Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Alerts
  • Advertising/recruitment
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Author's Takes
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • Tumor Microenvironment (Mar 2021)
    • 100th Anniversary of Insulin's Discovery (Jan 2021)
    • Hypoxia-inducible factors in disease pathophysiology and therapeutics (Oct 2020)
    • Latency in Infectious Disease (Jul 2020)
    • Immunotherapy in Hematological Cancers (Apr 2020)
    • Big Data's Future in Medicine (Feb 2020)
    • Mechanisms Underlying the Metabolic Syndrome (Oct 2019)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Commentaries
    • Concise Communication
    • Editorials
    • Viewpoint
    • Top read articles
  • Clinical Medicine
  • JCI This Month
    • Current issue
    • Past issues

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Author's Takes
  • In-Press Preview
  • Commentaries
  • Concise Communication
  • Editorials
  • Viewpoint
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Alerts
  • Advertising/recruitment
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

Neuroscience

  • 453 Articles
  • 7 Posts
  • ← Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • …
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • Next →
The chromatin-remodeling protein ATRX is critical for neuronal survival during corticogenesis
Nathalie G. Bérubé, … , Ruth S. Slack, David J. Picketts
Nathalie G. Bérubé, … , Ruth S. Slack, David J. Picketts
Published February 1, 2005
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2005;115(2):258-267. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI22329.
View: Text | PDF

The chromatin-remodeling protein ATRX is critical for neuronal survival during corticogenesis

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Mutations in genes encoding chromatin-remodeling proteins, such as the ATRX gene, underlie a number of genetic disorders including several X-linked mental retardation syndromes; however, the role of these proteins in normal CNS development is unknown. Here, we used a conditional gene-targeting approach to inactivate Atrx, specifically in the forebrain of mice. Loss of ATRX protein caused widespread hypocellularity in the neocortex and hippocampus and a pronounced reduction in forebrain size. Neuronal “birthdating” confirmed that fewer neurons reached the superficial cortical layers, despite normal progenitor cell proliferation. The loss of cortical mass resulted from a 12-fold increase in neuronal apoptosis during early stages of corticogenesis in the mutant animals. Moreover, cortical progenitors isolated from Atrx-null mice undergo enhanced apoptosis upon differentiation. Taken together, our results indicate that ATRX is a critical mediator of cell survival during early neuronal differentiation. Thus, increased neuronal loss may contribute to the severe mental retardation observed in human patients.

Authors

Nathalie G. Bérubé, Marie Mangelsdorf, Magdalena Jagla, Jackie Vanderluit, David Garrick, Richard J. Gibbons, Douglas R. Higgs, Ruth S. Slack, David J. Picketts

×

Anti-Aβ antibody treatment promotes the rapid recovery of amyloid-associated neuritic dystrophy in PDAPP transgenic mice
Robert P. Brendza, … , Bradley T. Hyman, David M. Holtzman
Robert P. Brendza, … , Bradley T. Hyman, David M. Holtzman
Published February 1, 2005
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2005;115(2):428-433. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI23269.
View: Text | PDF

Anti-Aβ antibody treatment promotes the rapid recovery of amyloid-associated neuritic dystrophy in PDAPP transgenic mice

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Neuritic plaques are a defining feature of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. These structures are composed of extracellular accumulations of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and other plaque-associated proteins, surrounded by large, swollen axons and dendrites (dystrophic neurites) and activated glia. Dystrophic neurites are thought to disrupt neuronal function, but whether this damage is static, dynamic, or reversible is unknown. To address this, we monitored neuritic plaques in the brains of living PDAPP;Thy-1:YFP transgenic mice, a model that develops AD-like pathology and also stably expresses yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) in a subset of neurons in the brain. Using multiphoton microscopy, we observed and monitored amyloid through cranial windows in PDAPP;Thy-1:YFP double-transgenic mice using the in vivo amyloid-imaging fluorophore methoxy-X04, and individual YFP-labeled dystrophic neurites by their inherent fluorescence. In vivo studies using this system suggest that amyloid-associated dystrophic neurites are relatively stable structures in PDAPP;Thy-1:YFP transgenic mice over several days. However, a significant reduction in the number and size of dystrophic neurites was seen 3 days after Aβ deposits were cleared by anti-Aβ antibody treatment. This analysis suggests that ongoing axonal and dendritic damage is secondary to Aβ and is, in part, rapidly reversible.

