| 1. |
- Moretti, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Melatonin reduces excitotoxic blood-brain barrier breakdown in neonatal rats
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Neuroscience. - : Elsevier BV. - 0306-4522. ; 311, s. 382-397
-
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.
|
|
| 2. |
- Baburamani, Ana A, et al.
(författare)
-
Does Caspase-6 Have a Role in Perinatal Brain Injury?
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Developmental Neuroscience. - : S. Karger AG. - 0378-5866 .- 1421-9859. ; 37:4-5, s. 321-337
-
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
|
|
| 3. |
- Baburamani, Ana A, et al.
(författare)
-
Mitochondrial Optic Atrophy (OPA) 1 Processing Is Altered in Response to Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.
- 2015
-
Ingår i: International journal of molecular sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1422-0067. ; 16:9, s. 22509-26
-
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.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ek, C. Joakim, et al.
(författare)
-
Brain barrier properties and cerebral blood flow in neonatal mice exposed to cerebral hypoxia-ischemia
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. - : SAGE Publications. - 0271-678X .- 1559-7016. ; 35:5, s. 818-827
-
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.
|
|
