查看更多>>摘要：Objective This study aimed to characterize the molecular immune networks and microglia reactivity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell affected by fetal nutritional programming leading to addiction-like behavior in the offspring of Wistar rats. Fetal nutritional programming by energy-dense foods leads to addictionlike behavior in the offspring. Exposure to energy-dense foods also activates systemic and central inflammation in the offspring. Methods Females Wistar rats were exposed to cafeteria (CAF) diet or control diet for 9 weeks (prepregnancy, pregnancy and lactation), and male offspring at 2 months of age were diagnosed with food addiction-like behavior using operant conditioning. Global microarray analysis, RTqPCR, proinflammatory plasma profile and microglia immunostaining were performed in the NAc shell of male rats. SIM-A9 microglia cells were stimulated with IFN-a and palmitic acid, and microglia activation and phagocytosis were determined by RTqPCR and incubation of green-fluorescent latex beads, respectively. Results Microarray analysis in the NAc shell of the male offspring exposed to CAF during development and diagnosed with addiction-like behavior showed increasing in the type I interferon-inducible gene, Ift1, gene network. Genomic and cellular characterization also confirmed microglia hyperreactivity and upregulation of the Ifitl in the NAc shell of animals with addiction-like behavior. In-vitro models demonstrated that microglia do respond to I FN-a promoting a time-dependent genomic expression of Ift1, IL-1 ft and IL-6 followed by increased phagocytosis. Conclusion Prenatal exposure to energy-dense foods primes the IFN type I signaling and microglia complexity in the NAc shell of rats diagnosed with food addiction-like behavior.
查看更多>>摘要：Objectives 3-dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) and the useful field of view (UFOV) both claim to measure and train cognitive abilities, such as selective and divided attention implicated in driving safety. 3D-MOT is claimed to improve even young adult cognitive ability. If true, one would expect to observe the transfer of 3D-MOT training to UFOV performance mediated by way of shared underlying cognitive mechanisms. Methods We test this notion by assessing whether ten 30-min sessions of 3D-MOT training spread across 5 weeks improves UFOV performance relative to an active control group trained on a visual task and a challenging puzzle game (participants aged between 23 and 33 years old). Results The 3D-MOT training group exhibited significantly improved UFOV performance whereas the active control group exhibited only a small, statistically nonsignificant improvement in the task. Conclusions This suggests that 3D-MOT and UFOV performance are likely dependent on overlapping cognitive abilities and helps support the assertion that these abilities can be trained and measured even in young adults. Such training could have implications for improving driver safety in both young and older adults.
查看更多>>摘要：To explore the effects of high cervical spinal cord electrical stimulation (cSCS) on the recovery of neurological function and its possible mechanism in rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI). 72 rats were randomly divided into: (1) a sham group; (2) a traumatic brain injury (TBI) group; (3) a TBI+cSCS group; (4) a LY294002+TBI+cSCS group. The degree of neurological dysfunction was evaluated by modified Neurological severity score (mNSS). The pathological changes of the brain tissue in the injured area were observed by HE staining, and the apoptosis of neuron cells were observed by TUNEL staining. The expressions of BDNF and VEGFmRNA were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the expressions of p-AKT, AKT, Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3 proteins were detected by western blot. Compared with that of the TBI and LY294002+TBI+cSCS groups, the mNSS of the TBI+cSCS group were significantly lower on day 3 and 7 (P <0.05). Compared with that in the TBI and LY294002+TBI+cSCS groups, the apoptosis of neuron cells in the TBI+cSCS group decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Compared with the TBI and LY294002+TBI+cSCS group, the expression of Bcl-2 protein increased and the expressions of Bax and Caspase-3 proteins decreased in the TBI+cSCS group (P < 0.05). Compared with that in the TBI and LY294002+TBI+cSCS groups, the intensity of p-Akt/Akt in the TBI+cSCS group increased (P < 0.05). We found that cSCS had a protective effect on neuron cells after craniocerebral injury and could improve neurological dysfunction in rats, the mechanism of which might be that cSCS made the PI3K/Akt pathway more active after TBI.
