Laddered DNA indicative of apoptosis was observed in the CA1 layer of hippocampus and in dorsolateral striatum following a global cerebral ischemic insult produced by transient two vessel occlusion ...in rats. The extent of this DNA damage was proportional to the duration of the ischemic episode. Breaks in DNA were demonstrated in situ in sections from post-ischemic brain in neurons of the hippocampal CA1 which undergo selective neuronal death but not in other cell types. It is concluded that there is an apoptotic component to selective neuronal death following global ischemia in rat brain.
: The transcription factor E2F1 is known to mediate apoptosis in isolated quiescent and postmitotic cardiac myocytes, and its absence decreases the size of brain infarction following cerebral ...ischemia. To demonstrate directly that E2F1 modulates neuronal apoptosis, we used cultured cortical neurons to show a temporal association of the transcription and expression of E2F1 in neurons with increased neuronal apoptosis. Cortical neurons lacking E2F1 expression (derived from E2F1 ‐/‐ mice) were resistant to staurosporine‐induced apoptosis as evidenced by the significantly lower caspase 3‐like activity and a lesser number of cells with apoptotic morphology in comparison with cortical cultures derived from wild‐type mice. Furthermore, overexpressing E2F1 alone using replication‐deficient recombinant adenovirus was sufficient to cause neuronal cell death by apoptosis, as evidenced by the appearance of hallmarks of apoptosis, such as the threefold increase in caspase 3‐like activity and increased laddered DNA fragmentation, in situ endlabeled DNA fragmentation, and numbers of neuronal cells with punctate nuclei. Taken together, we conclude that E2F1 plays a key role in modulating neuronal apoptosis.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by accumulation and deposition of Aβ peptides in the brain. Aβ deposition in cerebrovessels occurs in many AD patients and results in cerebral amyloid ...angiopathy (AD/CAA). Since Aβ can be transported across blood–brain barrier (BBB), aberrant Aβ trafficking across BBB may contribute to Aβ accumulation in the brain and CAA development. Expression analyses of 273 BBB-related genes performed in this study showed that the drug transporter, ABCG2, was significantly upregulated in the brains of AD/CAA compared with age-matched controls. Increased ABCG2 expression was confirmed by Q-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Abcg2 was also increased in mouse AD models, Tg-SwDI and 3XTg. Aβ alone or in combination with hypoxia/ischemia failed to stimulate ABCG2 expression in BBB endothelial cells; however, conditioned media from Aβ-activated microglia strongly induced ABCG2 expression. ABCG2 protein in AD/CAA brains interacted and coimmunoprecipitated with Aβ. Overexpression of hABCG2 reduced drug uptake in cells; however, interaction of Aβ
1–40
with ABCG2 impaired ABCG2-mediated drug efflux. The role of Abcg2 in Aβ transport at the BBB was investigated in Abcg2-null and wild-type mice after intravenous injection of Cy5.5-labeled Aβ
1–40
or scrambled Aβ
40–1
. Optical imaging analyses of live animals and their brains showed that Abcg2-null mice accumulated significantly more Aβ in their brains than wild-type mice. The finding was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. These results suggest that ABCG2 may act as a gatekeeper at the BBB to prevent blood Aβ from entering into brain. ABCG2 upregulation may serve as a biomarker of CAA vascular pathology in AD patients.
DNA extracted from regional brain samples of hypoxic/ischemic neonatal rats showed internucleosomal cleavage indicative of apoptosis. Cells containing cleaved DNA were identified by in situ labelling ...in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum and thalamus of the ipsilateral hemisphere. When the effects of increasing the length of the hypoxia were examined, increases were seen in the amount of internucleosomally cleaved DNA and in the number of labelled cells.
