Primary Cultures Of Rat Cortical Neurons Research Articles

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate enhances clearance of phosphorylated tau in primary neurons

Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by intracellular accumulations of phosphorylated forms of the microtubule binding protein tau. This study aimed to explore a novel mechanism for enhancing the clearance of these pathological tau species using the green tea flavonoid epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a potent antioxidant and an activator of the Nrf2 transcriptional pathway. Nrf2 activators including EGCG have shown promise in mitigating amyloid pathology in vitro and in vivo. This study assessed whether EGCG could also alter tau clearance.Methods: Rat primary cortical neuron cultures were treated on day in vitro 8 with EGCG and analyzed for changes in gene and protein expression using luciferase assay, q-PCR, and western blotting.Results: EGCG treatment led to a significant decrease in the protein levels of three AD-relevant phospho-tau epitopes. Unexpectedly, EGCG does not appear to be facilitating this effect through the Nrf2 pathway or by increasing autophagy in general. However, EGCG did significantly increase mRNA expression of the key autophagy adaptor proteins NDP52 and p62.Discussion: In this study, we show that EGCG enhances the clearance of AD-relevant phosphorylated tau species in primary neurons. Interestingly, this result appears to be independent of both Nrf2 activation and enhanced autophagy – two previously reported mechanisms of phytochemical-induced tau clearance. EGCG did significantly increase expression of two autophagy adaptor proteins. Taken together, these results demonstrate that EGCG has the ability to increase the clearance of phosphorylated tau species in a highly specific manner, likely through increasing adaptor protein expression.

Systematic Asymmetric Synthesis of All Diastereomers of (-)-Talaumidin and Their Neurotrophic Activity.

(-)-Talaumidin (1), a 2,5-biaryl-3,4-dimethyltetrahydrofuran lignan isolated from Aristolochia arcuata Masters, shows significant neurite-outgrowth promotion and neuroprotection in primary cultured rat cortical neurons and in NGF-differentiated PC12 cells. The four stereogenic centers on the tetrahydrofuran moiety in 1 result in the presence of seven diastereomers except for their enantiomers. In order to investigate the stereochemistry-activity relationships of the stereoisomers, the systematic synthesis of all stereoisomers of 1 was accomplished by employing Evans aldol, diastereoselective hydroboration, reductive deoxygenation, and Mitsunobu reactions as key steps. The ability of all of the synthesized stereoisomers to promote neurite-outgrowth in PC12 and neuronal cells was evaluated. All stereoisomers exhibited moderate to potent neurotrophic activities in NGF-differentiated PC12 cells at 30 μM and in primary cultured rat cortical neuronal cells at 0.01 μM. In particular, 1e bearing all cis substituents resulted in the most potent neurite-outgrowth promotion.

Up-Regulating MEF2D Alleviates Hypoxia-Induced Injury in Cultured Rat Cortical Neurons

Background: Stroke is a severe disease and the associated molecular mechanisms for its pathogenesis have not been fully understood. Myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) is a family of transcription factors that promote the expression of more than 100 proteins responsible for development and surviving of neurons in central nervous system. Recently, it is reported in animal studies that MEF2D dysfunction plays an important role in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the role of MEF2D in stroke is unknown. The objective of the present study was to provide data for changes and role of MEF2 following hypoxic neuronal injury. Methods: The hypoxic injury was induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in primary cultured rat cortical neurons. The levels and activity of MEF2D mRNA and protein were measured by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot. Additionally, MEF2D overexpression by lentivirus was used to up-regulate the level of MEF2D. The effect of MEF2D up-regulation on neuron hypoxic tolerance was evaluated by assaying of cell viability and extracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release as well as cell apoptosis analysis.Results: Compared with control group, the level of MEF2D protein and the activity of MEF2D were decreased after OGD challenge. Up-regulating the level of MEF2D could increase the cell viability, decrease the LDH release and inhibit the activation of apoptotic protein caspase-3.Conclusion: MEF2D is involved in the pathophysiological process of hypoxic injury in rat primary cortical neurons. Up-regulation of MEF2D could alleviate the hypoxia-induced injury and increase neuronal tolerance against hypoxia. Citation: Li-Kai Shi, Min Cai, Zhi-Xin Wu, Si-Si Sun, Zong-Ping Fang, Ting Gu, et al. Up-regulating MEF2D alleviates hypoxia-induced injury in cultured rat cortical neurons. J Anesth Perioper Med 2015; 2: 175-82. doi: 10.24015/JAPM.2015.0024This is an open-access article, published by Evidence Based Communications (EBC). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format for any lawful purpose. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Diazoxide preconditioning is mediated by mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and S6 Kinase (S6K)

