尼莫地平对急性脑缺血大鼠一氧化氮和自由基的影响

本文在大鼠双侧颈总动脉闭塞的不完全性脑缺血模型上,观察了尼莫地平在脑缺血中对一氧化氮（ Ｎ Ｏ） 和自由基的影响。发现尼莫地平显著降低脑缺血大鼠血清中乳酸脱氢酶（ Ｌ Ｄ Ｈ） 活性,丙二醛（ Ｍ Ｄ Ａ）含量,增加 Ｎ Ｏ 含量。结果提示：尼莫地平对脑缺血大鼠的保护作用可能与其抗脂质过氧化及增加 Ｎ Ｏ 有关。     

Alterations in Ionized and Total Blood Magnesium After Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury

Experimental evidence suggests that magnesium plays a role in the pathophysiological sequelae of brain injury. The present study examined the variation of blood ionized and total magnesium, as well as potassium, sodium, and ionized calcium, after experimental fluid percussion brain injury in rats. Blood ionized magnesium concentration significantly declined from 0.45 +/- 0.02 to 0.32 +/- 0.02 mM by 30 min postinjury and stayed depressed for the 24-h study period in vehicle-treated rats. Blood total magnesium concentration was 0.59 +/- 0.01 mM and remained stable over time in brain-injured vehicle-treated animals. When magnesium chloride (125 micromol/rat) was administered 1 h postinjury, ionized magnesium levels were restored by 2 h postinjury and remained at normal values up to 24 h following brain trauma. Magnesium treatment also significantly reduced posttraumatic neuromotor impairments 1 and 2 weeks after the insult, but failed to attenuate spatial learning deficits. A significant positive and linear correlation could be established between ionized magnesium levels measured 24 h postinjury and neuromotor outcome at 1 and 2 weeks. We conclude that acute ionized magnesium measurement may be a predictor of long-term neurobehavioral outcome following head injury and that delayed administration of magnesium chloride can restore blood magnesium concentration and attenuate neurological motor deficits in brain-injured rats.     

Repeated Administration of Dexamethasone Increases Phosphoinositide-Specific Phospholipase C Activity and mRNA and Protein Expression of the Phospholipase C β1 Isozyme in Rat Brain

Altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function has been shown to be associated with changes in mood and behavior. The enzyme phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC), an important component of the PI signal transduction system, plays a major role in mediating various physiological functions. In the present study, we investigated the effects of a single dose and of repeated administration (0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg for 10 days) of dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic glucocorticoid, on PI-PLC activity and on expression of PLC isozymes (beta1, delta1, and gamma1) in rat brain. Repeated administration of DEX (1.0 mg/kg) caused a significant increase in PI-PLC activity and in protein expression of the PLC beta1 isozyme in both membrane and cytosol fractions of cortex and hippocampus; however, the repeated administration of a smaller dose of DEX (0.5 mg/kg) caused these changes only in hippocampus but not in cortex. The increase in PLC beta1 protein was associated with an increase in its mRNA level, as measured by competitive RT-PCR. A single administration of DEX (0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg) to rats had no significant effects on PI-PLC activity or on the protein expression of PLC isozymes. These results suggest that DEX up-regulates PI-PLC in rat brain, which presumably is due to a selective increase in expression of the PLC beta1 isozyme, and that these changes in PI-PLC may be related to HPA axis-mediated changes in mood and behavior.     

Arachidonic Acid-Induced Oxidative Injury to Cultured Spinal Cord Neurons

Spinal cord trauma can cause a marked release of free fatty acids, in particular, arachidonic acid (AA), from cell membranes. Free fatty acids, and AA by itself, may lead to secondary damage to spinal cord neurons. To study this hypothesis, cultured spinal cord neurons were exposed to increasing concentrations of AA (0.01-10 microM). AA-induced injury to spinal cord neurons was assessed by measurements of cellular oxidative stress, intracellular calcium levels, activation of nuclear factor-KB (NF-kappaB), and cell viability. AA treatment increased intracellular calcium concentrations and decreased cell viability. Oxidative stress increased significantly in neurons exposed to 1 and 10 microM AA. In addition, AA treatment activated NF-kappaB and decreased levels of the inhibitory subunit, IKB. It is interesting that manganese superoxide dismutase protein levels and levels of intracellular total glutathione increased in neurons exposed to this fatty acid for 24 h, consistent with a compensatory response to increased oxidative stress. These results strongly support the hypothesis that free fatty acids contribute to the tissue injury observed following spinal cord trauma.     

