2-Methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine Hydrochloride Modulates Metabotropic Glutamate 5 Receptors Endogenously Expressed in Zebrafish Brain.

Due to phylogenetic proximity to the human, zebrafish has been recognized as a reliable model to study Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other central nervous system disorders. Furthermore, metabotropic glutamate receptors have been previously reported to be impaired in brain from AD patients. Metabotropic glutamate 5 (mGlu) receptors are G-protein coupled receptors proposed as potential targets for therapy of different neurodegenerative disorders.

Aging-related neurostructural, neuropathological, and behavioral changes associated with herpes simplex virus type 1 brain infection in mice.

To date, the main advances in understanding Alzheimer's disease (AD) have revolved around the genetic variants associated with the familial form of the disease, yet the majority of cases are sporadic. The main risk factor for AD is aging, followed by production of the E4 isoform of apolipoprotein E (APOE). Female gender also increases the risk of developing AD.

Non-invasive bioluminescence imaging for monitoring herpes simplex virus type 1 hematogenous infection.

Traditional studies on viral neuroinvasiveness and pathogenesis have generally relied on murine models that require the sacrifice of infected animals to determine viral distributions and titers. The present paper reports the use of in vivo bioluminescence imaging to monitor the replication and tropism of KOS strain HSV-1 viruses expressing the firefly luciferase reporter protein in hematogenously infected mice. Following intraperitoneal injection, a comparison was made between real-time PCR determinations of HSV-1 DNA concentrations (requiring the sacrifice of the experimental animals) and in vivo bioluminescence emissions in living animals.

Hematogenous vertical transmission of herpes simplex virus type 1 in mice.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a neurotropic virus that causes severe disease and death in newborn humans but, to date, it remains unclear how neonatal infection occurs. We show here that the vertical transmission of HSV-1 in mice is mainly hematogenous and involves the colonization of the neonate central nervous system (CNS). HSV-1 DNA was mainly detected in the blood and CNS of the offspring born to latently infected mothers; no significant differences were seen between the viral DNA concentrations in the blood of these mothers and their female progeny (either neonate or adult).