Diazoxide (DZ), a mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel opener, is protective in models of brain ischemia. The cellular signaling pathways activated by DZ preconditioning are not clear. We examined the role of the mTOR pathway in delayed DZ-induced preconditioning of cultured rat primary cortical neurons. Neurons were treated for three days with 500 µM DZ or feeding medium and then exposed to three hours of continuous normoxia in DMEM with glucose or with oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by reoxygenation and feeding medium. OGD decreased viability by 50 percent, depolarized mitochondria and reduced mitochondrial respiration, whereas DZ treatment improved viability and mitochondrial respiration, and suppressed reactive oxygen species production, but did not restore mitochondrial membrane potential after OGD. Diazoxide induced neuroprotection was associated with increased phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt), mTOR, and the major mTOR downstream substrate, S6 Kinase (S6K). Previously, we have reported that wortmannin and rapamycin abolished the protective effects of DZ. We expanded our study using torin-1, a structurally distinct mTOR inhibitor, as well as S6K targeted siRNA. Both approaches abolished the protective effects of DZ. Diazoxide effects on mitochondrial membrane potential or reactive oxygen species production were not affected by rapamycin. We conclude that DZ protects against OGD by activation of the Akt-mTOR-S6K pathway rather than by reduced ROS production and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. This work was supported by NIH grants HL-077731, HL-030260, HL-065380, and HL-093554.

Evidence for the role of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase in experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats

Neuron apoptosis and inflammatory responses contribute to subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-induced early brain injury (EBI), which is the main aspect that affects patients' outcome. Previous research has demonstrated that phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) plays critical roles in cell apoptosis and various inflammatory responses, and that tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609), a well known PC-PLC inhibitor, is a powerful agent to protect brain from cerebral ischemic injury and SAH-induced cerebral vasospasm. However, the association between PC-PLC and SAH-induced EBI is undetermined. Therefore, we sought to investigate whether PC-PLC was implicated in SAH-induced EBI. Compared with sham group, an upregulation of PC-PLC activity was detected in the brain tissue and serum of SAH group. Pharmacological blockade of PC-PLC by D609 attenuated neurological behavior impairment, brain edema and blood–brain barrier (BBB) damage induced by SAH. In addition, D609 treatment significantly inhibited SAH-induced inflammatory response and neuron apoptosis. Furthermore, inhibition of PC-PLC in primary-cultured rat cortical neurons attenuated oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb)-induced apoptosis morphology and decrease in survival rate. In conclusion, our data suggest that PC-PLC participates in SAH-induced EBI.

The role of cytosolic phospholipase A2 α in amyloid precursor protein induction by amyloid beta1-42 : implication for neurodegeneration.

Amyloid-β peptides generated by proteolysis of the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The present study aimed to determine whether cytosolic phospholipase A2 α (cPLA2 α) plays a role in elevated APP protein expression induced by aggregated amyloid-β1-42 (Aβ) in cortical neurons and to elucidate its specific role in signal events leading to APP induction. Elevated cPLA2 α and its activity determined by phosphorylation on serine 505 as well as elevated APP protein expression, were detected in primary rat cortical neuronal cultures exposed to Aβ for 24 h and in cortical neuron of human amyloid-β1-42 brain infused mice. Prevention of cPLA2 α up-regulation and its activity by oligonucleotide antisense against cPLA2 α (AS) prevented the elevation of APP protein in cortical neuronal cultures and in mouse neuronal cortex. To determine the role of cPLA2 α in the signals leading to APP induction, increased cPLA2 α expression and activity induced by Aβ was prevented by means of AS in neuronal cortical cultures. Under these conditions, the elevated cyclooxygenase-2 and the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) were prevented. Addition of PGE2 or cyclic AMP analogue (dbcAMP) to neuronal cultures significantly increased the expression of APP protein, while the presence protein kinase A inhibitor (H-89) attenuated the elevation of APP induced by Aβ. Inhibition of elevated cPLA2 α by AS prevented the activation of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) as detected by its phosphorylated form, its translocation to the nucleus and its DNA binding induced by Aβ which coincided with cPLA2 α dependent activation of CREB in the cortex of Aβ brain infused mice. Our results show that accumulation of Aβ induced elevation of APP protein expression mediated by cPLA2 α, PGE2 release, and CREB activation via protein kinase A pathway.