There has been a worldwide proliferation of synthetic cannabinoids that have become marketed as legal alternatives to cannabis (marijuana). Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information about the ...pharmacological effects of many of these emerging synthetic cannabinoids (ESCs), which presents a challenge for regulatory authorities that need to take such scientific evidence into consideration in order to regulate ECSs as controlled substances. We aimed to characterize the pharmacological properties of ten ESCs using two cell based assays that enabled the determination of potency and efficacy relative to a panel of well-characterized cannabinoids. Agonist-mediated inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels was monitored in live HEK293T cells transfected with human cannabinoid receptor 1 gene (CNR1) and pGloSensor-22F. Pharmacological analysis of this data indicated that all of the ESCs tested were full agonists, with the following rank order of potency: Win 55212–2≈5F-PB-22≈AB-PINACA≈EAM-2201≈MAM-2201>JWH-250≈ PB-22>AKB48 N-(5FP)>AKB-48≈STS-135>XLR-11. Assessment of agonist-stimulated depression of Ca2+ transients was also used to confirm the efficacy of five ESCs (XLR-11, JWH-250, AB-PINACA, 5F-PB-22, and MAM-2201) in cultured primary hippocampal neurons. This work aims to help inform decisions made by regulatory agencies concerned with the profusion of these poorly characterized recreational drugs.
Synthetic cannabinoids are marketed as legal alternatives to Δ9-THC, and are a growing worldwide concern as these drugs are associated with severe adverse effects. Unfortunately, insufficient ...information regarding the physiological and pharmacological effects of emerging synthetic cannabinoids (ESCs) makes their regulation by government authorities difficult. One strategy used to evade regulation is to distribute isomers of regulated synthetic cannabinoids. This study characterized the pharmacological properties of a panel of ESCs in comparison to Δ9-THC, as well as six JWH-122 isomers relative to its parent compound (JWH-122-4). Two cell-based assays were used to determine the potency and efficacy of ESCs and a panel of reference cannabinoids. HEK293T cells were transfected with human cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and pGloSensor-22F, and the inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels was monitored in live cells. All ESCs examined were classified as agonists, with the following rank order of potency: Win 55,212-2 > CP 55,940 > JWH-122-4 > Δ9-THC ≈ RCS-4 ≈ THJ-2201 > JWH-122-5 > JWH-122-7 > JWH-122-2 ≈ AB-CHMINACA > JWH-122-8 > JWH-122-6 > JWH-122-3. Evaluation of ESC-stimulated Ca2+ transients in cultured rat primary hippocampal neurons confirmed the efficacy of four of the most potent ESCs (JWH-122-4, JWH-122-5, JWH-122-7 and AB-CHMINACA). This work helps regulatory agencies make informed decisions concerning these poorly characterized recreational drugs.
Previous histopathologic results have suggested that one mechanism whereby hyperglycemia (HG) leads to exaggerated ischemic damage involves fragmentation of DNA. DNA fragmentation in normoglycemia ...(NG) and HG rats subjected to 30 minutes of forebrain ischemia was studied by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated DNA nick-labeling (TUNEL) staining, by pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and by ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction (LM-PCR). High molecular weight DNA fragments were detected by PFGE, whereas low molecular weight DNA fragments were detected using LM-PCR techniques. The LM-PCR procedure was performed on DNA from test samples with blunt (without Klenow polymerase) and 3′-recessed ends (with Klenow polymerase). In addition, cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation were studied by immunocytochemistry. Results show that HG causes cytochrome c release, activates caspase-3, and exacerbates DNA fragments induced by ischemia. Thus, in HG rats, but not in control or NGs, TUNEL-stained cells were found in the cingulate cortex, neocortex, thalamus, and dorsolateral crest of the striatum, where neuronal death was observed by conventional histopathology, and where both cytosolic cytochrome c and active caspase-3 were detected by confocal microscopy. In the neocortex, both blunt-ended and stagger-ended fragments were detected in HG, but not in NG rats. Electron microscopy (EM) analysis was performed in the cingulate cortex, where numerous TUNEL-positive neurons were observed. Although DNA fragmentation was detected by TUNEL staining and electrophoresis techniques, EM analysis failed to indicate apoptotic cell death. It is concluded that HG triggers a cell death pathway and exacerbates DNA fragmentation induced by ischemia.
