Background: Inflammation is known to play a pivotal role in mediating neuronal damage and axonal injury in a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. Among the range of inflammatory mediators, nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide are potent neurotoxic agents. Recent evidence has suggested that oligodendrocyte peroxisomes may play an important role in protecting neurons from inflammatory damage.
Methods: To assess the influence of peroxisomal activation on nitric oxide mediated neurotoxicity, we investigated the effects of the peroxisomal proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) gamma agonist, pioglitazone in primary cortical neurons that were either exposed to a nitric oxide donor or co-cultured with activated microglia.
Results: Pioglitazone protected neurons and axons against both nitric-oxide donor-induced and microglia-derived nitric oxide-induced toxicity. Moreover, cortical neurons treated with this compound showed a significant increase in the protein and gene expression of PPAR-gamma, which was associated with a concomitant increase in the enzymatic activity of catalase. In addition, the protection of neurons and axons against hydrogen peroxide-induced toxicity afforded by pioglitazone appeared to be dependent on catalase.
Conclusions: Collectively, these observations provide evidence that modulation of PPAR-gamma activity and peroxisomal function by pioglitazone attenuates both NO and hydrogen peroxide-mediated neuronal and axonal damage suggesting a new therapeutic approach to protect against neurodegenerative changes associated with neuroinflammation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1742-2094-9-63 | DOI Listing |
Front Neural Circuits
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Department of Cellular Neuropathology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Our brain adapts to the environment by optimizing its function through experience-dependent cortical plasticity. This plasticity is transiently enhanced during a developmental stage, known as the "critical period," and subsequently maintained at lower levels throughout adulthood. Thus, understanding the mechanism underlying critical period plasticity is crucial for improving brain adaptability across the lifespan.
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December 2024
Stress Neurobiology Laboratory, Division of Basic Neuroscience, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States.
The expression of GABARs goes through large scale, evolutionarily conserved changes through the early postnatal period. While these changes have been well-studied in brain regions such as the hippocampus and sensory cortices, less is known about early developmental changes in other brain areas. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a major hub in the circuitry that mediates motivated behaviors and disruptions in NAc activity is a part of the neuropathology observed in mood and substance use disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Mol Neurosci
December 2024
Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
The accumulation of a disease-specific isoform of prion protein (PrP) and histopathological lesions, such as neuronal loss, are unevenly distributed in the brains of humans and animals affected with prion diseases. This distribution varies depending on the diseases and/or the combinations of prion strain and experimental animal. The brain region-dependent distribution of PrP and neuropathological lesions suggests a neuronal cell-type-dependent prion propagation and vulnerability to prion infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurophysiol
December 2024
Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon. Eugene, OR 97403.
Psychedelics are known to induce profound perceptual distortions, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these effects, particularly within the auditory system, remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of the psychedelic compound 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI), a serotonin 2A receptor agonist, on the activity of neurons in the auditory cortex of awake mice. We examined whether DOI administration alters sound-frequency tuning, variability in neural responses, and deviance detection (a neural process reflecting the balance between top-down and bottom-up processing).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Neurosci
January 2025
Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The locus coeruleus (LC) plays a vital role in cognitive function through norepinephrine release. Impaired LC neuronal health and function is linked to cognitive decline during ageing and Alzheimer's disease. This study investigates age-related alterations in olfactory detection and discrimination learning, along with its reversal, in Long-Evans rats, and examines the effects of atomoxetine (ATM), a norepinephrine uptake inhibitor, on these processes.
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