Male Syrian hamsters demonstrate a conditioned place preference for sexual behavior and female chemosensory stimuli

Sexual behavior is a natural reward for many rodent species, and it often includes chemosensory-directed components. Chemosensory stimuli themselves may also be rewarding. Conditioned place preference (CPP) is one paradigm frequently used to test the rewarding properties of a range of stimuli. Males and females of several rodent species show a CPP for sexual behavior; however, it is currently unknown whether sexual behavior can induce a CPP in male Syrian hamsters. As male Syrian hamsters are an animal model commonly used for investigation of the neurobiology of sexual behavior, understanding the rewarding components of sexual stimuli will better direct future research on brain regions and neurotransmitters involved in these behaviors. Experiment 1 tested the prediction that male hamsters show a CPP for sexual behavior. Female chemosensory stimuli are essential for the display of sexual behavior in male hamsters; however, the rewarding properties of female chemosensory stimuli contained in vaginal secretions (VS) are uncertain. Therefore, experiment 2 tested the prediction that male hamsters show a CPP for VS. This study is the first demonstration that both sexual behavior and VS induce a CPP in male hamsters. Thus, female chemosensory stimuli are a natural reward in a species that is dependent on these stimuli for reproductive fitness.     

脑微血管内皮细胞条件培养液对星形胶质细胞的影响及通络中药的干预特征

目的:揭示脑微血管内皮细胞生理、病理及通络中药处理后不同状态的培养液对正常星形胶质细胞影响的特征,从细胞间相互作用角度探讨脑微血管内皮细胞与星形胶质细胞的生物学关系,为阐释脑微环境稳定的血脑屏障维护机制以及通络中药通过内皮细胞调节脑内微环境理论假说提供新的证据。方法:制备正常、拟缺血和拟缺血合并通络救脑注射液处理的大鼠脑微血管内皮细胞条件培养液,观察其对星形胶质细胞活性和凋亡率的影响。结果:与正常星形胶质细胞相比,正常内皮细胞条件培养液能够降低正常星形胶质细胞的活性,并促进星形胶质细胞的凋亡;而拟缺血处理的内皮细胞条件培养液能够提高正常星形胶质细胞的活性和凋亡率;拟缺血合并通络药物处理的内皮细胞条件培养液对正常星形胶质细胞的活性有提高作用,并显著降低其凋亡率。结论:三种不同处理方式的内皮细胞条件培养液对正常星形胶质细胞活性和凋亡产生不同的影响,提示不同状态的微血管内皮细胞对脑内微环境产生影响,通络救脑注射液可能通过调节微血管内皮细胞的分泌而对星形胶质细胞发挥作用。     

Blocking of conditioned taste avoidance induced by wheel running

In Experiment 1, compared to non-reinforced presentation of a food stimulus (A → no US), the association of a food stimulus with wheel running (A → US) blocked subsequent avoidance of a distinctive flavor (X), when both the food and flavor were followed by wheel running (AX → US). Experiment 2 replicated and extended the blocking effect, demonstrating that the amount of avoidance of X after AX → wheel training depended on the correlation between A-alone trials and wheel running—the predictiveness of the A stimulus. The present study is the first to demonstrate associative blocking of conditioned taste avoidance (CTA) induced by wheel running and strongly implicates associative learning as the basis for this kind of avoidance.     

Proteomic techniques for characterisation of mesenchymal stem cell secretome

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with a substantial potential in human regenerative medicine due to their ability to migrate to sites of injury, capability to suppress immune response and accessibility in large amount from patient's own bone marrow or fat tissue. It has been increasingly observed that the transplanted MSCs did not necessarily engraft and differentiate at the site of injury but might exert their therapeutic effects through secreted trophic signals. The MSCs secrete a variety of autocrine/paracrine factors, called secretome, that support regenerative processes in the damaged tissue, induce angiogenesis, protect cells from apoptotic cell death and modulate immune system. The cell culture medium conditioned by MSCs or osteogenic, chondrogenic as well as adipogenic precursors derived from MSCs has become a subject of intensive proteomic profiling in the search for and identification of released factors and microvesicles that might be applicable in regenerative medicine. Jointly with the methods for MSC isolation, expansion and differentiation, proteomic analysis of MSC secretome was enabled recently mainly due to the extensive development in protein separation techniques, mass spectrometry, immunological methods and bioinformatics. This review describes proteomic techniques currently applied or prospectively applicable in MSC secretomics, with a particular focus on preparation of the secretome sample, protein/peptide separation, mass spectrometry and protein quantification techniques, analysis of posttranslational modifications, immunological techniques, isolation and characterisation of secreted vesicles and exosomes, analysis of cytokine-encoding mRNAs and bioinformatics.     

Discovery of benzo[d]imidazo[5,1-b]thiazole as a new class of phosphodiesterase 10A inhibitors

The design, synthesis and structure activity relationship studies of a series of compounds from benzo[d]imidazo[5,1-b]thiazole scaffold as phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) inhibitors are discussed. Several potent analogs with heteroaromatic substitutions (9a–d) were identified. The anticipated binding mode of these analogs was confirmed by performing the in silico docking experiments. Later, the heteroaromatics were substituted with saturated heteroalkyl groups which provided a tool compound 9e with excellent PDE10A activity, PDE selectivity, CNS penetrability and with favorable pharmacokinetic profile in rats. Furthermore, the compound 9e was shown to be efficacious in the MK-801 induced psychosis model and in the CAR model of psychosis.     

