In the present study, we transplanted adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the hippo-campi of APP/PS1 transgenic Alzheimer’s disease model mice. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that the number of newly generated (BrdU+) cells in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus was signiifcantly higher in Alzheimer’s disease mice after adipose-de-rived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation, and there was also a significant increase in the number of BrdU+/DCX+neuroblasts in these animals. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation enhanced neurogenic activity in the subventricular zone as well. Furthermore, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation reduced oxidative stress and alleviated cognitive impairment in the mice. Based on these ifndings, we propose that adipose-derived mes-enchymal stem cell transplantation enhances endogenous neurogenesis in both the subgranular and subventricular zones in APP/PS1 transgenic Alzheimer’s disease mice, thereby facilitating functional recovery.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
The Nogo receptor is an essential factor for neuronal apoptosis, but the changes in Nogo receptor expression in the retina and the effects of the Nogo receptor on retinal ganglion cell apoptosis in diabetes mellitus remain unclear. We found that Nogo receptor expression was mainly visible in retinal ganglion cells of a rat model of diabetes mellitus induced by streptozotocin. At 12 weeks after onset of diabetes mellitus, Nogo receptor and Rho kinase expression signiifcantly increased in the retina, and retinal ganglion cell apoptosis was apparent. When RNA interference was used to suppress Nogo receptor expression in rat retina, Rho kinase expression was obviously inhibit-ed, and retinal ganglion cell apoptosis was evidently reduced in rats with diabetes mellitus. These results indicate that upregulation of Nogo receptor expression is an important mechanism of retinal ganglion cell apoptosis in rats with diabetes mellitus.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Although the local application of mitomycin C may prevent epidural adhesion after laminectomy, mitomycin C can induce neurotoxicity in optic and acoustic nerves at high concentrations. To determine the safe concentration range for mitomycin C, cotton pads soaked with mitomycin C at different concentrations (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 mg/mL) were immediately applied for 5 minutes to the operation area of rats that had undergone laminectomy at L1. Rat sciatic nerves, instead of dorsal nerves, were used in this study. The results showed that mitomycin C at 0.1-0.5 mg/mL did not damage the structure and function of the sciatic nerve, while at 0.7 mg/mL, mitomycin C signiifcantly reduced the thickness of the sciatic nerve myelin sheath compared with lower concen-trations, though no functional change was found. These experimental ifndings indicate that the local application of mitomycin C at low concentrations is safe to prevent scar adhesion following laminectomy, but that mitomycin C at high concentrations (>0.7 mg/mL) has potential safety risks to peripheral nerve structures.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
We hypothesized that RNA interference to silence Nogo-66 receptor gene expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells before transplantation might further improve neurological function in rats with spinal cord transection injury. After 2 weeks, the number of neurons and BrdU-positive cells in the Nogo-66 receptor gene silencing group was higher than in the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell group, and significantly greater compared with the model group. After 4 weeks, behavioral performance was signiifcantly enhanced in the model group. Af-ter 8 weeks, the number of horseradish peroxidase-labeled nerve ifbers was higher in the Nogo-66 receptor gene silencing group than in the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell group, and signiifcantly higher than in the model group. The newly formed nerve ifbers and myelinated ner ve ifbers were detectable in the central transverse plane section in the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell group and in the Nogo-66 receptor gene silencing group.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Previous studies have demonstrated that nerve cells differentiated from adipose-derived stro-mal cells after chemical induction have reduced viability;however, the underlying mechanisms remained unclear. In this study, we induced the differentiation of adult adipose-derived stromal cells into astrocytes using chemical induction. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetra-zolium bromide assay and flow cytometry showed that, with increasing induction time, the apoptotic rate gradually increased, and the number of living cells gradually decreased. Im-munohistochemical staining demonstrated that the number of glial fibrillary acidic protein-, caspase-3- and caspase-9-positive cells gradually increased with increasing induction time. Transmission electron microscopy revealed typical signs of apoptosis after differentiation. Taken together, our results indicate that caspase-dependent apoptosis is an obstacle to the differentia-tion of adipose-derived stromal cells into astrocytes. Inhibiting apoptosis may be an important strategy for increasing the efifciency of induction.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Hair follicle-derived neural crest stem cells can be induced to differentiate into Schwann cells in vivo and in vitro. However, the underlying regulatory mechanism during cell differentiation remains poorly understood. This study isolated neural crest stem cells from human hair folli-cles and induced them to differentiate into Schwann cells. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that microRNA (miR)-21 expression was gradually increased during the differentiation of neural crest stem cells into Schwann cells. After transfection with the miR-21 agonist (agomir-21), the differentiation capacity of neural crest stem cells was enhanced. By contrast, after transfection with the miR-21 antagonist (antagomir-21), the differentiation capacity was attenuated. Further study results showed that SOX-2 was an effective target of miR-21. Without compromising SOX2 mRNA expression, miR-21 can down-regulate SOX protein expression by binding to the 3′-UTR of miR-21 mRNA. Knocking out the SOX2 gene from the neural crest stem cells significantly reversed the antagomir-21 inhibition of neural crest stem cells differentiating into Schwann cells. The results suggest that miR-21 expression was increased during the differentiation of neural crest stem cells into Schwann cells and miR-21 promoted the differentiation through down-regu-lating SOX protein expression by binding to the 3′-UTR of SOX2 mRNA.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
The thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine and thyroxine, play important roles in cognitive func-tion during the mammalian lifespan. However, thyroid hormones have not yet been used as a therapeutic agent for normal age-related cognitive deficits. In this study, CD-1 mice (aged 24 months) were intraperitoneally injected with levothyroxine (L-T4;1.6μg/kg per day) for 3 consecutive months. Our findings revealed a significant improvement in hippocampal cyto-skeletal rearrangement of actin and an increase in serum hormone levels of L-T4-treated aged mice. Furthermore, the survival rate of these mice was dramatically increased from 60%to 93.3%. The Morris water maze task indicated that L-T4 restored impaired spatial memory in aged mice. Furthermore, level of choline acetyltransferase, acetylcholine, and superoxide dismutase were in-creased in these mice, thus suggesting that a possible mechanism by which L-T4 reversed cognitive impairment was caused by increased activity of these markers. Overall, supplement of low-dosage L-T4 may be a potential therapeutic strategy for normal age-related cognitive deifcits.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Substance P is an endogenous neurokinin that is present in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The neuropeptide substance P and its high-afifnity receptor neurokinin 1 receptor are known to play an important role in the central nervous system in inlfammation, blood pressure, motor behavior and anxiety. The effects of substance P in the hippocampus and the marginal di-vision of the striatum on memory remain poorly understood. Compared with the hippocampus as a control, immunolfuorescence showed high expression of the substance P receptor, neuro-kinin 1, in the marginal division of the striatum of normal rats. Unilateral or bilateral injection of an antisense oligonucleotide against neurokinin 1 receptor mRNA in the rat hippocampus or marginal division of the striatum effectively reduced neurokinin 1 receptor expression. Indepen-dent of injection site, rats that received this antisense oligonucleotide showed obviously increased footshock times in a Y-maze test. These results indicate that the marginal division of the striatum plays a similar function in learning and memory to the hippocampus, which is a valuable addi-tion to our mechanistic understanding of the learning and memory functions of the marginal division of the striatum.