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| 2. |
- Abrahamsson, Therése, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Reversible synaptic depression in developing rat CA3-CA1 synapses explained by a novel cycle of AMPA silencing-unsilencing
- 2007
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY. - : American Physiological Society. - 0022-3077 .- 1522-1598. ; 98:5, s. 2604-2611
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the developing hippocampus, experiments using whole cell recordings have shown that a small number of synaptic activations can convert many glutamate synapses to AMPA silent synapses. This depression of AMPA signaling is induced by low-frequency (0.05–0.2 Hz) activation, does not require N-methyl-d-aspartate or metabotropic glutamate receptor activation for its induction, and does not readily reverse after stimulus interruption. Here we show, using field recordings and perforated patch-clamp recordings of transmission in developing CA3–CA1 synapses, that this synaptic depression also can be observed under more noninvasive recording conditions. Moreover, under these conditions, the synaptic depression spontaneously recovers within 20 min by the absence of synaptic activation alone, with a time constant of ∼7 min as determined by field excitatory postsynaptic potential recordings. Thus as for the expression of long-term potentiation (LTP), recovery from this depression is susceptible to whole cell dialysis (“wash-out”). In contrast to LTP-induced unsilencing, the AMPA signaling after stimulus interruption was again labile, resumed stimulation resulted in renewed depression. The present study has thus identified a novel cycle for AMPA signaling in which the nascent glutamate synapse cycles between an AMPA silent state, induced by a small number of synaptic activations, and a labile AMPA signaling, induced by prolonged inactivity.
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| 3. |
- Adlerz, Linda, 1974-
(författare)
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Processing of the amyloid precursor protein and its paralogues amyloid precursor-like proteins 1 and 2
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which is histopathologically characterised by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Amyloid plaques consist of the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) that can form aggregates in the brain. Aβ is generated from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) through proteolytic cleavage. APP belongs to a conserved protein family that also includes the two paralogues, APP-like proteins 1 and 2 (APLP1 and APLP2). Despite the immense amount of research on APP, motivated by its implication in AD, the function of this protein family has not yet been determined. In this thesis, we have studied the expression and proteolytic processing of the APP protein family. Our results are consistent with previous findings that suggest a role for APP during neuronal development. Treatment of cells with retinoic acid (RA) resulted in increased synthesis. In addition, we observed that RA treatment shifted the processing of APP from the amyloidogenic to the non-amyloidogenic pathway. The proteins in the APP family have been hard to distinguish both with respect to function and proteolytic processing. However, for development of new drugs with APP processing enzymes as targets this is of great importance. Our studies suggest similarities, but also differences in the mechanism regulating the processing of the different paralogues. We found that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) had different impact on the members of the APP family. Most interestingly, we also found that the mechanism behind the increased processing in response to IGF-1 was not identical between the homologous proteins. In summary, our results indicate that in terms of regulation APLP1 and APLP2 differ more from each other than from APP. Our studies open up the possibility of finding means to selectively block Aβ production without interfering with the processing and function of the paralogous proteins.
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| 4. |
- af Bjerkén, Sara, 1979-
(författare)
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On dopamine neurons : nerve fiber outgrowth and L-DOPA effects
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Parkinson’s disease is a disorder mainly characterized by progressive degeneration of dopamine producing neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. The most commonly used treatment strategy is to pharmacologically restore the lost function by the administration of the dopaminergic precursor L-DOPA. Another treatment strategy is to replace the degenerated neurons with immature fetal ventral mesencephalic tissue, or ultimately stem cell-derived tissue. Grafting trials have, however, revealed poor reinnervation capacity of the grafts, leaving much of the striata dopamine-denervated. An additional drawback is the upcoming of dyskinesia (involuntary movements), a phenomenon also observed during L-DOPA treatment of Parkinson’s disease patients. Attempts to characterize nerve fiber formation from dopamine neurons have demonstrated that the nerve fibers are formed in two morphologically diverse outgrowth patterns, one early outgrowth seen in the absence of astrocytes and one later appearing outgrowth seen in co-existence with astrocytes. The overall objective of this thesis has been to study the dopaminergic outgrowth including guidance of nerve fiber formation, and to look into the mechanisms of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. The first paper in this thesis characterizes the different outgrowth patterns described above and their relation to different glial cells. The study demonstrated the two different outgrowth patterns to be a general phenomenon, applying not only to dopamine neurons. Attempts of characterization revealed no difference of origin in terms of dopaminergic subpopulations, i.e. A9 or A10, between the outgrowth patterns. Furthermore, the “roller-drum” technique was found optimal for studying the dual outgrowth sequences. The second and the third paper also utilized the “roller-drum” technique in order to promote both patterns of neuronal fiber formation. The effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on the formation of dopamine nerve fibers, was investigated. Cultures prepared from gdnf knockout mice revealed that dopaminergic neurons survive and form nerve fiber outgrowth in the absence of GDNF. The dopaminergic nerve fibers exhibited an outgrowth pattern consistent with that previous observed in rat. GDNF was found to exert effect on the glial-associated outgrowth whereas the non-glial-associated was not affected. Astrocytic proliferation was inhibited using cytosine β-D-arabinofuranoside, resulting in reduced glial-associated outgrowth. The non-glial-associated dopaminergic outgrowth was on the other hand promoted, and was retained over longer time in culture. Furthermore, the non-glial-associated nerve fibers were found to target the fetal frontal cortex. Different developmental stages were shown to promote and affect the outgrowths differently. Taken together, these data indicate and state the importance of astrocytes and growth factors for neuronal nerve fiber formation and guidance. It also stresses the importance of fetal donor age at the time for transplantation. The fourth and fifth studies focus on L-DOPA dynamics and utilize in vivo chronoamperometry. In study four, 6-OHDA dopamine-depleted rats were exposed to chronic L-DOPA treatment and then rated as dyskinetic or non-dyskinetic. The electrochemical recordings demonstrated reduced KCl-evoked release in the intact striatum after chronic L-DOPA treatment. Time for maximal dopamine concentration after L-DOPA administration was found to be shorter in dyskinetic animals than in non-dyskinetic animals. The serotonergic nerve fiber content in the striatum was evaluated and brains from dyskinetic animals were found to exhibit significantly higher nerve fiber density compared to non-dyskinetic animals. Furthermore, the mechanisms behind the conversion of L-DOPA to dopamine in 6-OHDA dopamine-depleted rats were studied. Local administration of L-DOPA in the striatum increased the KCl-evoked dopamine release in the intact striatum. Acute application of L-DOPA resulted sometimes in a rapid conversion to dopamine, probably without vesicle packaging. This type of direct conversion is presumably occurring in non-neuronal tissue. Furthermore, KCl-evoked dopamine releases were present upon local application of L-DOPA in the dopamine-depleted striatum, suggesting that the conversion to dopamine took place elsewhere, than in dopaminergic nerve fibers. In conclusion, these studies state the importance of astrocytes for neuronal nerve fiber formation and elucidate the complexity of L-DOPA conversion in the brain.
