Previous studies using this model have reported motor and cognitive impairments, whereas depression, mood and anxiety phenotypes are less described. To investigate these psychiatric phenotypes, Sprague-Dawley rats received bilateral injections of a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector expressing human α-synuclein or GFP into the substantia nigra pars compacta. Behavior was assessed at two timepoints: 3 and 8weeks post-injection. We report that nigral α-synuclein overexpression led to a pronounced nigral dopaminergic cell loss accompanied by a smaller cell loss in the ventral tegmental area, and to a decreased striatal density of dopaminergic fibers. The AAV-α-synuclein group exhibited modest, but significant motor impairments 8weeks after vector administration. The AAV-α-synuclein group displayed depressive-like behavior in the forced swim test after 3weeks, and reduced sucrose preference at week 8. At both timepoints, overexpression of α-synuclein was linked to a hyperactive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation of corticosterone. The depressive-like phenotype was also correlated with decreased nigral brain-derived neurotrophic factor and spinophilin levels, and with decreased striatal levels of the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein. This study demonstrates that AAV-mediated α-synuclein overexpression in dopamine neurons is not only useful to model motor impairments of PD, but also depression. This study also provides evidence that depression in experimental Parkinsonism is correlated to dysregulation of the HPA axis and to alterations in proteins involved in synaptic plasticity.
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| 3. |
- Kawa, Lizan, et al.
(författare)
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Expression of galanin and its receptors are perturbed in a rodent model of mild, blast-induced traumatic brain injury
- 2016
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 279, s. 159-167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The symptomatology, mood and cognitive disturbances seen in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild blast-induced traumatic brain injury (mbTBI) overlap considerably. However the pathological mechanisms underlying the two conditions are currently unknown. The neuropeptide galanin has been suggested to play a role in the development of stress and mood disorders. Here we applied bio- and histochemical methods with the aim to elucidate the nature of any changes in the expression of galanin and its receptors in a rodent model of mbTBI. In situ hybridization and quantitative polymerase chain reaction studies revealed significant, injury induced changes, in some cases lasting at least for one week, in the mRNA levels of galanin and/or its three receptors, galanin receptor 1-3 (GalR1-3). Such changes were seen in several forebrain regions, and the locus coeruleus. In the ventral periaqueductal gray GalR1 mRNA levels were increased, while GalR2 were decreased. Analysis of galanin peptide levels using radioimmunoassay demonstrated an increase in several brain regions including the locus coeruleus, dorsal hippocampal formation and amygdala. These findings suggest a role for the galanin system in the endogenous response to mbTBI, and that pharmacological studies of the effects of activation or inhibition of different galanin receptors in combination with functional assays of behavioral recovery may reveal promising targets for new therapeutic strategies in mbTBI. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Luis-Ravelo, Diego, et al.
(författare)
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Pramipexole reduces soluble mutant huntingtin and protects striatal neurons through dopamine D3 receptors in a genetic model of Huntington's disease
- 2018
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 299, s. 137-147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by abnormal expansion of the polyglutamine tract in the huntingtin protein (HTT). The toxicity of mutant HTT (mHTT) is associated with intermediate mHTT soluble oligomers that subsequently form intranuclear inclusions. Thus, interventions promoting the clearance of soluble mHTT are regarded as neuroprotective. Striatal neurons are particularly vulnerable in HD. Their degeneration underlies motor symptoms and striatal atrophy, the anatomical hallmark of HD. Recent studies indicate that autophagy may be activated by dopamine D-2 and D-3 receptor (D2R/D3R) agonists. Since autophagy plays a central role in the degradation of misfolded proteins, and striatal neurons express D2R and D3R, D2R/D3R agonists may promote the clearance of mHTT in striatal neurons. Here, this hypothesis was tested by treating 8 week old R6/1 mice with the D2R/D3R agonist pramipexole for 4 weeks. Pramipexole reduced striatal levels of soluble mHTT and increased the size of intranuclear inclusions in R6/1 mice. Furthermore, striatal DARPP-32 levels and motor functions were recovered. These effects were accompanied by an increase in LC3-II and a decrease in p62 in the striatum. Tollip, a selective adaptor of ubiquitinated polyQ proteins to LC3, was also reduced in the striata of R6/lmice but not in their wild-type littermates. No changes were detected in the cerebral cortex where D3R expression is very low, and behavioral and biochemical effects in the striatum were prevented by a D3R antagonist. The findings indicate that PPX protects striatal neurons by promoting the clearance of soluble mHTT through a D3R-mediated mechanism. The evidence of autophagy markers suggests that autophagy is activated, although it is not efficient at removing all mHTT recruited by the autophagic machinery as indicated by the increase in the size of intranuclear inclusions.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Morán, Javier, 1986, et al.