查看更多>>摘要：In-vitro differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into spinal cord neural stem cells (NSCs) can help researchers better understand the cellular processes associated with spinal cord development and regeneration, and provide therapeutic strategies for spinal cord disorders. However, effective and consistent methods for the generation of human spinal cord NSCs are rare. Objective of the study is to establish methods for the in-vitro induction and long-term maintenance of human spinal cord NSCs. H9 cells were treated with neural induction medium for 10 days under single-cell seeding condition, followed by treatment with neural maintenance medium and replacement with NSC medium after five passages. The identity of the generated cells was determined by immunofluorescence, immunoblotting, and cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag) assays. After the neural induction, OCT4, an embryonic stem cell marker, was significantly reduced, whereas NESTIN and PAX6, two NSC markers, were clearly increased. After the neural maintenance, most of the H9-derived cells consistently expressed NESTIN and PAX6 together with SOX1 and HOXC9, two spinal cord markers. The Homer known motif enrichment results of the CUT&Tag assay confirmed the expression of HOXC9 in the H9-derived spinal cord NSCs, which can be maintained for more than 40 days under an in vitro culture system. This study sheds new light on effective induction and maintenance of human spinal cord NSCs.
查看更多>>摘要：Objective of the study is to investigate the altered intrinsic functional hubs in patients with comitant exotropia (CE) using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) analysis method. A total of 28 CE patients and 28 healthy controls (HCs) similarly matched in sex, age, and education level were recruited in this study. All subjects underwent a resting-state functional MRI scan, the voxel-wise DC method was applied to evaluate brain network hubs alterations in CE patients. Then, the DC maps between two groups were chosen to be classification features to distinguish patients with CE from HCs based on the support vector machine (SVM) model. The algorithm performance was evaluated by a permutation test. Compared with HCs, CE patients exhibited significant enhanced DC value in the left cerebelum 8 and the right cerebelum 3; and remarkably decreased DC value in the right precentral gyrus, right anterior cingulated, and paracingulate gyri (two-tailed, voxel level: P < 0.01; GRF correction, cluster level: P < 0.05). However, no relationship was found between the observed average DC of the different brain regions and the clinical features (P > 0.05). In addition, the SVM model showed an accuracy of 83.93% to clarify CE patients from HCs using the DC maps as a classification feature. CE patients displayed altered functional network hubs in multiple brain areas associated with cognition and motor control, and the DC variability could classify patients from HCs with high accuracy. These findings may assist to understand the neuropathological mechanism for the disease.
查看更多>>摘要：Objective Inflammation has long been considered a key factor in learning and memory impairment in patients with vascular dementia (VaD). Studies have confirmed that electroacupuncture can improve the learning and memory impairment of patients with VaD by reducing inflammation, but the specific mechanism of this effect is still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the underlying mechanism of electroacupuncture in the treatment of VaD. Methods The vascular dementia animal model was established by bilateral occlusion of common carotid arteries, and electroacupuncture treatment was given at Baihui (DU20) and Zusanli (ST36). The morris water maze (MWM) was used to test the spatial learning and memory ability of rats in each group. To evaluate the expression of Sirtuinl (Sirtl), Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and inflammatory cytokine (IL-17) in the hippocampus and amygdala, immunohistochemistry and western blot were performed. Results: The MWM test and Nissl staining results show that electroacupuncture can significantly improve the learning and memory impairment of VaD rats, and can repair damaged neurons. Immunohistochemistry and western blot results showed that electroacupuncture could enhance the expression of sirtl in VaD rats, on the contrary, the expression of STAT3 and IL-17 was reduced due to electroacupuncture. Conclusions The result suggests that electroacupuncture can suppress inflammation through the Sirt1/STAT3 pathway and improve spatial learning and memory in VaD rats.
查看更多>>摘要：Albino people are known to have vision deficit. Albino animals are shown to have abnormal connectivity and malformation of the visual system. However, not many studies have revealed visual impairment of albino animals in the level of perception. To link anatomical abnormality and perceptual visual impairment of albinism, we compared the perceptual vision between the pigmented Long-Evans and the albino Wistar rats. We used the slow angled-descent forepaw grasping (SLAG) test. We hanged the rats in the air by their tails and slowly moved them around a safety bar so that they could see it. When the rats recognized the bar and try to grab it to escape, we counted the trial as ‘positive’, and we measured positive rates. We also measured the distance between the bar and their whiskers during the rats’ initial grasping action, and evaluated type of action at the first contact to the bar. The positive-action rate in the Long-Evans rat group showed significantly higher than the Wistar rat group (0.85 ± 0.047, n = 10, vs. 0.29 ± 0.043, n = 10; P < 0.0001). Besides, when the action was positive, the distance between the bar and their whiskers was longer in the Long-Evans rat group than that in the Wistar rat group (117 ± 5.3 mm vs. 58.8 ± 4.6 mm; P < 0.0001). The Long-Evans rats grasped the bar more precisely than the Wistar rats. The pigmented Long-Evans rats have much better visual perception than the albino Wistar rats.
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