Authors

Robert P. Brendza, Brian J. Bacskai, John R. Cirrito, Kelly A. Simmons, Jesse M. Skoch, William E. Klunk, Chester A. Mathis, Kelly R. Bales, Steven M. Paul, Bradley T. Hyman, David M. Holtzman

×

Persistent improvement in synaptic and cognitive functions in an Alzheimer mouse model after rolipram treatment
Bing Gong, … , Michael Shelanski, Ottavio Arancio
Bing Gong, … , Michael Shelanski, Ottavio Arancio
Published December 1, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;114(11):1624-1634. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI22831.
View: Text | PDF

Persistent improvement in synaptic and cognitive functions in an Alzheimer mouse model after rolipram treatment

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Evidence suggests that Alzheimer disease (AD) begins as a disorder of synaptic function, caused in part by increased levels of amyloid β-peptide 1–42 (Aβ42). Both synaptic and cognitive deficits are reproduced in mice double transgenic for amyloid precursor protein (AA substitution K670N,M671L) and presenilin-1 (AA substitution M146V). Here we demonstrate that brief treatment with the phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor rolipram ameliorates deficits in both long-term potentiation (LTP) and contextual learning in the double-transgenic mice. Most importantly, this beneficial effect can be extended beyond the duration of the administration. One course of long-term systemic treatment with rolipram improves LTP and basal synaptic transmission as well as working, reference, and associative memory deficits for at least 2 months after the end of the treatment. This protective effect is possibly due to stabilization of synaptic circuitry via alterations in gene expression by activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA)/cAMP regulatory element–binding protein (CREB) signaling pathway that make the synapses more resistant to the insult inflicted by Aβ. Thus, agents that enhance the cAMP/PKA/CREB pathway have potential for the treatment of AD and other diseases associated with elevated Aβ42 levels.

Authors

Bing Gong, Ottavio V. Vitolo, Fabrizio Trinchese, Shumin Liu, Michael Shelanski, Ottavio Arancio

×

Inhibition of apoptosis improves outcome in a model of congenital muscular dystrophy
Mahasweta Girgenrath, … , Christine A. Kostek, Jeffrey Boone Miller
Mahasweta Girgenrath, … , Christine A. Kostek, Jeffrey Boone Miller
Published December 1, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;114(11):1635-1639. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI22928.
View: Text | PDF

Inhibition of apoptosis improves outcome in a model of congenital muscular dystrophy

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

The most common form of human congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) is caused by mutations in the laminin-α2 gene. Loss of laminin-α2 function in this autosomal recessive type 1A form of CMD results in neuromuscular dysfunction and, often, early death. Laminin-α2–deficient skeletal muscles in both humans and mice show signs of muscle cell death by apoptosis. To examine the significance of apoptosis in CMD1A pathogenesis, we determined whether pathogenesis in laminin-α2–deficient (Lama2–/–) mice could be ameliorated by inhibiting apoptosis through either (a) inactivation of the proapoptosis protein Bax or (b) overexpression of the antiapoptosis protein Bcl-2 from a muscle-specific transgene. We found that both of these genetic interventions produced a several-fold increase in the lifespan of Lama2–/– mice. Bax inactivation also improved postnatal growth rate and myofiber histology and decreased fixed contractures of Lama2–/– mice. Thus, Bcl-2 family–mediated apoptosis contributes significantly to pathogenesis in the mouse model of CMD1A, and antiapoptosis therapy may be a possible route to amelioration of neuromuscular dysfunction due to laminin-α2 deficiency in humans.