Dissociation of conditioned taste avoidance from conditioned disgust reactions induced by wheel running in rats

It is well established that wheel running in rats produces conditioned taste avoidance; that is, rats that run in wheels after consuming a novel-tasting solution later consume less of that solution than rats that do not run. In experiment 1, we found that wheel running also produces conditioned disgust reactions, indicated by gapes elicited by both the taste and context that were experienced before running. Experiment 2 showed that the conditioned disgust reactions were likely not due to running itself but to a by-product of running, the rocking of the wheel that occurs when the running stops. When rocking was reduced, the disgust reactions were also reduced, but consumption of the taste solution was not changed, showing dissociation of conditioned taste avoidance and disgust. These findings indicate that the taste avoidance induced by wheel running itself is more like the taste avoidance produced by rewarding drugs than that produced by nausea-inducing drugs.     

Ischemic cardiac tissue conditioned media induced differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into early stage cardiomyocytes

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent, can be easily expanded in culture and hence are an attractive therapeutic tool for cardiac repair. MSCs have tremendous potential to transdifferentiate to cardiac lineage both in vitro and in vivo. The present study examined the differentiation capacity of conditioned media derived from ischemic cardiac tissue on human MSCs. Human Bone marrow-derived MSCs after due characterization by immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry for MSC specific markers were induced by culture media derived from ischemic (n = 13) and non-ischemic (n = 18) human cardiac tissue. Parallel cultures were treated with 5-azacytidine (5-azaC), a potent cardiomyogen. MSCs induced with ischemic conditioned media formed myotube like structures, expressed sarcomeric Troponin I, alpha myosin heavy chain proteins and were positive for cardiac specific markers (Nkx2.5, human atrial natriuretic peptide, myosin light chain-2a, GATA-4) as was observed in 5-azaC treated cells. However, uninduced MSCs as well as those induced with non-ischemic cardiac conditioned media still maintained the fibroblast morphology even after 3 weeks post-induction. Transmission electron microscopic studies of cardiomyocyte-like cells derived from MSCs revealed presence of sarcomeric bands but failed to show gap junctions and intercalated discs as of adult cardiomyocytes. These findings demonstrate that ischemic cardiac conditioned media induces morphological and molecular changes in MSCs with cardiac features, but at a primitive stage. Proteomics analysis of the ischemic conditioned media revealed differential expression of three relevant proteins (C-type lectin superfamily member 13, Testis-specific chromodomain protein Y2 and ADP/ATP translocase 1), whose exact role in cardiac regeneration needs further analysis.     

Long-term stimulation of trout head kidney cells with the cytokines MCSF, IL-2 and IL-6: gene expression dynamics

The production of salmonid leukocyte cell lines from primary cell cultures has been attempted on several occasions, however, to date only monocyte/macrophage like cell lines exist (e.g. RTS-11 and SHK-1 cells). With the increasing number of cytokines discovered in fish in recent years, many of which are growth factors for leukocytes, we now have the possibility of using these molecules to promote leukocyte development and differentiation in culture.We have generated stable cell lines transfected with a variety of plasmids expressing cytokines (Interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6 and Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (MCSF)), in order to produce conditioned media rich in these cytokines. The cytokine-conditioned media were used to assess their activity and ability to support the growth of primary head kidney (HK) leukocyte cultures. Here, we describe a series of experiments aimed to determine which cell population(s) of primary HK cultures is supported and will grow in conditioned media containing MCSF, IL-2 or IL-6. For a period of 5 weeks, cells were incubated at 22 °C and media were changed every 3-4 days. Samples were taken at different time points, from freshly isolated HK cells (T0), one week post-stimulation (1-WPS), 3-WPS and 5-WPS for RNA extraction. A variety of cell lineage markers (MCSF Receptor 2 (MCSFR2) for macrophages, CD4 and CD8a for T cells and IgM heavy chain for B cells) were then analysed by real-time qPCR to study the cell population dynamics as influenced by the different recombinant cytokines in the cultures. We show here that whilst MCSF appears to drive macrophage differentiation and maintenance, IL-2 and IL-6 seem to preferentially drive lymphocyte differentiation.     

恒河猕猴吗啡成瘾模型的初步建立

吗啡成瘾的非人灵长类动物恒河猕猴(Macaca mulatta)模型的实验结果表明,猕猴可建立吗啡条件化位置偏好(conditioned place preference,CPP),且其与吗啡线索相关的记忆可持续(36.3±1.3)月。该研究可以为药物成瘾研究提供有效的非人灵长类动物行为模型。     

慢性吗啡依赖树鼩模型的建立

吗啡是一种有效的镇痛药,但易使动物产生耐受性和成瘾性。在该实验中,中缅树鼩(Tupai a belangeri chinensis)连续7d,每天接受三次肌肉注射递增剂量(5、10、15、20mg/kg体重)吗啡后对吗啡产生耐受和依赖;吗啡注射完成后,腹腔注射纳洛酮(1.25mg/kg体重)催瘾,可诱导其条件性位置厌恶(conditioned place aversion,CPA)及相应吗啡戒断症状的出现。该结果提示树鼩慢性吗啡依赖模型的建立可用于研究吗啡依赖和耐受的生物学机制,以及减轻戒断症状药物的筛选。