Abstract W P249: Agonism of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Member 1 Induces a Protective Heat Shock Response in the Brain

Background: There is a lack of widely applicable treatments of stroke. One of the potential new treatment strategies is the induction of heat shock proteins (HSPs), such as Hsp27 and Hsp70, in the brain, which was shown to confer neuroprotection from ischemia. In epithelial cells, HSPs were shown to be induced by agonists of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Member 1 ion channel (TRPV1), also known as the heat and capsaicin receptor. Therefore, our overall hypothesis is that systemic administration of TRPV1 agonist dihydrocapsaicin (DHC) induces HSPs in the brain cortical neurons and thus provides neuroprotection from stroke. In the present study we focus on the initial portion of the hypothesis, that TRPV1 agonism promotes HSP induction in the brain. Methods: We determined relative expression of candidate HSP genes by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction after DHC treatment in cultured rat primary cortical neurons as well as in cortex tissue samples of in vivo DHC-treated wild-type and TRPV1 knock-out mice. Results: First, we established that DHC injection (4 mg/kg i.p.) 4 hours before tissue harvest led to 3- and 5-fold upregulation of mRNA of the Hsp27 and Hsp70 respectively in the cortex of mice (compared to vehicle injection, n=3 mice per group). This effect was specific to TRPV1 channels, as it was absent in TRPV1 knock-out mice. Second, we determined that 3-hour DHC treatment led to upregulation of Hsp70 mRNA in cultured rat primary cortical neurons, which was dependent on the dose of DHC (1-1000 nM). Conclusions: We present the first demonstration that systemic delivery of TRPV1 agonists promotes an upregulation of neuroprotective heat shock proteins in the brain. We have further demonstrated that cortical neurons have the capacity to respond to TRPV1 agonism directly rather than through other TRPV1-mediated physiologic responses. We propose that systemic delivery of TRPV1 agonists may offer a novel treatment option in the protection or recovery from ischemic stroke.

Progesterone attenuates Aβ25–35-induced neuronal toxicity via JNK inactivation and progesterone receptor membrane component 1-dependent inhibition of mitochondrial apoptotic pathway

Progesterone, which acts as a neurosteroid in nervous system, has been shown to have neuroprotective effects in different experiments in vitro and in vivo. Our previous study demonstrates that progesterone exerts neuroprotections in Alzheimer’s disease-like rats. Present study attempted to evaluate the protective effects of progesterone on Aβ-treated neurons and potential mechanisms involved in neuroprotection. Results showed that treatment with progesterone protected primary cultured rat cortical neurons against Aβ25–35-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, we observed that progesterone alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction by rescuing mitochondrial membrane potential under Aβ challenge. Moreover, progesterone could also attenuate Bax/Bcl-2 proteins ratio upregulation and inhibit the activation of caspase-3 in Aβ-treated neurons. These indicate that progesterone attenuates Aβ25–35-induced neuronal toxicity by inhibiting mitochondria-associated apoptotic pathway. Both classic progesterone receptors (classic PR) and progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1), a special progesterone membrane receptor, are broadly expressed throughout the brain. The protective effect of progesterone was partially abolished by PGRMC1 inhibitor AG205 rather than classic PR antagonist RU486 in this study. Additionally, progesterone protected neurons by inhibiting Aβ-induced activation of JNK, which was an upstream signaling component in Aβ-induced mitochondria-associated apoptotic pathway. But this process was independent of PGRMC1. Taken together, these results suggest that progesterone exerts a protective effect against Aβ25–35-induced insults at least in part by two complementary pathways: (1) progesterone receptor membrane component 1-dependent inhibition of mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, and (2) blocking Aβ-induced JNK activation. The present study provides new insights into the mechanism by which progesterone brings neuroprotection.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘Steroids & Nervous System’.

Sirt3 protects cortical neurons against oxidative stress via regulating mitochondrial Ca2+ and mitochondrial biogenesis.

