We have previously shown the neuroprotective and pro-neurogenic activity of microneurotrophin BNN-20 in the substantia nigra of the “weaver” mouse, a model of progressive nigrostriatal degeneration. Here, we extended our investigation in two clinically-relevant ways. First, we assessed the effects of BNN-20 on human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells and neurons derived from healthy and parkinsonian donors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo main stem cell pools exist in the postnatal mammalian brain that, although they share some "stemness" properties, also exhibit significant differences. Multipotent neural stem cells survive within specialized microenvironments, called niches, and they are vulnerable to ageing. Oligodendroglial lineage-restricted progenitor cells are widely distributed in the brain parenchyma and are more resistant to the effects of ageing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStem Cell Res Ther
June 2021
Background: Loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) underlines much of the pathology of Parkinson's disease (PD), but the existence of an endogenous neurogenic system that could be targeted as a therapeutic strategy has been controversial. BNN-20 is a synthetic, BDNF-mimicking, microneurotrophin that we previously showed to exhibit a pleiotropic neuroprotective effect on the dopaminergic neurons of the SNpc in the "weaver" mouse model of PD. Here, we assessed its potential effects on neurogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of rutin administration (100 mg/kg/day) to pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-treated Balb-c mice (60 mg/kg/day), with respect to anxiety-like behavior using both open-field and elevated plus-maze (EPM) tests, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in salt-soluble (SS) fraction and detergent-soluble (DS) fraction of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum, midbrain, and diencephalon. Our results demonstrated that the administration of PTZ in 3 doses and the induction of seizures increased significantly anxiety behavior of mice and reduced significantly DS-AChE activity in all brain regions examined, while the reduction in the SS fraction was brain region-specific. Rutin administration to normal mice did not affect their behavior, while it induced a brain region-specific reduction in SS-AChE and a significant decrease in DS-AChE in all brain regions.
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