Cerebral ischemia (CI) induces dramatic changes in synaptic structure and function that precedes delayed post‐ischemic neuronal death. Here, a proteomic analysis was used to identify the effects of ...focal CI on synaptosomal protein levels. Contralateral and ipsilateral synaptosomes, prepared from adult mice subjected to 60 min middle cerebral artery occlusion, were isolated following 3, 6 and 20 h of reperfusion. Synaptosomal protein samples (n=3) were labeled using the cleavable ICAT™ system prior to analysis with nanoLC‐MS/MS. Each sample was analyzed by LC‐MS to identify differential expressions using InDEPT software and differentially expressed peptides were identified by targeted LC‐MS/MS. A total of 62 differentially expressed proteins were identified and Gene Ontology classification (cellular component) indicated that the majority of the proteins were located in the mitochondria and other components consistent with synaptic localization. The observed alterations in synaptic protein levels poorly correlated with gene expression, indicating the involvement of post‐transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in determining post‐ischemic synaptic protein content. Additionally, immunohistochemistry analysis of prosaposin (Psap) and saposin C (SapC) indicates that CI disrupts Psap processing and glycosphingolipid metabolism. These results demonstrate that the synapse is adversely affected by CI and may play a role in mediating post‐ischemic neuronal viability.
Confounding any genome-scale analysis of gene expression after cerebral ischemia is massive suppression of protein synthesis. This inefficient translation questions the utility of examining profiles ...of total transcripts. Our approach to such postischemic gene profiling in the mouse by microarray analysis was to concentrate on those mRNAs bound to polyribosomes. In our proof-of-principle study, polysomally bound and unbound mRNAs were subjected to microarray analysis: of the 1,161 transcripts that we found to increase after ischemia, only 36% were bound to polyribosomes. In addition to the expected increases in heat-shock proteins and metallothioneins, increases in several other bound transcripts involved in the promotion of cell survival or antiinflammatory behavior were noted, such as CD63 (Lamp3), Lcn2 (lipocalin-2), Msn (moesin), and UCP2 (uncoupling protein 2), all of which showed increases in cognate protein by Western blotting. The list of heretofore nonfunctionally annotated transcripts (RIKEN clones/ESTs) that increased appeared to be novel. How some transcripts are selected in ischemic brain for translation into protein, while others are rejected, is not clear. The length of the 5′-UTR in the ischemically induced transcripts that occur in the NCBI RefSeq database did not indicate any general tendency to be more than 200 nt, nor to be longer than the 5′-UTRs of the unbound transcripts. Thus, the presence of a complex 5′-UTR region with internal ribosome entry sites (IRES) or polypyrimidine tracts (TOP) does not appear to be the basis of selection for translation in ischemic brain.
Synaptic pathology is observed during hypoxic events in the central nervous system in the form of altered dendrite structure and conductance changes. These alterations are rapidly reversible, on the ...return of normoxia, but are thought to initiate subsequent neuronal cell death. To characterize the effects of hypoxia on regulators of synaptic stability, we examined the temporal expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) in synaptosomes after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in mice. We focused on events preceding the onset of ischemic neuronal cell death (< 48 h). Synaptosome preparations were enriched in synaptically localized proteins and were free of endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear contamination. Electron microscopy showed that the synaptosome preparation was enriched in spheres (≈650 nm in diameter) containing secretory vesicles and postsynaptic densities. Forebrain mRNA levels of synaptically located CAMs was unaffected at 3 h after MCAO. This is contrasted by the observation of consistent downregulation of synaptic CAMs at 20 h after MCAO. Examination of synaptosomal CAM protein content indicated that certain adhesion molecules were decreased as early as 3 h after MCAO. For comparison, synaptosomal Agrn protein levels were unaffected by cerebral ischemia. Furthermore, a marked increase in the levels of p-Ctnnb1 in ischemic synaptosomes was observed. p-Ctnnb1 was detected in hippocampal fiber tracts and in cornu ammonis 1 neuronal nuclei. These results indicate that ischemia induces a dysregulation of a subset of synaptic proteins that are important regulators of synaptic plasticity before the onset of ischemic neuronal cell death.
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