Oxidative stress is a well-established event in the pathology of several neurobiological diseases. Sirt3 is a nicotinamide adenine nucleotide (NAD+)-dependent protein deacetylase that regulates mitochondrial function and metabolism in response to caloric restriction and stress. This study aims to investigate the role of Sirt3 in H2O2 induced oxidative neuronal injury in primary cultured rat cortical neurons. We found that H2O2 treatment significantly increased the expression of Sirt3 in a time-dependent manner at both mRNA and protein levels. Knockdown of Sirt3 with a specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) exacerbated H2O2-induced neuronal injury, whereas overexpression of Sirt3 by lentivirus transfection inhibited H2O2-induced neuronal damage reduced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increased the activities of endogenous antioxidant enzymes. In addition, the intra-mitochondrial Ca2+ overload, but not cytosolic Ca2+ increase after H2O2 treatment, was strongly attenuated after Sirt3 overexpression. Overexpression of Sirt3 also increased the content of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the expression of mitochondrial biogenesis related transcription factors. All these results suggest that Sirt3 acts as a prosurvival factor playing an essential role to protect cortical neurons under H2O2 induced oxidative stress, possibly through regulating mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis and mitochondrial biogenesis.

The ubiquitylated protein profile of rat cortical neurons is altered in a primary culture model of stroke (728.12)

Ischemic stroke is initiated by the lack of oxygen and glucose that are normally involved in maintaining the ion gradients at the presynaptic terminals. Overstimulation of postsynaptic glutamate receptors induces a massive influx of calcium, mitochondrial depolarization, and accumulation of reactive oxygen species causing neuronal death. To begin to understand the cellular effects on neurons following a stroke, we hypothesized that protein ubiquitylation would be altered due to its crucial role in cell signalling and protein labeling for subsequent degradation. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed immunoblots of glutamate‐treated primary rat cortical neuron cultures. We found that several low‐molecular weight proteins in the glutamate‐treated neuron lysates showed increased ubiquitylation levels as compared to untreated neuron lysates. The altered ubiquitylation profile of only a subset of proteins suggests that select small proteins are tightly regulated during stroke. Through this study, we have identified proteins specifically targeted during stroke. Their identification opens the door to targets for therapeutic intervention to rescue neurons following ischemic brain injury.Grant Funding Source: This study was funded through Departmental Funds

Transferred inter-cell ischemic preconditioning-induced neuroprotection may be mediated by adenosine A1 receptors

Ischemic preconditioning-induced neuroprotection is a well-known phenomenon. We hypothesize that this form of neuroprotection is transferable among the same type of cells. To test this hypothesis, human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were induced to become neuron-like cells. Primary rat cortical neuronal cultures were also used. These cells were subjected to various lengths of short oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD, an in vitro simulation of ischemia) and then 1-h OGD. Some cells that were not exposed to a short episode of ischemia were incubated with culture medium from the cells that had 3- or 5-min OGD. Those cells were subjected to OGD for 1h at 1 or 24h after they were exposed to the medium. Cell injury was evaluated at 24h after the 1-h OGD by lactate dehydrogenase release assay. In another experiment, cells subjected to a 3-min OGD or exposed to the medium from cells that had a 3-min OGD were harvested at 30min after the OGD or the medium exposure for Western blotting of Akt, a prosurvival protein. Our study showed that a prior episode of ischemia lasting from 3 to 10min significantly reduced the 1-h OGD-induced cell injury. Medium from cells subjected to a 3-min OGD also induced acute and delayed phases of neuroprotection in OGD-naïve human neuron-like cells and primary rat cortical neuronal cultures. Cells subjected to a 3-min OGD or incubated with the medium from cells exposed to a 3-min OGD had increased phosphorylated/activated Akt. The increased phosphorylated Akt and neuroprotection induced by medium transferring were inhibited by 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX), an adenosine A1 receptor inhibitor. The 3-min OGD-induced neuroprotection was inhibited by LY294002, an Akt activation inhibitor. These results suggest that ischemic preconditioning-induced neuroprotection is transferable among the cells. Small molecules, such as adenosine, may mediate this effect.