Authors

Mahasweta Girgenrath, Janice A. Dominov, Christine A. Kostek, Jeffrey Boone Miller

×

Caspase-cleavage of tau is an early event in Alzheimer disease tangle pathology
Robert A. Rissman, … , Troy T. Rohn, Carl W. Cotman
Robert A. Rissman, … , Troy T. Rohn, Carl W. Cotman
Published July 1, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;114(1):121-130. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI20640.
View: Text | PDF

Caspase-cleavage of tau is an early event in Alzheimer disease tangle pathology

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are composed of abnormal aggregates of the cytoskeletal protein tau. Together with amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neuronal and synaptic loss, NFTs constitute the primary pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD). Recent evidence also suggests that caspases are activated early in the progression of AD and may play a role in neuronal loss and NFT pathology. Here we demonstrate that tau is cleaved at D421 (ΔTau) by executioner caspases. Following caspase-cleavage, ΔTau facilitates nucleation-dependent filament formation and readily adopts a conformational change recognized by the early pathological tau marker MC1. ΔTau can be phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase-3β and subsequently recognized by the NFT antibody PHF-1. In transgenic mice and AD brains, ΔTau associates with both early and late markers of NFTs and is correlated with cognitive decline. Additionally, ΔTau colocalizes with Aβ1–42 and is induced by Aβ1–42 in vitro. Collectively, our data imply that Aβ accumulation triggers caspase activation, leading to caspase-cleavage of tau, and that this is an early event that may precede hyperphosphorylation in the evolution of AD tangle pathology. These results suggest that therapeutics aimed at inhibiting tau caspase-cleavage may prove beneficial not only in preventing NFT formation, but also in slowing cognitive decline.

Authors

Robert A. Rissman, Wayne W. Poon, Mathew Blurton-Jones, Salvatore Oddo, Reidun Torp, Michael P. Vitek, Frank M. LaFerla, Troy T. Rohn, Carl W. Cotman

×

Structural and functional impairment of endocytic pathways by retinitis pigmentosa mutant rhodopsin-arrestin complexes
Jen-Zen Chuang, … , Wenjin Jun, Ching-Hwa Sung
Jen-Zen Chuang, … , Wenjin Jun, Ching-Hwa Sung
Published July 1, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;114(1):131-140. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI21136.
View: Text | PDF

Structural and functional impairment of endocytic pathways by retinitis pigmentosa mutant rhodopsin-arrestin complexes

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous degenerative eye disease. Mutations at Arg135 of rhodopsin are associated with a severe form of autosomal dominant RP. This report presents evidence that Arg135 mutant rhodopsins (e.g., R135L, R135G, and R135W) are hyperphosphorylated and bind with high affinity to visual arrestin. Mutant rhodopsin recruits the cytosolic arrestin to the plasma membrane, and the rhodopsin-arrestin complex is internalized into the endocytic pathway. Furthermore, the rhodopsin-arrestin complexes alter the morphology of endosomal compartments and severely damage receptor-mediated endocytic functions. The biochemical and cellular defects of Arg135 mutant rhodopsins are distinct from those previously described for class I and class II RP mutations, and, hence, we propose that they be named class III. Impaired endocytic activity may underlie the pathogenesis of RP caused by class III rhodopsin mutations.

Authors

Jen-Zen Chuang, Carrie Vega, Wenjin Jun, Ching-Hwa Sung

×

Neutrophil protein kinase Cδ as a mediator of stroke-reperfusion injury
Wen-Hai Chou, … , Donna M. Ferriero, Robert O. Messing
Wen-Hai Chou, … , Donna M. Ferriero, Robert O. Messing
Published July 1, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;114(1):49-56. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI21655.
View: Text | PDF

Neutrophil protein kinase Cδ as a mediator of stroke-reperfusion injury

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Thrombolysis is widely used to intervene in acute ischemic stroke, but reestablishment of circulation may paradoxically initiate a reperfusion injury. Here we describe studies with mice lacking protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) showing that absence of this enzyme markedly reduces reperfusion injury following transient ischemia. This was associated with reduced infiltration of peripheral blood neutrophils into infarcted tissue and with impaired neutrophil adhesion, migration, respiratory burst, and degranulation in vitro. Total body irradiation followed by transplantation with bone marrow from PKCδ-null mice donors reduced infarct size and improved neurological outcome in WT mice, whereas marrow transplantation from WT donors increased infarction and worsened neurological scores in PKCδ-null mice. These results indicate an important role for neutrophil PKCδ in reperfusion injury and strongly suggest that PKCδ inhibitors could prove useful in the treatment of stroke.

