Sex-specific sensitivity to methamphetamine-induced schizophrenia-relevant behaviours in overexpressing mice.

Background: Gene-environment interactions contribute to schizophrenia aetiology. is a well-established genetic risk factor for schizophrenia, and elevated expression of type III neuregulin 1 mRNA in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is observed in patients with a core risk haplotype. A mouse model of overexpression () possesses face and construct validity for schizophrenia; however, the sensitivity of these transgenic mice to environmental risk factors relevant to schizophrenia is unknown.

Heat shock response to exercise in pancreatic islets of obese mice.

Chronic obesity imposes an organismal state of low-grade inflammation because the physiological resolution of inflammation is progressively repressed giving rise to cellular senescence and its accompanying Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP), which avoids apoptosis but perpetuates the relay of inflammatory signals from adipose tissue toward the rest of the body. Conversely, resolution of inflammation depends on the integrity of heat shock response (HSR) pathway that leads to the expression of cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory protein chaperones of the 70 kDa family (HSP70). However, chronic exposure to the aforementioned injuring factors leads to SASP, which, in turn, suppresses the HSR.

eHSP70/iHSP70 and divergent functions on the challenge: effect of exercise and tissue specificity in response to stress.

Heat-shock proteins including HSP70 are stress-related proteins that have been reported in cell protection and survival. In contrast to this, the increase in circulating levels of HSP70 (eHSP70) is associated with cellular damage and inflammatory factors. Physical stress, like exercise, is effective to induce both iHSP70 and eHSP70 in several tissues and cell types, which have different behaviours in response to stress.

Obesity depresses the anti-inflammatory HSP70 pathway, contributing to NAFLD progression.

Objectives: To evaluate whether reduced activity of the anti-inflammatory HSP70 pathway correlates with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression and with markers of oxidative stress because obesity activates inflammatory JNKs, whereas HSP70 exerts the opposite effect.

Methods: Adult obese patients (N = 95) undergoing bariatric surgery were divided into steatosis (ST), steatohepatitis (SH), and fibrosis (SH+F) groups. The levels of HSP70, its major transcription factor, HSF1, and JNKs were assessed by immunoblotting hepatic and visceral adipose tissue; data were confirmed by immunohistochemistry.