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Several studies have demonstrated that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants can promote neuronal cell proliferation and enhance neuroplasticity both in vitro and in vivo. It is hypothesized that citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, can promote the neuronal differentiation of adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Citalopram strongly enhanced neuronal characteristics of the cells derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. The rate of cell death was decreased in citalopram-treated bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells than in control cells in neurobasal medium. In addition, the cumulative population doubling level of the citalopram-treated cells was signiifcantly increased compared to that of control cells. Also BrdU incorporation was elevated in citalopram-treated cells. These ifndings suggest that citalopram can improve the neuronal-like cell differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by increasing cell proliferation and survival while maintaining their neuronal characteristics.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Spinal cord injury is a major cause of disability with devastating neurological outcomes and lim-ited therapeutic opportunities, even though there are thousands of publications on spinal cord injury annually. There are two major types of spinal cord injury, transaction of the spinal cord and spinal cord contusion. Both can theoretically be treated, but there is no well documented treatment in human being. As for spinal cord contusion, we have developed an operation with fabulous result.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Three-month-old Alzheimer’s disease model transgenic mice were immunized with Aβ1-42, Plp-Adenovirus [Ad]-X-CMV-(Aβ3-10)10-CpG [AdCpG-(Aβ3-10)10] or AdCpG virus lfuid via na-sal mucosal inhalation, respectively. ELISA analysis of serum showed Aβ42 antibody titers were signiifcantly increased in mice immunized with Aβ1-42 and AdCpG-(Aβ3-10)10. Concanavalin A and AdCpG-(Aβ3-10)10 stimulation signiifcantly increased the number of proliferating spleen cells cultured from AdCpG(Aβ3-10)10 and Aβ42 groups compared with the control group. In the AdCp-G(Aβ3-10)10 group, levels of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 were increased, while those of IL-2 and interferon-γwere decreased. In the Aβ42 group, levels of IL-4, IL-10, IL-2 and interferon-γwere all increased. Experimental ifndings indicate that AdCpG-(Aβ3-10)10 vaccine can produce strong T helper 2 (hT2) humoral immune responses in addition to the production of Aβ42 antibody. hTe cellular immunologic response was weak and avoided Aβ1-42-mediated cytotoxicity.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Activation of cannabinoid receptor type 1 on presynaptic neurons is postulated to suppress neu-rotransmission by decreasing Ca2+influx through high voltage-gated Ca2+channels. However, recent studies suggest that cannabinoids which activate cannabinoid receptor type 1 can increase neurotransmitter release by enhancing Ca2+influx in vitro. The aim of the present study was to investigate the modulation of intracellular Ca2+concentration by the cannabinoid receptor type 1 agonist anandamide, and its underlying mechanisms. Using whole cell voltage-clamp and calcium imaging in cultured trigeminal ganglion neurons, we found that anandamide directly caused Ca2+inlfux in a dose-dependent manner, which then triggered an increase of intracellular Ca2+concentration. The cyclic adenosine and guanosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase systems, but not the protein kinase C system, were involved in the increased intracellular Ca2+concentration by anandamide. This result showed that anandamide increased intracellu-lar Ca2+concentration and inhibited high voltage-gated Ca2+channels through different signal transduction pathways.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
Two key characteristics of all virtual reality applications are interaction and immersion. Systemic interaction is achieved through a variety of multisensory channels (hearing, sight, touch, and smell), permitting the user to interact with the virtual world in real time. Immersion is the degree to which a person can feel wrapped in the virtual world through a deifned interface. Virtual real-ity interface devices such as the Nintendo? Wii and its peripheral nunchuks-balance board, head mounted displays and joystick allow interaction and immersion in unreal environments created from computer software. Virtual environments are highly interactive, generating great activation of visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems during the execution of a video game. In addi-tion, they are entertaining and safe for the user. Recently, incorporating therapeutic purposes in virtual reality interface devices has allowed them to be used for the rehabilitation of neurological patients, e.g., balance training in older adults and dynamic stability in healthy participants. The improvements observed in neurological diseases (chronic stroke and cerebral palsy) have been shown by changes in the reorganization of neural networks in patients’ brain, along with better hand function and other skills, contributing to their quality of life. The data generated by such studies could substantially contribute to physical rehabilitation strategies.
作者： 刊期： 2014年第08期