(författare)
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Intranasal C3a treatment ameliorates cognitive impairment in a mouse model of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 290, s. 74-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Perinatal asphyxia-induced brain injury is often associated with irreversible neurological complications such as intellectual disability and cerebral palsy but available therapies are limited. Novel neuroprotective therapies as well as approaches stimulating neural plasticity mechanism that can compensate for cell death after hypoxia-ischemia (HI) are urgently needed. We previously reported that single i.c.v. injection of complement-derived peptide C3a 1h after HI induction prevented HI-induced cognitive impairment when mice were tested as adults. Here, we tested the effects of intranasal treatment with C3a on HI-induced cognitive deficit. Using the object recognition test, we found that intranasal C3a treated mice were protected from HI-induced impairment of memory function assessed 6weeks after HI induction. C3a treatment ameliorated HI-induced reactive gliosis in the hippocampus, while it did not affect the extent of hippocampal tissue loss, neuronal cell density, expression of the pan-synaptic marker synapsin I or the expression of growth associated protein 43. In conclusion, our results reveal that brief pharmacological treatment with C3a using a clinically feasible non-invasive mode of administration ameliorates HI-induced cognitive impairment. Intranasal administration is a plausible route to deliver C3a into the brain of asphyxiated infants at high risk of developing hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
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| 7. |
- Phillips, W D, et al.
(författare)
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Guidelines for pre-clinical animal and cellular models of MuSK-myasthenia gravis
- 2015
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 270:SI, s. 29-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) autoantibodies are the hallmark of a form of myasthenia gravis (MG) that can challenge the neurologist and the experimentalist. The clinical disease can be difficult to treat effectively. MuSK autoantibodies affect the neuromuscular junction in several ways. When added to muscle cells in culture, MuSK antibodies disperse acetylcholine receptor clusters. Experimental animals actively immunized with MuSK develop MuSK autoantibodies and muscle weakness. Weakness is associated with reduced postsynaptic acetylcholine receptor numbers, reduced amplitudes of miniature endplate potentials and endplate potentials, and failure of neuromuscular transmission. Similar impairments have been found in mice injected with IgG from MG patients positive for MuSK autoantibody (MuSK-MG). The active and passive models have begun to reveal the mechanisms by which MuSK antibodies disrupt synaptic function at the neuromuscular junction, and should be valuable in developing therapies for MuSK-MG. However, translation into new and improved treatments for patients requires procedures that are not too cumbersome but suitable for examining different aspects of MuSK function and the effects of potential therapies. Study design, conduct and analysis should be carefully considered and transparently reported. Here we review what has been learnt from animal and culture models of MuSK-MG, and offer guidelines for experimental design and conduct of studies, including sample size determination, randomization, outcome parameters and precautions for objective data analysis. These principles may also be relevant to the increasing number of other antibody-mediated diseases that are now recognized.
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| 8. |
- Rostedt Punga, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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How clinical trials of myasthenia gravis can inform pre-clinical drug development
- 2015
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 270:SI, s. 78-81
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pre-clinical evaluations often provide the rationale for therapeutic assessments in humans; however, in many diseases an agent found successful in animal models does not show efficacy in human subjects. Our contention is that the approach of rigorous, clinical trials can be used to inform how preclinical assessments should be performed. Clinical trials in humans are carefully designed investigations executed with consideration of critical methodological issues, such as pre-specified entrance criteria and validated, outcome measures coupled with power analysis to identify sample size. Blinding of evaluators of subjective measures and randomization of subjects are also critical aspects of trial performance. Investigative agents are also tested in subjects with active disease, rather than prior to disease induction as in some pre-clinical assessments. Application of standard procedures, including uniform reporting standards, would likely assist in reproducibility of pre-clinical experiments. Adapting methods of clinical trial performance will likely improve the success rate of therapeutics to ultimately achieve human use.
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| 9. |
- Silveira Broggini, Ana Clara, et al.
(författare)
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Pre-ictal increase in theta synchrony between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy
- 2016
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Ingår i: Experimental Neurology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0014-4886 .- 1090-2430. ; 279, s. 232-242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pathologically synchronized neuronal activity in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) can be triggered by network events that were once normal. Under normal conditions, hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) work in synchrony during a variety of cognitive states. Abnormal changes in this circuit may aid to seizure onset and also help to explain the high association of TLE with mood disorders. We used a TLE rat model generated by perforant path (PP) stimulation to understand whether synchrony between dorsal hippocampal and mPFC networks is altered shortly before a seizure episode. We recorded hippocampal and mPFC local field potentials (LFPs) of animals with spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRSs) to verify the connectivity between these regions. We showed that SRSs decrease hippocampal theta oscillations whereas coherence in theta increases over time prior to seizure onset. This increase in synchrony is accompanied by a stronger coupling between hippocampal theta and mPFC gamma oscillation. Finally, using Granger causality we showed that hippocampus/mPFC synchrony increases in the pre-ictal phase and this increase is likely to be caused by hippocampal networks. The dorsal hippocampus is not directly connected to the mPFC; however, the functional coupling in theta between these two structures rises pre-ictally. Our data indicates that the increase in synchrony between dorsal hippocampus and mPFC may be predictive of seizures and may help to elucidate the network mechanisms that lead to seizure generation.
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| 10. |
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