Evaluation of arterial spin labeling in the diagnosis and monitoring of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated cerebral cortical encephalitis.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-associated disorders are inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the CNS. Cerebral cortical encephalitis (CCE) is characterized by cortical fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensity with seizures and headaches. We report two cases of MOG antibody-associated CCE (MOG-CCE) evaluated using serial MRI sequences, including arterial spin labeling (ASL), pre- and posttreatment.

Neurosarcoidosis Presenting with Prominent Periventricular White-Matter Lesions during Steroid Treatment for Autoimmune Hepatitis.

A 63-year-old woman under treatment of autoimmune hepatitis presented with headache, memory loss, and somnolence. Three months before admission, the patient experienced liver inflammation relapse after prednisolone (PSL) cessation. Consequently, PSL was resumed and then tapered.

Reciprocal Interaction Between Pericytes and Macrophage in Poststroke Tissue Repair and Functional Recovery.

Background And Purpose: Poststroke tissue repair, comprised of macrophage-mediated clearance of myelin debris and pericyte-mediated fibrotic response within the infarct area, is an important process for functional recovery. Herein, we investigated the reciprocal interaction between pericytes and macrophages during poststroke repair and functional recovery.

Methods: We performed a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in both wild-type and pericyte-deficient PDGFRβ (platelet-derived growth factor receptor β) heterozygous knockout () mice and compared histological changes and neurological functions between the 2 groups.

Simultaneous targeting of mitochondria and monocytes enhances neuroprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury impairs the efficacy of reperfusion therapy after ischemic stroke. Cyclophilin D (CypD)-mediated openings of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) and subsequent monocyte-mediated inflammation are considered as major mechanisms of reperfusion injury. However, no medical therapies are currently available.

Pericyte-Mediated Tissue Repair through PDGFRβ Promotes Peri-Infarct Astrogliosis, Oligodendrogenesis, and Functional Recovery after Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Post-stroke functional recovery can occur spontaneously during the subacute phase; however, how post-stroke fibrotic repair affects functional recovery is highly debated. Platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ)-expressing pericytes are responsible for post-stroke fibrotic repair within infarct areas; therefore, we examined peri-infarct neural reorganization and functional recovery after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) using pericyte-deficient mice. Time-dependent reduction of infarct area sizes, i.

Upregulation of Annexin A1 in Reactive Astrocytes and Its Subtle Induction in Microglia at the Boundaries of Human Brain Infarcts.

Annexin A1 (ANXA1) has multiple functions, including anti-inflammatory effects, and is thought to be neuroprotective in various pathophysiologies of the central nervous system. The importance of ANXA1 in microglia and endothelial cells in ischemic environments in the brain has been recognized, but its detailed behavior in astrocytes in the ischemic brain remains unknown. Using immunohistochemistry, we therefore assessed the altered distribution of ANXA1 in human brain infarcts using 14 autopsied samples and 18 surgical samples.

Early initiation of a factor Xa inhibitor can attenuate tissue repair and neurorestoration after middle cerebral artery occlusion.

The timing of anti-coagulation therapy initiation after acute cardioembolic stroke remains controversial. We investigated the effects of post-stroke administration of a factor Xa inhibitor in mice, focusing on tissue repair and functional restoration outcomes. We initiated administration of rivaroxaban, a Xa inhibitor, immediately after permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) in CB-17 mice harboring few leptomeningeal anastomoses at baseline.

Nox4 Promotes Neural Stem/Precursor Cell Proliferation and Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus and Restores Memory Function Following Trimethyltin-Induced Injury.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) modulate the growth of neural stem/precursor cells (NS/PCs) and participate in hippocampus-associated learning and memory. However, the origin of these regulatory ROS in NS/PCs is not fully understood. In the present study, we found that Nox4, a ROS-producing NADPH oxidase family protein, is expressed in primary cultured NS/PCs and in those of the adult mouse brain.

Early Reperfusion After Brain Ischemia Has Beneficial Effects Beyond Rescuing Neurons.

Background And Purpose: Recent studies show that successful endovascular thrombectomy 6 to 12 hours after stroke onset enhances functional outcomes 3 months later. In this study, we investigated the effects of reperfusion after ischemia on repair processes in the ischemic areas, as well as on functional recovery, using mouse stroke models.

Methods: We examined time-dependent histological changes and functional recovery after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion of different durations, including permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion, using the CB-17 (CB-17/lcr-+/+Jcl) mouse strain, which has poor pial collateral blood flow.

Detrimental role of pericyte Nox4 in the acute phase of brain ischemia.

Pericytes are mural cells abundantly present in cerebral microvessels and play important roles, including the formation and maintenance of the blood-brain barrier. Nox4 is a major source of reactive oxygen species in cardiovascular cells and modulate cellular functions, particularly under pathological conditions. In the present study, we found that the expression of Nox4 was markedly induced in microvascular cells, including pericytes, in peri-infarct areas after middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke models in mice.

Possible involvement of basic FGF in the upregulation of PDGFRβ in pericytes after ischemic stroke.

Central nervous system (CNS) pericytes have been recognized as an indispensable component of the neurovascular unit. The expression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) is markedly increased in CNS pericytes after brain ischemia. It has been elucidated that PDGFRβ, expressed in pericytes and pericyte-derived fibroblast-like cells, plays important roles in the maintenance of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and in the repair process in infarct areas.