慢性低O_2高CO_2性肺动脉高压大鼠脑超微结构改变与MDA、SOD变化及培哚普利的治疗作用

目的 :探讨慢性低O2 高CO2 时神经元线粒体及髓鞘的改变与氧自由基的变化关系及培哚普利的治疗作用。方法 :采用慢性低O2 高CO2 肺动脉高压模型 ,应用培哚普利治疗 ,电镜观察大鼠脑超微结构并测定MDA和SOD。结果 :观察到脑血管内皮细胞锯齿状突起 ,管腔狭窄 ,神经元线粒体空泡变及髓鞘分层断裂 ,测得实验大鼠MDA升高 ,SOD降低 ,用药组大鼠脑血管和神经元结构损害明显减轻。结论 :提示慢性低O2 高CO2 时神经元线粒体及髓鞘改变与MDA升高有关 ,培哚普利对慢性低O2 高CO2 时脑损害有保护作用。     

大鼠离体脑片癫痫放电特征及EC—海马环路的作用

目的和方法：采用４００～５００μｍ大鼠水平脑切片强直电刺激海马Ｓｃｈａｅｆｅｒ侧枝（６０Ｈｚ、２ｓ）全细胞、细胞外同步记录ＣＡ１神经元胞体电活动和相应树突区场电位,探讨其在癫痫发生中的作用。结果：①５３片脑片上记录到细胞内、外同步发生的原发性后放,持续２０ｓ以上,放电形式和持续时间常在第６个刺激串后趋于稳定。ＣＡ１神经元的原发性后放常跟在强直电刺激引起的阵发性去极化或超极化偏移之后（ＰＤＳ、ＰＨＳ）。它可以从紧张性放电向爆发性放电转化,振幅逐渐递增并与细胞外癫痫样放电同步,产生癫痫放电极性偏移;②其中８／４０脑片细胞外可记录到继发性后放之后出现的自发性发作样癫痫放电,长达数分钟,与全细胞记录的ＥＰＳＰ同步。切断ＥＣ与海马之间的联系可以易化海马癫痫电活动（３／５）。结论：ＥＣ输入到海马的神经通路可能在封闭的ＥＣ海马环路中起着重要的门控作用     

Seasonal variation of behavior and brain size in a freshwater fish

1. Teleost fishes occupy a range of ecosystem, and habitat types subject to large seasonal fluctuations. Temperate fishes, in particular, survive large seasonal shifts in temperature, light availability, and access to certain habitats. Mobile species such as lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) can behaviorally respond to seasonal variation by shifting their habitat deeper and further offshore in response to warmer surface water temperatures during the summer. During cooler seasons, the use of more structurally complex nearshore zones by lake trout could increase cognitive demands and potentially result in a larger relative brain size during those periods. Yet, there is limited understanding of how such behavioral responses to a seasonally shifting environment might shape, or be shaped by, the nervous system.
2. Here, we quantified variation in relative brain size and the size of five externally visible brain regions in lake trout, across six consecutive seasons in two different lakes. Acoustic telemetry data from one of our study lakes were collected during the study period from a different subset of individuals and used to infer relationships between brain size and seasonal behaviors (habitat use and movement rate).
3. Our results indicated that lake trout relative brain size was larger in the fall and winter compared with the spring and summer in both lakes. Larger brains coincided with increased use of nearshore habitats and increased horizontal movement rates in the fall and winter based on acoustic telemetry. The telencephalon followed the same pattern as whole brain size, while the other brain regions (cerebellum, optic tectum, olfactory bulbs, and hypothalamus) were only smaller in the spring.
4. These findings provide evidence that flexibility in brain size could underpin shifts in behavior, which could potentially subserve functions associated with differential habitat use during cold and warm seasons and allow fish to succeed in seasonally variable environments.