A link between the nuclear-localized srGAP3 and the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeler Brg1

The Slit-Robo GTPase activating protein 3 (srGAP3) is an important modulator of actin cytoskeletal dynamics and has an important influence on a variety of neurodevelopmental processes. Mutations in the SRGAP3 gene on chromosome 3p25 have been found in patients with intellectual disability. Genome-wide association studies and behavioral assays of knockout mice had also revealed SRGAP3 as a risk gene for schizophrenia. We have recently shown that srGAP3 protein undergoes regulated shuttling between the cytoplasm and the nucleus during neuronal development. It is shown here that nuclear-localized srGAP3 interacts with the SWI/SNF remodeling factor Brg1. This interaction is mediated by the C-terminal of srGAP3 and the ATPase motif of Brg1. In the primary cultured rat cortical neurons, the levels of nuclear-localized srGAP3 and its interaction with Brg1 have a significant impact on dendrite complexity. Furthermore, the interaction between srGAP3 and Brg1 was also involved in valproic acid (VPA) -induced neuronal differentiation of Neuro2a cells. We then show that GTP-bound Rac1 and GAP-43 may be potential mediators of nuclear srGAP3 and Brg1. Our results not only indicate a novel signaling pathway that contributes to neuronal differentiation and dendrite morphology, but also implicate a novel molecular mechanism underlying srGAP3 regulation of gene expression.

Resveratrol down-regulates a glutamate-induced tissue plasminogen activator via Erk and AMPK/mTOR pathways in rat primary cortical neurons

Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene, RSV) is a polyphenolic compound present in a variety of plant species (including grapes) that produces a myriad of biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. In this study, we investigate the effects of resveratrol on the basal and glutamate-stimulated expression and activity of a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) that plays neuromodulatory or neurotoxic roles in many different neurological situations. Under basal conditions, resveratrol decreased the tPA expression and activity without affecting the tPA mRNA level in rat primary cortical neurons. RSV induced AMPK phosphorylation and inhibited mTOR phosphorylation. Inhibition of AMPK phosphorylation using compound C prevented resveratrol-induced down-regulation of tPA activity. This suggested that AMPK/mTOR-dependent translational inhibition contributes to the down-regulation of the tPA. Under glutamate-stimulated conditions of rat primary cortical neurons, tPA activity and expression were increased along with increased tPA mRNA expression but afterward treatment of RSV inhibited the glutamate-induced increase in tPA activity and expression and tPA mRNA expression. Glutamate stimulation induced activation of Akt and MAPK pathways as well as mTOR which were inhibited by RSV. Interestingly, the Erk pathway inhibitor U0126, but neither PI3K-Akt inhibitor LY294002 nor p38 inhibitor SB203580, mimicked the inhibitory action of RSV on glutamate-induced tPA up-regulation. This suggested the essential role of Erk in the transcriptional up-regulation of tPA expression, which is targeted by RSV. Glutamate stimulation induced neuronal cell death as determined by PI staining and MTT assay. However, RSV protected the cultured rat primary cortical neurons from glutamate-induced cell death as paralleled with the changes in tPA expression. These results suggested that RSV can modulate tPA activity under basal and stimulated conditions by both translational and transcriptional mechanisms. The regulation of the tPA by RSV provides additional therapeutic targets on top of the growing number of molecular substrates of RSV's action in the brain.

Plasma gelsolin protects HIV-1 gp120-induced neuronal injury via voltage-gated K+ channel Kv2.1

Plasma gelsolin (pGSN), a secreted form of gelsolin, is constitutively expressed throughout the central nervous system (CNS). The neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes are the major sources of pGSN in the CNS. It has been shown that levels of pGSN in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are decreased in several neurological conditions including HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Although there is no direct evidence that a decreased level of pGSN in CSF is causally related to the pathogenesis of neurological disorders, neural cells, if lacking pGSN, are more vulnerable to cell death. To understand how GSN levels relate to neuronal injury in HAND, we studied the effects of pGSN on HIV-1 gp120-activated outward K+ currents in primary rat cortical neuronal cultures. Incubation of rat cortical neurons with gp120 enhanced the outward K+ currents induced by voltage steps and resulted in neuronal apoptosis. Treatment with pGSN suppressed the gp120-induced increase of delayed rectifier current (IK) and reduced vulnerability to gp120-induced neuronal apoptosis. Application of Guangxitoxin-1E (GxTx), a Kv2.1 specific channel inhibitor, inhibited gp120 enhancement of IK and associated neuronal apoptosis, similar effects to pGSN. Western blot and PCR analysis revealed gp120 exposure to up-regulate Kv2.1 channel expression, which was also inhibited by treatment with pGSN. Taken together, these results indicate pGSN protects neurons by suppressing gp120 enhancement of IK through Kv2.1 channels and reduction of pGSN in HIV-1-infected brain may contribute to HIV-1-associated neuropathy.