Authors

Wen-Hai Chou, Doo-Sup Choi, Hong Zhang, Dezhi Mu, Tom McMahon, Viktor N. Kharazia, Clifford A. Lowell, Donna M. Ferriero, Robert O. Messing

×

Specific induction of neuronal cells from bone marrow stromal cells and application for autologous transplantation
Mari Dezawa, … , Yoshihisa Suzuki, Chizuka Ide
Mari Dezawa, … , Yoshihisa Suzuki, Chizuka Ide
Published June 15, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;113(12):1701-1710. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI20935.
View: Text | PDF

Specific induction of neuronal cells from bone marrow stromal cells and application for autologous transplantation

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) have the capability under specific conditions of differentiating into various cell types such as osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes. Here we demonstrate a highly efficient and specific induction of cells with neuronal characteristics, without glial differentiation, from both rat and human MSCs using gene transfection with Notch intracellular domain (NICD) and subsequent treatment with bFGF, forskolin, and ciliary neurotrophic factor. MSCs expressed markers related to neural stem cells after transfection with NICD, and subsequent trophic factor administration induced neuronal cells. Some of them showed voltage-gated fast sodium and delayed rectifier potassium currents and action potentials compatible with characteristics of functional neurons. Further treatment of the induced neuronal cells with glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) increased the proportion of tyrosine hydroxylase–positive and dopamine-producing cells. Transplantation of these GDNF-treated cells showed improvement in apomorphine-induced rotational behavior and adjusting step and paw-reaching tests following intrastriatal implantation in a 6-hydroxy dopamine rat model of Parkinson disease. This study shows that a population of neuronal cells can be specifically generated from MSCs and that induced cells may allow for a neuroreconstructive approach.

Authors

Mari Dezawa, Hiroshi Kanno, Mikio Hoshino, Hirotomi Cho, Naoya Matsumoto, Yutaka Itokazu, Nobuyoshi Tajima, Hitoshi Yamada, Hajime Sawada, Hiroto Ishikawa, Toshirou Mimura, Masaaki Kitada, Yoshihisa Suzuki, Chizuka Ide

×

Increased postischemic brain injury in mice deficient in uracil-DNA glycosylase
Matthias Endres, … , Andreas Meisel, Rudolf Jaenisch
Matthias Endres, … , Andreas Meisel, Rudolf Jaenisch
Published June 15, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;113(12):1711-1721. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI20926.
View: Text | PDF

Increased postischemic brain injury in mice deficient in uracil-DNA glycosylase

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG) is involved in base excision repair of aberrant uracil residues in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Ung knockout mice generated by gene targeting are viable, fertile, and phenotypically normal and have regular mutation rates. However, when exposed to a nitric oxide donor, Ung–/– fibroblasts show an increase in the uracil/cytosine ratio in the genome and augmented cell death. After combined oxygen-glucose deprivation, Ung–/– primary cortical neurons have increased vulnerability to cell death, which is associated with early mitochondrial dysfunction. In vivo, UNG expression and activity are low in brains of naive WT mice but increase significantly after reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion. Moreover, major increases in infarct size are observed in Ung–/– mice compared with littermate control mice. In conclusion, our results provide compelling evidence that UNG is of major importance for tissue repair after brain ischemia.