Involvement of platelet-derived growth factor receptor β in fibrosis through extracellular matrix protein production after ischemic stroke.

Fibrosis is concomitant with repair processes following injuries in the central nervous system (CNS). Pericytes are considered as an origin of fibrosis-forming cells in the CNS. Here, we examined whether platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ), a well-known indispensable molecule for migration, proliferation, and survival of pericytes, was involved in the production of extracellular matrix proteins, fibronectin and collagen type I, which is crucial for fibrosis after ischemic stroke.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 contributes to kindled seizure development in pentylenetetrazole-treated mice by converting pro-BDNF to mature BDNF in the hippocampus.

Recurrent seizure activity has been shown to induce a variety of permanent structural changes in the brain. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) function to promote neuronal plasticity, primarily through cleavage of extracellular matrix proteins. Here, we investigated the role of MMP-9 in the development of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced kindled seizure in mice.

Possible promotion of neuronal differentiation in fetal rat brain neural progenitor cells after sustained exposure to static magnetism.

We have previously shown significant potentiation of Ca(2+) influx mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, along with decreased microtubules-associated protein-2 (MAP2) expression, in hippocampal neurons cultured under static magnetism without cell death. In this study, we investigated the effects of static magnetism on the functionality of neural progenitor cells endowed to proliferate for self-replication and differentiate into neuronal, astroglial, and oligodendroglial lineages. Neural progenitor cells were isolated from embryonic rat neocortex and hippocampus, followed by culture under static magnetism at 100 mT and subsequent determination of the number of cells immunoreactive for a marker protein of particular progeny lineages.

Relevance of anti-reactive oxygen species activity to anti-inflammatory activity of components of eviprostat, a phytotherapeutic agent for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Inflammation is a common finding in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The phytotherapeutic agent eviprostat is a popular treatment for BPH in Japan and Germany. This agent consists of five components; four are extracted from Chimaphila umbellata, Populus tremula, Pulsatilla pratensis and Equisetum arvense (coded as EVI-1, EVI-2, EVI-3 and EVI-4, respectively) and the fifth is germ oil from Triticum aestivum (coded as EVI-5).

Flow-injection determination of L-histidine with an immobilized histidine oxidase from Brevibacillus borstelensis KAIT-B-022 and chemiluminescence detection.

A chemiluminometric flow injection analytical system for the quantitation of L-histidine is described. Histidine oxidase (EC 1.4.

Simultaneous determination of choline and acetylcholine based on a trienzyme chemiluminometric biosensor in a single line flow injection system.

A detector for the simultaneous determination of choline (Ch) and acetylcholine (ACh) based on a sensitive trienzyme chemiluminometric biosensor in a single line flow injection (FI) system is described. Immobilized choline oxidase (ChOx), immobilized peroxidase (POx), immobilized acetylcholinesterase, and coimmobilized ChOx/POx were packed, in turn, in a transparent ETFE tube (1 mm i.d.

Simultaneous determination of D-glucose and 3-hydroxybutyrate by chemiluminescence detection with immobilized enzymes in a flow injection system.

A chemiluminometric flow-through sensor for the simultaneous determination of glucose (Glu) and 3-hydroxybutyrate (HB) in a single sample has been developed. Coimmobilized 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase/NADH oxidase/peroxidase, a support material, and coimmobilized glucose dehydrogenase/NADH oxidase/peroxidase were packed sequentially in a transparent PTFE tube. The tube was then placed in front of a photomultiplier tube as a flow cell.

Flow-through micro sensor using immobilized peroxidase with chemiluminometric FIA system for determining hydrogen peroxide.

A micromachined flow cell (overall size; 25 x 25 x 1 mm3) was designed for the fast determination of hydrogen peroxide, based on a luminol-H2O2 chemiluminescence reaction catalyzed by immobilized peroxidase (POD). The flow cell consisted of a sandwich of anisotropically etched silicon and glass chips and contained a spiral channel (20 turns, 50 cm long, 150 microm wide, 20 microm depth, channel volume 1.4 microl) and two holes (1 mm diameter).

Anti-inflammatory effect and low ulcerogenic activity of etodolac, a cyclooxygenase-2 selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, on adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats.

Adjuvant arthritic rats are known to be more susceptible to gastric damage induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) than are normal rats. We compared the relative gastric safety profile of etodolac with those of meloxicam, diclofenac sodium and indometacin in adjuvant arthritic rats and normal rats or mice. As a measure of the safety profiles of NSAIDs, we used the safety index, the ratio of the dose that elicits gastric mucosal lesions to the effective dose as an anti-inflammatory or analgesic compound.

Chemiluminometric sensor for simultaneous determination of L-glutamate and L-lysine with immobilized oxidases in a flow injection system.

A chemiluminometric flow-through sensor for simultaneous determination of L-glutamate (Glu) and L-lysine (Lys) in a single sample has been developed. Immobilized uricase, immobilized peroxidase, support material, coimmobilized glutamate oxidase/peroxidase, support material, and coimmobilized lysine oxidase/peroxidase were packed sequentially in a transparent PTFE tube, and the tube was placed in front of a photomultiplier tube as a flow cell. A three-peak recording was obtained by one injection of the sample solution.