Allicin protects rat cortical neurons against mechanical trauma injury by regulating nitric oxide synthase pathways

Allicin, a small molecule that is responsible for the typical smell and most of the functions of garlic, possesses a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities and is considered to have therapeutic potential in many pathologic conditions. In the present study, we investigated the potential protective effect of allicin in an in vitro model of traumatic brain injury (TBI) using primary cultured rat cortical neurons. We found that allicin treatment significantly reduced mechanical trauma-induced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and inhibited apoptotic neuronal death in a dose-dependent manner. These protective effects were observed even if allicin treatment was delayed to 2h after injury. Allicin significantly decreased the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and increased the phosphorylation of endothelial NOS (eNOS) but had no effect on neuronal NOS (nNOS) expression. Allicin-induced protection in cortical neurons was augmented by iNOS and nNOS antagonists and was partly reversed by blocking eNOS phosphorylation. In addition, allicin treatment inhibited the TBI-induced activation of ERK and further enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt in TBI-injured neurons. The Akt inhibitor LY294002 attenuated the allicin-induced increase in eNOS expression and phosphorylation, whereas the ERK inhibitor PD98059 had opposite effects on the expression of iNOS and eNOS. Pretreatment with LY294002 or PD98059 partly prevented or further enhanced allicin-induced neuroprotection, respectively. Collectively, these data demonstrate that allicin treatment may be an effective therapeutic strategy for traumatic neuronal injury and that the potential underlying mechanism involves Akt- and ERK-mediated regulation of NOS pathways.

Acamprosate {monocalcium bis(3-acetamidopropane-1-sulfonate)} reduces ethanol-drinking behavior in rats and glutamate-induced toxicity in ethanol-exposed primary rat cortical neuronal cultures

Acamprosate, the calcium salt of bis(3-acetamidopropane-1-sulfonate), contributes to the maintenance of abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients, but its mechanism of action in the central nervous system is unclear. Here, we report the effect of acamprosate on ethanol-drinking behavior in standard laboratory Wistar rats, including voluntary ethanol consumption and the ethanol-deprivation effect. After forced ethanol consumption arranged by the provision of only one drinking bottle containing 10% ethanol, the rats were given a choice between two drinking bottles, one containing water and the other containing 10% ethanol. In rats selected for high ethanol preference, repeated oral administration of acamprosate diminished voluntary ethanol drinking. After three months of continuous access to two bottles, rats were deprived of ethanol for three days and then presented with two bottles again. After ethanol deprivation, ethanol preference was increased, and the increase was largely abolished by acamprosate. After exposure of primary neuronal cultures of rat cerebral cortex to ethanol for four days, neurotoxicity, as measured by the extracellular leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), was induced by incubation with glutamate for 1h followed by incubation in the absence of ethanol for 24h. The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor blocker 5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]-cyclohepten-5,10-imine, the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 antagonist 6-methyl-2-(phenylethynyl)pyridine and the voltage-gated calcium-channel blocker nifedipine all inhibited glutamate-induced LDH leakage from ethanol-exposed neurons. Acamprosate inhibited the glutamate-induced LDH leakage from ethanol-exposed neurons more strongly than that from intact neurons. In conclusion, acamprosate showed effective reduction of drinking behavior in rats and protected ethanol-exposed neurons by multiple blocking of glutamate signaling.

Proteomic Analysis of Primary Cultured Rat Cortical Neurons in Chemical Ischemia

To elucidate the molecular events involved in early ischemic neuronal death, we performed two-dimensional proteome profiling of primary cultures of rat cortical neurons following chemical ischemia induced by the administration of sodium azide under glucose-free conditions. Using a lactic dehydrogenase assay and Western blot analysis of dephosporylation of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv2.1, we determined duration of chemical ischemia of 2h to be the relevant time-point for early ischemic neuronal death. Sixty-one proteins were differentially expressed, and 26 different proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF with Mascot database searching. The proteome data indicated that chemical ischemia altered the expression of 20 proteins that are involved in stress response/chaperone, brain development, cytoskeletal/structural proteins, metabolic enzymes, and calcium ion homeostasis. Western blotting and immunocytochemical studies of the 6-most functionally significant proteins showed that, in the ischemia-treated group, the expression of glucose-related protein 78, heat shock protein 90 alpha, and α-enolase was significantly increased, while the expression of inositol triphosphate receptor 1 and ATP synthase beta subunit was decreased. In addition, the expression of dihydropyrimidinase-like 3 showed a truncated pattern in the ischemia group. The changes in the expression of these proteins might be significant indicators of early ischemic neuronal death.