     

Neuropathy in COVID-19 associated with dysbiosis-related inflammation

Although COVID-19 affects mainly lungs with a hyperactive and imbalanced immune response, gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms such as diarrhea and neuropathic pains have been described as well in patients with COVID-19. Studies indicate that gut–lung axis maintains host homeostasis and disease development with the association of immune system, and gut microbiota is involved in the COVID-19 severity in patients with extrapulmonary conditions. Gut microbiota dysbiosis impairs the gut permeability resulting in translocation of gut microbes and their metabolites into the circulatory system and induce systemic inflammation which, in turn, can affect distal organs such as the brain. Moreover, gut microbiota maintains the availability of tryptophan for kynurenine pathway, which is important for both central nervous and gastrointestinal system in regulating inflammation. SARS-CoV-2 infection disturbs the gut microbiota and leads to immune dysfunction with generalized inflammation. It has been known that cytokines and microbial products crossing the blood-brain barrier induce the neuroinflammation, which contributes to the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases including neuropathies. Therefore, we believe that both gut–lung and gut–brain axes are involved in COVID-19 severity and extrapulmonary complications. Furthermore, gut microbial dysbiosis could be the reason of the neurologic complications seen in severe COVID-19 patients with the association of dysbiosis-related neuroinflammation. This review will provide valuable insights into the role of gut microbiota dysbiosis and dysbiosis-related inflammation on the neuropathy in COVID-19 patients and the disease severity.     

Intracellular signaling molecules involved in an inhibitory factor–induced decrease in fetal‐type AChR expression

The innervation‐induced down‐regulation of fetal‐type acetylcholine receptor (AChR) expression in developing muscle fibers has largely been attributed to nerve‐evoked muscle activity; however, there is increasing evidence that a neural trophic factor also contributes to this receptor down‐regulation. Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that neural extracts contain a factor which decreases fetal‐type AChR expression in skeletal muscle cell lines and therefore may account for the proposed inhibitory neurotrophic influence. The current study investigated possible intracellular signaling molecules involved in this receptor down‐regulation and demonstrated that activation of protein kinase C and p70^S6k appeared to be important in receptor down‐regulation. Decreases in AChR density were independent of myogenin. In addition, the receptor down‐regulation was independent of neuregulin, which also induces p70^S6k activity. These studies demonstrate that neural extracts contain an inhibitory factor which can down‐regulate fetal‐type AChR expression independently of nerve‐evoked muscle activity through intracellular signaling molecules which are known to regulate AChR expression. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 42: 190–201, 2000     

Estrogen‐regulated developmental neuronal apoptosis is determined by estrogen receptor subtype and the Fas/Fas ligand system

Adult sexual dimorphism in neuronal cell number is controlled by estrogen exposure during a tightly defined period of rat brain development. The mechanisms of estrogen's effect are unknown; one possibility is regulation of programmed cell death (apoptosis). In this study we have shown that estradiol can function as a neuroprotective agent or an inducer of apoptosis, depending on the estrogen receptor‐subtype present in the cell. Thus, ERα has a neuroprotective effect, while ERβ mediates the induction of apoptosis in neuronal cells. Moreover, we show that estrogen‐induced apoptosis through ER‐β requires the expression of Fas‐ and Fas ligand (FasL) proteins, since the absence of FasL in neurons prevents this effect. Furthermore, we demonstrate that microglia‐secreted products induce the expression of FasL necessary to mediate estradiol–ERβ apoptotic effect. These findings may explain the dichotomous effect of fetal estradiol on the adult neuronal number. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 43: 64–78, 2000