by
Reginald Tran;
David R Myers;
Jordan Ciciliano;
Elaissa L Trybus Hardy;
Yumiko Sakurai;
Byungwook Ahn;
Yongzhi Qiu;
Robert G Mannino;
Meredith E Fay;
Wilbur Lam
Environmental factors have been shown to contribute to the incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD). Pesticides, which represent one of the primary classes of environmental agents associated with PD, share the common feature of being intentionally released into the environment to control or eliminate pests. Pesticides consist of multiple classes and subclasses of insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, fungicides, fumigants and others and exhibit a vast array of chemically diverse structures. In this review we examine the evidence regarding the ability of each of the major pesticide subclasses to increase the incidence of PD. We propose that, from a toxicological perspective, it would be beneficial to identify specific subclasses, common structural features and the propensity for widespread human exposure when considering the potential role in PD, rather than using the overly broad term of 'pesticides' to describe this diverse group of chemicals. Furthermore, these chemicals and their environmentally relevant combinations should be evaluated for their ability to promote or accelerate PD and not merely for being singular causative agents.
Experimental evidence strongly indicates a significant role for inflammatory and immune mediators in initiation of seizures and epileptogenesis. Here we will summarize data supporting the involvement of IL-1β, TNF-α and toll-like receptor 4 in seizure generation and the process of epileptogenesis. The physiological homeostasis and control over brain immune response depends on the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling and leukocyte migration. To what extent targeting the immune system is successful in preventing epileptogenesis, and which signaling pathway should be beleaguered is still under intensive research.
Background: The mechanism of platelet clearance is not clear. Many antibodies binding the membrane-distal ligand-binding domain of glycoprotein (GP)Ibα induce rapid clearance of platelets and acute thrombocytopenia, which requires the bifurcated antibody structure. It was thought that binding of these antibodies induced lateral dimerization or clustering of GPIbα in the plasma membrane, which leads to downstream signaling and platelet clearance. However, many antibodies targeting GPIbβ and GPIX, which are associated with GPIbα in the GPIb-IX complex, do not induce platelet clearance, which is in contradiction to the clustering model.
Objectives: To test whether dimerization or clustering of GPIbα is sufficient to transmit the signal that leads to platelet clearance.
Methods: We have recently raised several mAbs targeting the mechanosensitive domain (MSD) of GPIbα. Binding of these anti-MSD antibodies was characterized with biochemical methods. Their ability to stimulate platelets and induce platelet clearance in mice was assessed.
Results and conclusion: Infusion of anti-MSD antibodies does not cause thrombocytopenia in mice. These antibodies show no detectable effects on platelet activation and aggregation in vitro. Further biochemical investigation showed that the anti-MSD antibody 3D1 binds two copies of GPIbα on the platelet surface. Therefore, lateral dimerization of GPIbα induced by antibody binding is not sufficient to initiate GPIb-IX signaling and induce platelet clearance. Our results suggest that a factor other than or in addition to clustering of GPIbα is required to induce platelet clearance.
Background: Polymerase δ-interacting protein 2 (Poldip2) is a multifunctional protein that regulates vascular extracellular matrix composition and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a dynamic system assembled by endothelial cells, basal lamina, and perivascular astrocytes, raising the possibility that Poldip2 may be involved in maintaining its structure. We investigated the role of Poldip2 in the late BBB permeability induced by cerebral ischemia. Methods: Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) was induced in Poldip2 +/+ and Poldip2 +/- mice. The volume of the ischemic lesion was measured in triphenyltetrazolium chloride-stained sections. BBB breakdown was evaluated by Evans blue dye extravasation. Poldip2 protein expression was evaluated by western blotting. RT-PCR, zymography, and ELISAs were used to measure mRNA levels, activity, and protein levels of cytokines and MMPs. Cultured astrocytes were transfected with Poldip2 siRNA, and mRNA levels of cytokines were evaluated as well as IΚBα protein degradation. Results: Cerebral ischemia induced the expression of Poldip2. Compared to Poldip2 +/+ mice, Poldip2 +/- animals exhibited decreased Evans blue dye extravasation and improved survival 24 h following stroke. Poldip2 expression was upregulated in astrocytes exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) and siRNA-mediated downregulation of Poldip2 abrogated OGD-induced IL-6 and TNF-α expression. In addition, siRNA against Poldip2 inhibited TNF-α-induced IΚBα degradation. TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, VEGF, and MMP expression induced by cerebral ischemia was abrogated in Poldip2 +/- mice. The protective effect of Poldip2 depletion on the increased permeability of the BBB was partially reversed by systemic administration of TNF-α. Conclusions: Poldip2 is upregulated following ischemic stroke and mediates the breakdown of the BBB by increasing cerebral cytokine production and MMP activation. Therefore, Poldip2 appears to be a promising novel target for the development of therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of cerebral edema in the ischemic brain.
Blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown after stroke is linked to the up-regulation of metalloproteinases (MMPs) and inflammation. This study examines the effects of progesterone (PROG) and its neuroactive metabolite allopregnanolone (ALLO) on BBB integrity following permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). Rats underwent pMCAO by electro-coagulation and received intraperitoneal injections of PROG (8 mg/kg), ALLO (8 mg/kg) or vehicle at 1 h post-occlusion and then subcutaneous injections (8 mg/kg) at 6, 24, and 48 h. MMP activation and expression were analyzed by Western blot, immunohistochemistry and gelatin zymography 72 h post-pMCAO. Occludin1, claudin5, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) were analyzed at 72 h post-pMCAO with Western blots. BBB permeability was measured by Evans blue extravasation and infarct size was evaluated by cresyl violet at 72 h after pMCAO. Ischemic injury significantly (p<0.05) increased the expression of MMP-9, MMP-2, TNF-α and IL-6, and reduced the level of occludin1 and claudin5. These changes were followed by increased infarct size (% contralateral hemisphere) and Evans blue extravasation into the brain indicating compromise of the BBB. PROG and ALLO attenuated BBB disruption and infarct size following pMCAO by reducing MMPs and the inflammatory response and by preventing the degradation of occludin1 and claudin5. We conclude that PROG and ALLO can help to protect BBB disruption following pMCAO.
Platelet numbers are intricately regulated to avoid spontaneous bleeding or arterial occlusion and organ damage. The growth factor thrombopoietin (TPO) drives platelet biogenesis by inducing megakaryocyte production. A recent study in mice identified a feedback mechanism by which clearance of aged, desialylated platelets stimulates TPO synthesis by hepatocytes. This new finding generated renewed interest in platelet clearance mechanisms. Here, different established and emerging mechanisms of platelet senescence and clearance will be reviewed with specific emphasis on the role of posttranslational modifications.
by
Armin Rashidi;
Ryan Shanley;
Sophia L. Yohe;
Bharat Thyagarajan;
Julie Curtsinger;
Claudio Anasetti;
Edmund K Waller;
Jeffrey S. Miller;
Bruce R. Blazar;
Daniel J. Weisdorf
Mounting evidence indicates that inflammatory cytokines contribute to the development of depression in both medically ill and medically healthy individuals. Cytokines are important for development and normal brain function, and have the ability to influence neurocircuitry and neurotransmitter systems to produce behavioral alterations. Acutely, inflammatory cytokine administration or activation of the innate immune system produces adaptive behavioral responses that promote conservation of energy to combat infection or recovery from injury. However, chronic exposure to elevated inflammatory cytokines and persistent alterations in neurotransmitter systems can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders and depression. Mechanisms of cytokine behavioral effects involve activation of inflammatory signaling pathways in the brain that results in changes in monoamine, glutamate, and neuropeptide systems, and decreases in growth factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Furthermore, inflammatory cytokines may serve as mediators of both environmental (e.g. childhood trauma, obesity, stress, and poor sleep) and genetic (functional gene polymorphisms) factors that contribute to depression's development. This review explores the idea that specific gene polymorphisms and neurotransmitter systems can confer protection from or vulnerability to specific symptom dimensions of cytokine-related depression. Additionally, potential therapeutic strategies that target inflammatory cytokine signaling or the consequences of cytokines on neurotransmitter systems in the brain to prevent or reverse cytokine effects on behavior are discussed.
by
Enming Joseph Su;
Chunzhang Cao;
Linda Fredriksson;
Ingrid Nilsson;
Christina Stefanitsch;
Tamara K. Stevenson;
Juanjuan Zhao;
Margret Ragsdale;
Yu-Yo Sun;
Manuel Yepes;
Chia-Yi Kuan;
Ulf Eriksson;
Dudley K. Strickland;
Daniel A. Lawrence;
Li Zhang
Treatment of acute ischemic stroke with the thrombolytic tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can significantly improve neurological outcomes; however, thrombolytic therapy is associated with an increased risk of intra-cerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Previously, we demonstrated that during stroke tPA acting on the parenchymal side of the neurovascular unit (NVU) can increase blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability and ICH through activation of latent platelet-derived growth factor-CC (PDGF-CC) and signaling by the PDGF receptor-α (PDGFRα). However, in vitro, activation of PDGF-CC by tPA is very inefficient and the mechanism of PDGF-CC activation in the NVU is not known. Here, we show that the integrin Mac-1, expressed on brain microglia/macrophages (denoted microglia throughout), acts together with the endocytic receptor LRP1 in the NVU to promote tPA-mediated activation of PDGF-CC. Mac-1-deficient mice (Mac-1 −/− ) are protected from tPA-induced BBB permeability but not from permeability induced by intracerebroventricular injection of active PDGF-CC. Immunofluorescence analysis demonstrates that Mac-1, LRP1, and the PDGFRα all localize to the NVU of arterioles, and following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) Mac-1 −/− mice show significantly less PDGFRα phosphorylation, BBB permeability, and infarct volume compared to wild-type mice. Bone-marrow transplantation studies indicate that resident CD11b + cells, but not bone-marrow-derived leukocytes, mediate the early activation of PDGF-CC by tPA after MCAO. Finally, using a model of thrombotic stroke with late thrombolysis, we show that wild-type mice have an increased incidence of spontaneous ICH following thrombolysis with tPA 5 h after MCAO, whereas Mac-1 −/− mice are resistant to the development of ICH even with late tPA treatment. Together, these results indicate that Mac-1 and LRP1 act as co-factors for the activation of PDGF-CC by tPA in the NVU, and suggest a novel mechanism for tightly regulating PDGFRα signaling in the NVU and controlling BBB permeability.