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| 5. |
- Aguado, T, et al.
(författare)
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The endocannabinoid system promotes astroglial differentiation by acting on neural progenitor cells
- 2006
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Ingår i: The Journal of Neuroscience. - 1529-2401. ; 26:5, s. 1551-1561
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Endocannabinoids exert an important neuromodulatory role via presynaptic cannabinoid CB1 receptors and may also participate in the control of neural cell death and survival. The function of the endocannabinoid system has been extensively studied in differentiated neurons, but its potential role in neural progenitor cells remains to be elucidated. Here we show that the CB1 receptor and the endocannabinoid-inactivating enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase are expressed, both in vitro and in vivo, in postnatal radial glia (RC2(+) cells) and in adult nestin type I (nestin (+)GFAP(+)) neural progenitor cells. Cell culture experiments show that CB1 receptor activation increases progenitor proliferation and differentiation into astroglial cells in vitro. In vivo analysis evidences that, in postnatal CB1-/- mouse brain, progenitor proliferation and astrogliogenesis are impaired. Likewise, in adult CB1-deficient mice, neural progenitor proliferation is decreased but is increased in fatty acid amide hydrolase-deficient mice. In addition, endocannabinoid signaling controls neural progenitor differentiation in the adult brain by promoting astroglial differentiation of newly born cells. These results show a novel physiological role of endocannabinoids, which constitute a new family of signaling cues involved in the regulation of neural progenitor cell function.
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| 6. |
- Ahlenius, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Neural stem and progenitor cells retain their potential for proliferation and differentiation into functional neurons despite lower number in aged brain.
- 2009
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Ingår i: The Journal of Neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. - 1529-2401. ; 29:14, s. 4408-4419
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ), which gives rise to new neurons in the olfactory bulb, continues throughout life but declines with increasing age. Little is known about how aging affects the intrinsic properties of the neural stem and progenitor cells (NSCs) in SVZ and the functional characteristics of their neuronal progeny. Here, we have compared the properties of NSCs isolated from embryonic lateral ganglionic eminence and adult and aged SVZ in mice using in vivo and in vitro systems, analyzed their gene expression profile, and studied their electrophysiological characteristics before and after differentiation into neurons. We show a loss of NSCs in SVZ from aged mice accompanied by reduced expression of genes for NSC markers, developmentally important transcription factors, and neurogenic factors. However, when isolated in vitro, the NSCs from SVZ of aged animals have capacity for proliferation and multilineage differentiation, including production of functional neurons, similar to that of NSCs in adult mice, albeit with lower efficacy. These properties are of major importance when considering therapeutic applications of neuronal replacement from endogenous NSCs in the injured, aged brain.
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| 7. |
- Ahmad, Abdulbaghi, et al.
(författare)
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Tiden läkar inte alla sår
- 2006. - 2
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Ingår i: Stress, molekyl, individ, organisation och samhälle. - : Liber. ; , s. 128-138
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 8. |
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| 10. |
- Ahs, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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High-frequency heart rate variability and cortico-striatal activity in men and women with social phobia
- 2009
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Ingår i: NeuroImage. - : Elsevier BV. - 1053-8119 .- 1095-9572. ; 47:3, s. 815-820
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identifying brain systems that regulate or modulate autonomic nervous system functions may identify pathways through which psychosocial factors can influence health and disease. Reduced high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) characterizes anxiety disordered patients and is predictive of adverse myocardial events. Sex differences in the prevalence of anxiety disorders and cardiac diseases implicate the possibility of sex specific neural regulation of HF-HRV. We investigated the correlation between HF-HRV and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 28 subjects (15 women) with social phobia undergoing a stressful public speaking task. Regional CBF was measured with [(15)O] water positron emission tomography. Stress induced rCBF correlated positively with HF-HRV in the right supra genual anterior cingulate cortex Brodmann's area (BA) 32, the right head of the caudate nucleus and bilaterally in the medial prefrontal cortex (BA10), extending into the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA46) in the left hemisphere. Men showed larger positive co-variation in the caudate than women. These findings underscore the importance of the emotional division of the anterior cingulate cortex, the prefrontal cortex and the striatum in cardiovagal activity. The study replicates and extends results from published functional neuroimaging studies on cardioregulatory or modulatory areas in healthy subjects to men and women with social phobia. Moreover, caudate functions, possibly related to dopaminergic neurotransmission, have sexually dimorphic effects on vagal modulation of the heart.
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