Galanin Protects against Nerve Injury after Shear Stress in Primary Cultured Rat Cortical Neurons

The neuropeptide galanin and its receptors (GalR) are found to be up-regulated in brains suffering from nerve injury, but the specific role played by galanin remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the neuroprotective role of galanin after shear stress induced nerve injury in the primary cultured cortical neurons of rats. Our results demonstrated that no significant changes in cell death and viability were found after galanin treatment when subjected to a shear stress of 5 dyn/cm2 for 12 h, after increasing magnitude of shear stress to 10 dyn/cm2 for 12 h, cell death was significantly increased, while galanin can inhibit the nerve injury induced by shear stress with 10 dyn/cm2 for 12 h. Moreover, Gal2-11 (an agonist of GalR2/3) could also effectively inhibit shear stress-induced nerve injury of primary cultured cortical neurons in rats. Although GalR2 is involved in the galanin protection mechanism, there was no GalR3 expression in this system. Moreover, galanin increased the excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs), which can effectively inhibit the physiological effects of shear stress. Galanin was also found to inhibit the activation of p53 and Bax, and further reversed the down regulation of Bcl-2 induced by shear stress. Our results strongly demonstrated that galanin plays a neuroprotective role in injured cortical neurons of rats.

CaMKIIβ‐mediated LIM‐kinase activation plays a crucial role in BDNF‐induced neuritogenesis

LIM-kinase 1 (LIMK1) regulates actin cytoskeletal reorganization by phosphorylating and inactivating actin-depolymerizing factor and cofilin. We examined the role of LIMK1 in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-induced neuritogenesis in primary-cultured rat cortical neurons. Knockdown of LIMK1 or expression of a kinase-dead LIMK1 mutant suppressed BDNF-induced enhancement of primary neurite formation. By contrast, expression of an active form of LIMK1 promoted primary neuritogenesis in the absence of BDNF. BDNF-induced neuritogenesis was inhibited by KN-93, an inhibitor of Ca(2+) /calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMKs), but not by STO-609, an inhibitor of CaMK-kinase (CaMKK). CaMKK activity is required for the activation of CaMKI and CaMKIV, but not CaMKII, which suggests that CaMKII is principally involved in BDNF-induced enhancement of neuritogenesis. Knockdown of CaMKIIβ, but not CaMKIIα, suppressed BDNF-induced neuritogenesis. Active CaMKIIβ promoted neuritogenesis, and this promotion was inhibited by knockdown of LIMK1, indicating that CaMKIIβ is involved in BDNF-induced neuritogenesis via activation of LIMK1. Furthermore, in vitro kinase assays revealed that CaMKIIβ phosphorylates LIMK1 at Thr-508 in the kinase domain and activates the cofilin-phosphorylating activity of LIMK1. In summary, these results suggest that CaMKIIβ-mediated activation of LIMK1 plays a crucial role in BDNF-induced enhancement of primary neurite formation.

Involvement of decreased glutamate receptor subunit GluR2 expression in lead-induced neuronal cell death

Lead is known to induce neurotoxicity, particularly in young children, and GluR2, an AMPA-type glutamate receptor subunit, plays an important role in neuronal cell survival. Therefore, we hypothesized that altered GluR2 expression plays a role in lead-induced neuronal cell death. To test this idea, we investigated the effect of exposure to 5 and 20 µM lead for 1-9 days on the viability and GluR2 expression of primary-cultured rat cortical neurons. The number of trypan-blue stained cells was increased by exposure to 5 µM lead for 9 days or 20 µM lead for 7-9 days, and LDH release was increased after exposure to 20 µM lead for 9 days. GluR2 expression was reduced by exposure to 5-100 µM lead, but not 0.1-1 µM lead, for 9 days. Immunocytochemistry also confirmed that GluR2 expression was decreased in the presence of lead. Application of 50 ng/ml brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) led to a recovery of lead-induced neuronal cell death, accompanied with increased GluR2 expression. Our results suggest that long-term exposure to lead induces neuronal cell death, in association with a decrease of GluR2 expression.