Glial contribution to cyclodextrin-mediated reversal of cholesterol accumulation in murine NPC1-deficient neurons in vivo.

Niemann-Pick type C disease is a rare and fatal lysosomal storage disorder presenting severe neurovisceral symptoms. Disease-causing mutations in genes encoding either NPC1 or NPC2 protein provoke accumulation of cholesterol and other lipids in specific structures of the endosomal-lysosomal system and degeneration of specific cells, notably neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (CD) emerged as potential therapeutic approach based on animal studies and clinical data, but the mechanism of action in neurons has remained unclear.

The receptor tyrosine kinase EPHB6 regulates catecholamine exocytosis in adrenal gland chromaffin cells.

The erythropoietin-producing human hepatocellular receptor EPH receptor B6 (EPHB6) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that has been shown previously to control catecholamine synthesis in the adrenal gland chromaffin cells (AGCCs) in a testosterone-dependent fashion. EPHB6 also has a role in regulating blood pressure, but several facets of this regulation remain unclear. Using amperometry recordings, we now found that catecholamine secretion by AGCCs is compromised in the absence of EPHB6.

Expression Patterns of Inducible Cre Recombinase Driven by Differential Astrocyte-Specific Promoters in Transgenic Mouse Lines.

Astrocytes are the most abundant cell type in the central nervous system (CNS). They provide trophic support for neurons, modulate synaptic transmission and plasticity, and contribute to neuronal dysfunction. Many transgenic mouse lines have been generated to obtain astrocyte-specific expression of inducible Cre recombinase for functional studies; however, the expression patterns of inducible Cre recombinase in these lines have not been systematically characterized.

Effects of phospholipase D during cultured osteoblast mineralization and bone formation.

Mammalian phospholipase D (PLD) mostly hydrolyzes phosphatidylcholine producing phosphatidic acid. PLD activity was previously detected in different osteoblastic cell models, and was increased by several growth factors involved in bone homeostasis. To confirm possible actions of PLD isoforms during mineralization process, we analyzed their effects in osteoblastic cell models and during bone formation.

Phospholipase D: A new mediator during high phosphate-induced vascular calcification associated with chronic kidney disease.

Vascular calcification (VC) is the pathological accumulation of calcium phosphate crystals in one of the layers of blood vessels, leading to loss of elasticity and causing severe calcification in vessels. Medial calcification is mostly seen in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes. Identification of key enzymes and their actions during calcification will contribute to understand the onset of pathological calcification.

Reversal of Pathologic Lipid Accumulation in NPC1-Deficient Neurons by Drug-Promoted Release of LAMP1-Coated Lamellar Inclusions.

Unlabelled: Aging and pathologic conditions cause intracellular aggregation of macromolecules and the dysfunction and degeneration of neurons, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. Prime examples are lysosomal storage disorders such as Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease, where defects in the endosomal-lysosomal protein NPC1 or NPC2 cause intracellular accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and other lipids leading to neurodegeneration and fatal neurovisceral symptoms. Here, we investigated the impact of NPC1 deficiency on rodent neurons using pharmacologic and genetic models of the disease.

Rev-erbα in the brain is essential for circadian food entrainment.

Foraging is costly in terms of time and energy. An endogenous food-entrainable system allows anticipation of predictable changes of food resources in nature. Yet the molecular mechanism that controls food anticipation in mammals remains elusive.

Arvicanthis ansorgei, a Novel Model for the Study of Sleep and Waking in Diurnal Rodents.

Study Objectives: Sleep neurobiology studies use nocturnal species, mainly rats and mice. However, because their daily sleep/wake organization is inverted as compared to humans, a diurnal model for sleep studies is needed. To fill this gap, we phenotyped sleep and waking in Arvicanthis ansorgei, a diurnal rodent widely used for the study of circadian rhythms.

Relevance of exocytotic glutamate release from retinal glia.

Glial cells release molecules that influence brain development, function, and disease. Calcium-dependent exocytosis has been proposed as potential release mechanism in astroglia, but the physiological relevance of "gliotransmission" in vivo remains controversial. We focused on the impact of glial exocytosis on sensory transduction in the retina.

Altered microtubule dynamics in Mecp2-deficient astrocytes.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the gene MECP2 encoding the methyl-CpG binding protein 2. This genetic disease affects predominantly girls and is characterized by a period of normal development that lasts for 8-18 months, followed by neurologic regression affecting both motor and mental abilities. Previous studies performed on brains from RTT subjects and Mecp2-deficient mice showed striking changes in neuronal maturation and dendritic arborization.

CRMP5 regulates generation and survival of newborn neurons in olfactory and hippocampal neurogenic areas of the adult mouse brain.

The Collapsin Response Mediator Proteins (CRMPS) are highly expressed in the developing brain, and in adult brain areas that retain neurogenesis, ie: the olfactory bulb (OB) and the dentate gyrus (DG). During brain development, CRMPs are essentially involved in signaling of axon guidance and neurite outgrowth, but their functions in the adult brain remain largely unknown. CRMP5 has been initially identified as the target of auto-antibodies involved in paraneoplasic neurological diseases and further implicated in a neurite outgrowth inhibition mediated by tubulin binding.

Altered expression of CRMPs in the brain of bovine spongiform encephalopathy-infected mice during disease progression.

While recent studies suggest that synaptic alterations are first events in the mechanisms of prion-mediated neurodegeneration, little is known on the identity of the neuronal plasticity-related genes potentially concerned. Here the expression of 4 Collapsin Response Mediator Proteins (CRMPs), a family of signal transduction proteins involved in brain development and altered in Alzheimer's disease, was studied in the brain of C57Bl/6 mice infected with the BSE strain of prion agent, using RT-PCR and Western-blot methods. At the terminal stage of the disease, gene expression of each CRMP had decreased, while at the mid-stage of the disease only CRMP4 (mRNA and protein) expression had increased, concomitant to the start of PrP(Sc) accumulation in the brainstem.

Transient alterations in granule cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration in postnatal developing cerebellum of CRMP1-/- mice.

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) consist of five homologous cytosolic proteins that participate in signal transduction involved in a variety of physiological events. CRMP1 is highly expressed during brain development; however, its functions remains unclear. To gain insight into its function, we generated CRMP1(-/-) mice with a knock-in LacZ gene.

Differential expression of CRMP1, CRMP2A, CRMP2B, and CRMP5 in axons or dendrites of distinct neurons in the mouse brain.

CRMP1, CRMP2, and CRMP5 have been identified as cytosolic proteins relaying semaphorin 3A signalling, one of the molecular cues conducting axon and dendrite growth and guidance. They are highly expressed during brain ontogenesis, but, because of their lower levels in the adult, their distribution in the mature brain is poorly documented. By using specific antibodies, we investigated the cellular distribution of these CRMPs in different adult brain structures and in neural cell cultures with a special focus on the splice variants CRMP2A and CRMP2B.

Neuropeptide Y delays hippocampal kindling in the rat.

Chronic intrahippocampal infusion of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been shown to delay kindling epileptogenesis in the rat and several lines of evidence suggest that neuropeptide Y could mediate these inhibitory effects. Chronic infusion of BDNF leads to a sustained overexpression of neuropeptide Y in the hippocampus, which follows a time course similar to that of the suppressive effects of BDNF on kindling. In vivo, acute applications of neuropeptide Y or agonists of its receptors exert anticonvulsant properties, especially on seizures of hippocampal origin.