Neuroinflammation occurs in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain, and plays a role in neurodegeneration. The main aim of this study was to determine how treatments with exogenous apolipoprotein E (ApoE2, E3 and E4 isoforms), a genetic risk factor for AD, affects the amyloid-β (Aβ) induced inflammatory response in vitro in astrocytes. Recombinant, lipid-free ApoE4 was found not to affect Aβ-induced inflammation in rat astrocytes, while ApoE2 showed a protective effect. Mouse cells expressing human ApoE isoforms, which have similar lipidation and modification to native human ApoE, showed ApoE4 promoting inflammation, and no ApoE2 protective effect upon Aβ treatment. A Protein/DNA array was used to screen 345 transcription factors in rat astrocytes treated with Aβ and/or ApoE isoforms, in order to determine which contribute to the observed ApoE2 protection. Some candidates were validated by Western Blot or EMSA and/or by inhibition or activation. The findings suggest ApoE isoforms differentially regulate Aβ-induced inflammation, and multiple signalling pathways are involved in the process.

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy contributes to the development of neurological health problems in offspring. As a result, public health organizations are recommending NRT to pregnant women to wean them off tobacco. If nicotine itself is injurious to the developing brain, then nicotine substitution may not eliminate the deleterious health outcomes of maternal smoking. In studies of cognitive decline, estradiol elicits a neuroprotective effect through ER activation. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Evidence suggests that estrogen-mediated neuroprotection is activated through glial cell interaction, mitigating inflammation and protecting neurons critical for learning and memory. If NRT antagonizes these cellular targets, it may put individuals at risk for future cognitive impairments. Randomly assigned nulliparous female Wistar rats were injected subcutaneously with 1 mg/kg/day of nicotine bitartrate or saline for 2 weeks before mating until weaning (PND 21). Pups (saline n=6 and nicotine, n=6) were sacrificed at 26 weeks of age and the hippocampal formation was processed for Nissl and immunohistochemical staining for GFAP and ERα. Gestational exposure to nicotine only produced a significant increase in the expression of ERα in the DG of the hippocampus. While additional research is needed, these findings suggest that NRT might indeed interfere with proper brain development, making offspring increasingly susceptible to long-term adverse health effects. Le tabac fumé pendant la grossesse affecte de manière importante le développement neurologique de la progéniture, y compris à long terme. C’est pourquoi, les autorités de la santé publique recommandent les substituts nicotiniques comme soutien au sevrage tabagique chez les femmes enceintes. Si le danger se situe dans la nicotine de la cigarette, alors les produits de substitution nicotiniques risquent également d’interférer avec le développement cérébral. De nombreuses données expérimentales convergent pour attribuer un rôle protecteur à l’oestradiol sur le fonctionnement cognitif. Par contre, le mécanisme sous-jacent est inconnu. Il se peut que l’oestradiol arrive à neutraliser la réaction inflammatoire provoquée par les cellules gliales, amoindrissant la détérioration des neurones impliqués au niveau de la mémoire. Ainsi, une perturbation de ce mécanisme par la nicotine pourrait engendrer une détérioration progressive des fonctions cognitives. Des rats femelles Wistars nullipares assignées de façon alléatoire à un groupe ont reçu soit une injection sous-cutanée de 1mg/kg/jour de nicotine bitartrate ou de saline, 2 semaines avant l’accouplement jusqu'au sevrage au jour 21 postnatal. A 26 semaines, les ratons furent sacrifiés (saline n=6 et nicotine, n=6) et une analyse du Nissl et immunohistochimique de GFAP et ERα furent réalisées sur les formations hippocampiques. L’exposition prénatale à la nicotine a seulement augmenté significativement l’expression de ERα dans le GD de l’hippocampe. Alors que des études plus approfondies sont nécessaires, ces résultats suggèrent que les substituts nicotiniques affectent le développement neurologique périnatal, ce qui risque d’entrainer des répercussions a long terme sur la santé.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a ubiquitous contaminant and potent neurotoxicant with no completely effective therapy, although selenium antagonises MeHg toxicity. Furthermore, nanoparticles are promising as a novel drug delivery system. We researched the potential of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) in antagonising MeHg neurotoxicity compared to selenomethionine (SeMet) using primary astrocyte cell cultures and examining outcomes related to oxidative stress. We found that SeNPs were more toxic than SeMet. Increasing SeNPs significantly decreased MeHg cellular uptake and MeHg significantly decreased uptake of SeNPs at the highest concentration. Finally, SeNPs alone produced significantly higher reactive oxidative species and altered the ratio of reduced-to-oxidised glutathione, but MeHg, SeMet, and co-exposures did not. There were no significant effects on glutathione peroxidase or reductase activity. This suggests that SeNPs are more toxic than MeHg in cerebellar astrocytes and that they may not be suitable as a therapy at the doses and formulation used in this research.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder resulting in progressive memory loss, brain atrophy, and eventual death. AD pathology is characterized by the accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, synapse loss, neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), and neurodegeneration. The APOE4 allele is associated with a 3-fold increased risk for AD and results in increased Aβ plaque deposition, reduced Aβ clearance, and reduced synaptic plasticity. Although APOE expression is upregulated in microglia in AD, APOE is expressed primarily by astrocytes in the CNS. It is not well understood how astrocytic APOE drives the mechanisms that result in worsened AD outcomes. Here, digital spatial profiling and bioinformatics data suggest that APOE4 causes transcriptional dysregulation in early AD and may disrupt neuronal processes via astrocytes. Whole transcriptome data from plaque and non-plaque regions in the cortices and hippocampus of 4- and 8-month-old AD model mice expressing humanized APOE4/4 or APOE3/3 (control) were analyzed. Transcriptional dysregulation was increased in APOE4/4 AD mice compared to that in APOE3/3 at 4 but not 8 months of age, suggesting that early dysregulation of APOE4-driven disease mechanisms may shape degenerative outcomes in late-stage AD. Additionally, APOE4/4 potentially functions via plaque-independent mechanisms to influence neuronal function in early AD before the onset of pathology. Single-nuclei RNA sequencing data were obtained from human post-mortem astrocytes and the bioinformatic analyses revealed a novel astrocyte subtype that highly expresses several top genes involved in functional alterations associated with APOE4, including neuronal generation, development, and differentiation, and synaptic transmission and organization. Overall, our findings indicate that APOE4 may drive degenerative outcomes through the presented astrocyte candidate pathways. These pathways represent potential targets for investigations into early intervention strategies for APOE4/4 patients. / 2024-05-22