Authors

Matthias Endres, Detlev Biniszkiewicz, Robert W. Sobol, Christoph Harms, Michael Ahmadi, Andreas Lipski, Juri Katchanov, Philipp Mergenthaler, Ulrich Dirnagl, Samuel H. Wilson, Andreas Meisel, Rudolf Jaenisch

×

Cortical spreading depression activates and upregulates MMP-9
Yasemin Gursoy-Ozdemir, … , Eng H. Lo, Michael A. Moskowitz
Yasemin Gursoy-Ozdemir, … , Eng H. Lo, Michael A. Moskowitz
Published May 15, 2004
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2004;113(10):1447-1455. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI21227.
View: Text | PDF

Cortical spreading depression activates and upregulates MMP-9

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is a propagating wave of neuronal and glial depolarization and has been implicated in disorders of neurovascular regulation such as stroke, head trauma, and migraine. In this study, we found that CSD alters blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability by activating brain MMPs. Beginning at 3–6 hours, MMP-9 levels increased within cortex ipsilateral to the CSD, reaching a maximum at 24 hours and persisting for at least 48 hours. Gelatinolytic activity was detected earliest within the matrix of cortical blood vessels and later within neurons and pia arachnoid (≥3 hours), particularly within piriform cortex; this activity was suppressed by injection of the metalloprotease inhibitor GM6001 or in vitro by the addition of a zinc chelator (1,10-phenanthroline). At 3–24 hours, immunoreactive laminin, endothelial barrier antigen, and zona occludens-1 diminished in the ipsilateral cortex, suggesting that CSD altered proteins critical to the integrity of the BBB. At 3 hours after CSD, plasma protein leakage and brain edema developed contemporaneously. Albumin leakage was suppressed by the administration of GM6001. Protein leakage was not detected in MMP-9–null mice, implicating the MMP-9 isoform in barrier disruption. We conclude that intense neuronal and glial depolarization initiates a cascade that disrupts the BBB via an MMP-9–dependent mechanism.

Authors

Yasemin Gursoy-Ozdemir, Jianhua Qiu, Norihiro Matsuoka, Hayrunnisa Bolay, Daniela Bermpohl, Hongwei Jin, Xiaoying Wang, Gary A. Rosenberg, Eng H. Lo, Michael A. Moskowitz

×
  • ← Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • …
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • Next →
DREAM suppression in Huntington’s disease
José Naranjo and colleagues reveal that downregulation of DREAM mediates derepression of ATF6, and this elevation of ATF6 plays an early neuroprotective role in Huntington’s disease…
Published January 11, 2016
Scientific Show StopperNeuroscience

Extra-cerebellar motor symptoms in Angelman’s syndrome
Caroline Bruinsma and colleagues evaluated cerebellar involvement in Angelman’s Syndrome motor deficits…
Published October 20, 2015
Scientific Show StopperNeuroscience

An epigenetic intervention for neurodegenerative diseases
Eva Benito and colleagues demonstrate that SAHA, a histone-deacetylase inhibitor, improves spatial memory and selectively regulates the neuronal epigenome in a mouse model of neurodegeneration…
Published August 17, 2015
Scientific Show StopperNeuroscience

Genetic and environmental interactions in Parkinson’s disease
Alevtina Zharikov and colleagues reveal that interplay between α-synuclein and environmental toxin exposure influences parkinsonian neurodegeneration…
Published June 15, 2015
Scientific Show StopperNeuroscience

TREM2 keeps myelinated axons under wraps
Pietro Poliani, Yaming Wang, and colleagues demonstrate that TREM2 deficiency reduces age-associated expansion of microglia and microglia-dependent remyelination…
Published April 20, 2015
Scientific Show StopperNeuroscience

Synergy among Parkinson’s disease-associated genes
Durga Meka and colleagues demonstrate that crosstalk between parkin and RET maintains mitochondrial integrity and protects dopaminergic neurons…
Published March 30, 2015
Scientific Show StopperNeuroscience

A model of periventricular leukomalacia
Tamar Licht, Talia Dor-Wollman and colleagues demonstrate that specific vulnerability of immature blood vessels surrounding ventricles predisposes to hypoxia-induced periventricular leukomalacia…
Published February 17, 2015
Scientific Show StopperNeuroscience
Advertisement

Copyright © 2021 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts