OBJECTIVE: To study the nerve growth factor (NGF) expression and the influence of IL-1 alpha or IL-1 beta on NGF secretion in newborn rat astrocytes. METHODS: Astrocytes obtained from the brain cortex of newborn rats were cultured and purified, and they were divided into three groups, experimental, control and blank groups. IL-1 alpha or IL-1 beta were added into the experimental group with 25, 50 and 100 U/ml, each group was cultured for 24, 48 or 72 hours, and then the NGF contents in cultured astrocytes suspension media were measured by a two-cite enzymelinked immunoserbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Astrocytes could secret NGF by themselves and each concentration of IL-1 alpha or IL-1 beta media at any testing time could enhance NGF secreting in newborn rat astrocytes in certain degrees. The effects of IL-1 beta were ber than IL-1 alpha, the best effect in the unit time was observed in IL-1 beta with 50 U/ml for 24 hours. CONCLUSION: Astrocytes can express NGF, and IL-1 alpha or IL-1 beta can enhance the NGF expression in newborn rat astrocytes.
Neuropathic pain has been redefined by NeuPSIG as “pain arising as a direct consequence of a lesion or disease affecting the somatosensory syste”. However, pharmacological management for neuropathic pain is not effective, which is correlated with the uncertainty of pathogenesis. For a long time, neuron had been considered acting a major role in the development of neuropathic pain. In recent years, a majority of studies revealed that glia cell also involved in the occurrence and development of neuropathic pain, and neuron-glia interaction is one of the key mechanism of neuropathic pain, including complex signaling pathways as purinergic signaling. This review focuses on recent advances on the role of purinergic receptors in neuropathic pain.
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is one of the most common complications after surgery under general anesthesia and usually manifests as newly presented cognitive impairment. However, the mechanism of POCD is still unclear. In addition to neurons, glial cells including microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, represent a large cell population in the nervous system. The bi-directional communication between neurons and glia provides basis for neural circuit function. Recent studies suggest that glial dysfunctions may contribute to the occurrence and progress of POCD. In this paper, we review the relevant work on POCD, which may provide new insights into the mechanism and therapeutic strategy for POCD.
Objective Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the key factor to determine cell growth and l ifespan. Meanwhile, it is tightly related to resistance of cell to stress and apoptosis. However, up till now l ittle is known about the role TERT plays in nervous system. To investigate the effect of conditioned medium from astrocytes (AS) transfected with TERT on neurons subjected to hypoxia-ischemia-reperfusion (HI-RP) through construction of in vitro HI-RP model of neurons. Methods An eukaryote expression plasmids containing rat full length TERT gene was constructed as pcDNA3-TERT. Twenty newborn rats at age of 3 days were sacrificed and their cerebral cortex were collected for isolation and cultivationof AS. Then AS were transfected with pcDNA3-TERT through l iposomes mediation, and positive clones were selected by G418 and expanded for continuous culture to establ ish the plamid pcDNA3-TERT transfection group. Meanwhile, the empty plasmid pcDNA3 transfection group and the non-transfection group were establ ished as control. The expression of gl ial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), which was the specific marker of the AS, was detected by immunocytochemistry, as well as the expression of TERT. Astrocyte conditioned medium (ACM) of the plamid pcDNA3-TERT transfection group was collected as TERT-ACM, while the ACM of the empty plasmid pcDNA3 transfection group and the non-transfection group were collected respectively as p-ACM and ACM. Next, 60 rats at age of 1 day were sacrificed and their cerebral cortex were collected for isolation and cultivation of neurons. The neurons were randomly divided into experimental group and normal group, the experimental group were further divided into 4 groups including control group, ACM group, p-ACM group, and TERT-ACM group. The neurons of control group were subjected to HI damage in serum-free DMEM, and the neurons of ACM group, p-ACM group, and TERTACM group were subjected to HI damage in different medium which contained ACM, p-ACM, and TERT-ACM, respectively. After duration of HI for 3 hours under the environment with 5%CO2, 1%O2, and 94%N2; the neurons of experimental groups were placed in CO2 incubator to imitate RP for 3, 6, 18, 24, and 36 hours in vitro. The neurons of normal group were not subjected to HI and RP treatment. During the treatment of HI-RP, the survival ratio of neurons was detected by means of MTT, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity of neuron medium with LDH detection kit, and the neuronal apoptosis by means of TUNEL. Results The percentages of GFAP positive cells were 98%, 99%, and 98% in non-transfection group, plasmid pcDNA3-TERT transfection group, and plasmid pcDNA3 transfection group, respectively. There was no expression of TERT in no-transfection group and plasmid pcDNA3 transfection group, and the percentage of TERT positive cells in plasmid pcDNA3- TERT transfection group was 98%. Compared with normal group, the survival ratio of ......（余见正文）
目的:观察体外培养星形胶质细胞损伤后S100β的表达变化,进一步了解脑损伤修复的分子机制,以期为法医病理学鉴定提供更多的依据。方法:取出生后24h内SD大鼠大脑皮质进行星形胶质细胞体外分离培养和纯化。随机分为对照组和损伤后30min、1h、3h、6h、12h、24h、3d、7d组,应用ABC法检测不同时间段S100β表达的差异。结果:体外培养星形胶质细胞的纯度达95％以上。对照组可见少量S100β蛋白表达;损伤后30min,S100β开始增加,3~6h达高峰,随后下降,24h时低于对照组水平,此后略有上升,7d时恢复至对照组水平。结论: 机械性划痕损伤后S100β总体表达呈单峰,而在体动物实验结果表明大鼠大脑损伤后S100β总体表达成双峰趋势,但均具有时序性变化规律,说明损伤后S100β表达可为脑损伤时间的推断依据之一;体外培养细胞损伤模型对组织细胞损伤的分子机制研究具有优越性。
Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) is a genetic neurological disease affecting 0.27–0.54 per 1000 newborns, with a strong genetic association. Currently, the majority of known pathogenic genes in genetic DEE can be classified into six functional categories: ion channels, organelles and cell membranes, growth and development, synaptic function, neurotransmitters and receptors, DNA and RNA regulation, and signal transduction pathways. Emerging evidence suggests that inflammatory regulation may play a critical role in genetic DEE pathogenesis. Specifically, astrocyte and microglial activation contributes to neuroinflammation in genetic DEE, while pro-inflammatory cytokines disrupt neuron-glia interactions, exacerbating epileptic seizures and neuronal damage. Targeting the source mechanism of neuroinflammation in genetic DEE, such as the activation of astrocytes and microglia, and intervening from the source, is expected to be a new target for the treatment of genetic DEE.
ObjectiveTo illustrate the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF) secreted by astrocytes in the process of tacrolimus (FK506) in promoting neurite outgrowth. MethodsThe spinal cord astrocytes and neuronal cells were isolated respectively from 2-day-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and 15-day SD pregnant rats, and cultured in vitro and identified by immunofluorescence staining. The spinal cord astrocytes were cultured with 20 μmol/L FK506 medium in the experimental group, and with FK506 free medium in the control group. The supernatant was collected after 24 hours for preparing conditioned medium, and astrocytes were collected. EGF proteins in the conditioned medium were detected with ELISA, and EGF gene expressions of astrocytes were detected with real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The spinal cord neurons were cultured respectively with conditioned medium from the experimental group (FK506-CM) and the control group (C-CM) in group A and group B, also with neutralized C-CM and neutralized FK506-CM with anti-EGF neutralizing antibodies in group C and group D. Both the total neurite length and the longest neurite length were measured and compared among groups. ResultsBoth astrocytes and neurons were confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. The EGF content of experimental group (0.241±0.044) was significantly higher than that of the control group (0.166±0.014) (t=3.93, P=0.01); EGF gene expression of the experimental group (1.12±0.25) was significantly higher than that of the control group (0.46±0.11) (t=5.78, P=0.00). The neurite length measurement displayed that the total neurite length and the longest neurite length of groups C and D were significantly shorter than those of groups A and B (P<0.05). Both the total and longest neurite length of group A were significantly longer than those of group B (P<0.05), but no significant difference was shown between groups C and D (P>0.05). ConclusionThe EGF secreted by spinal cord astrocytes can promote the neurite outgrowth. So spinal cord astrocytes can be used as an important intermediary target of FK506 to promote the recovery of neurological function.
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of integrin β8 on the neuronal apoptosis after hypoxia ischemia (HI) in astrocyte/neuron co-culture system. MethodsAstrocytes and neurons were cultured in vitro from cerebral cortex of the P1-3 days Sprague Dawley rats and E16 days fetal rats, respectively. Immunocytochemistry staining was used to identify the purity of cells. Integrin β8 mRNA expression was qualified in the astrocytes at 12 hours, 1 day, and 2 days after HI and reoxygenation (experimental group) and in normal astrocytes (control group) by RT-PCR. Integrin β8 small interering RNA (siRNA) system was established to specifically block astrocyte β8 expression, the efficiency of integrin β8 inhibition was detected by real-time fluorescent PCR. The astrocytes and neurons were co-cultured to established the astrocyte/neuron co-culture system. The neuronal apoptosis was detected with TUNEL in the normal neurons/astrocytes group (co-cultured HI group), the astrocytes infected by integrin β8 siRNA for 2 days/normal neurons group (β8 RNA interference group), and normal neurons in vitro with HI treatment group (HI group) at 1 day after HI and reoxygenation. The normal neurons without treatment as control (control group). ResultsGlial fibrillary acidic protein and neuronal nuclei staining suggested a purity of more than 90% in cultured cells. HI resulted in an increase of integrin β8 mRNA expression at 12 hours after reoxygenation in astrocytes, which peaked at 1 day after reoxygenation, then slowly decreased and remained higher at 2 days, showing significant differences between control group and experimental group and among different time points in experimental group (P<0.05). RNA interference efficiency was most significant at 2 days after astrocytes infected with integrin β8 siRNA (P<0.05). The neuronal apoptosis was significantly increased in HI group, co-cultured HI group, and β8 RNA interference group when compared with control group (P<0.05). But neuronal apoptosis index (AI) was significantly decreased in co-cultured HI group and β8 RNA interference group when compared with HI group (P<0.05). The significant difference of AI was found between co-cultured HI group and β8 RNA interference group (P<0.05). ConclusionIntegrin β8 expression can be induced with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, leading to decreased AI of neurons and obvious protective effect.