No description available.

- / Neuroinflammation plays an important role in the progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Sustained activation of nuclear transcription factor κB (NF-κB) is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Flavonoids have been shown to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and we investigated whether flavonoids, at submicromolar concentrations relevant to their bioavailability from the diet, were able to modulate NF-κB signalling in astrocytes. Using luciferase reporter assays, we found that tumour necrosis factor (TNFα, 150 ng/ml) increased NF-κB-mediated transcription in primary cultures of mouse cortical astrocytes, which was abolished on co-transfection of a dominant-negative IκBα construct. In addition, TNFα increased nuclear localisation of p65 as shown by immunocytochemistry. To investigate potential flavonoid modulation of NF-κB activity, astrocytes were treated with flavonoids from different classes; flavan-3-ols ((−)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin), flavones (luteolin and chrysin), a flavonol (kaempferol) or the flavanones (naringenin and hesperetin) at dietary-relevant concentrations (0.1–1 μM) for 18 h. None of the flavonoids modulated constitutive or TNFα-induced NF-κB activity. Therefore, we conclude that NF-κB signalling in astrocytes is not a major target for flavonoids.

Yes / Astrocytes play a fundamental role in maintaining the health and function of the central nervous system. Increasing evidence indicates that astrocytes undergo both cellular and molecular changes at an early stage in neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. These changes may reflect a change from a neuroprotective to a neurotoxic phenotype. Given the lack of current disease modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, astrocytes have become an interesting and viable target for therapeutic intervention. The astrocyte transport system covers a diverse array of proteins involved in metabolic support, neurotransmission and synaptic architecture. Therefore, specific targeting of individual transporter families has the potential to suppress neurodegeneration, a characteristic hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. A small number of the four hundred transporter superfamilies’ are expressed in astrocytes, with evidence highlighting a fraction of these are implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Here we review the current evidence for six astrocytic transporter subfamilies involved in Alzheimer’s disease, as reported in both animal and human studies. This review confirms that astrocytes are indeed a viable target, highlights the complexities of studying astrocytes and provides future directives to exploit the potential of astrocytes in tackling Alzheimer’s disease. / BBSRC, Alzheimer's Society, Motor Neuron Disease Association

No description available.

No description available.

Blast neurotrauma represents a significant mode of traumatic injury to the brain. The incidence of blast neurotrauma is particularly high amongst military combat personnel and can be debilitating and endure clinically for years after injury is sustained. Mechanically, blast represents a unique and complex loading paradigm associated with compressive shock waves that propagate out from an explosive event and interact with the head and other organs through high-rate loading. When subjected to such insult, brain cells undergo characteristic injury responses which include neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, edema and persistent glial activation. These features of the injury have emerged as important mediators of the chronic brain damage that results from blast. Astrocytes have emerged as a potential therapeutic target because of their ubiquitous roles in brain homeostasis, tissue integrity and cognitive function. This glial subtype has a characteristic reactive response to mechanical trauma of various modes. In this work, custom in vitro injury devices were used to characterize functional models of astrocyte reactivity to high-rate insult to study mechano-stimulation mechanisms associated with the reactive phenotype. The working hypothesis was that high-rate overpressure exposure would cause metabolic aberrations, cell junction changes, and adhesion signal transduction activation, all of which would contribute to astrocyte response and reactivity. Astrocyte cultures were exposed to a 20 psi high-rate overpressure scheme using an underwater explosion-driven device. Astrocytes experienced dynamic energetic fluctuations in response to overpressure which were followed by the assumption of a classically defined reactive phenotype. Results indicated specific roles for cationic transduction, cell junction dynamics (gap junction and anchoring junctions) and downstream signal transduction mechanisms associated with adhesion alterations in onset of the astrocyte reactive phenotype. Investigation into adhesion signaling regulation by focal adhesion kinase in 2D and 3D cultures was also explored to better understand cellular reactivity as a function of extracellular environment. Additionally, another underwater in vitro device was built to study combination effects from overpressure and fluid shear associated with insult. Overall, the combined studies offer multiple mechanisms by which to explore molecular targets for harnessing astrocytes' potential for repair after traumatic injury to the brain. / PHD / Blast neurotrauma represents a significant mode of traumatic injury to the brain. The incidence of blast neurotrauma is particularly high amongst military combat personnel in which close to 80% of the injuries sustained in combat are attributed to explosive mechanisms. This injury, like other traumatic brain injuries, can be debilitating and result in altered quality of life for years after injury is sustained. There is a critical need to understand how brain cells are injured by and respond to blast loading in order to develop effective therapeutic strategies. The following work approaches this problem through the use of cellular models of blast-type insult. Custom injury devices were used to develop models of brain cell reactive response to high-rate insult based on experimental simulations of blast neurotrauma. In particular, a sub-type of brain cells called astrocytes were studied. Astrocytes have emerged as a potential therapeutic target because of their ubiquitous roles in brain homeostasis, tissue integrity and cognitive function. The working hypothesis was that high-rate overpressure exposure would cause metabolic aberrations, cell junction changes, and adhesion signal transduction activation, all of which would contribute to astrocyte response and reactivity. Astrocytes experienced dynamic energetic fluctuations in response to overpressure which were followed by the assumption of a classically defined reactive phenotype. Results indicated specific roles for cationic transduction, cell anchorage and downstream signaling mechanisms associated with adhesion alterations in onset of the astrocyte reactive phenotype. Investigation into adhesion signaling regulation by focal adhesion kinase in 2D and 3D cultures was also explored to better understand cellular reactivity as a function of extracellular environment. Additionally, another underwater cell injury device was built to study combination effects from overpressure and fluid shear associated with insult. Overall, the combined studies offer multiple mechanisms by which to explore molecular targets for harnessing astrocytes’ potential for repair after traumatic injury to the brain.