The role of NMDA receptor-dependent activity of noradrenergic neurons in attention, impulsivity and exploratory behaviors.

Activity of the brain's noradrenergic (NA) neurons plays a major role in cognitive processes, including the ability to adapt behavior to changing environmental circumstances. Here, we used the NR1DbhCre transgenic mouse strain to test how NMDA receptor-dependent activity of NA neurons influenced performance in tasks requiring sustained attention, attentional shifting and a trade-off between exploration and exploitation. We found that the loss of NMDA receptors caused irregularity in activity of NA cells in the locus coeruleus and increased the number of neurons with spontaneous burst firing. On a behavioral level, this was associated with increased impulsivity in the go/no-go task and facilitated attention shifts in the attentional set-shifting task. Mutation effects were also observed in the two-armed bandit task, in which mutant mice were generally more likely to employ an exploitative rather than exploratory decision-making strategy. At the same time, the mutation had no appreciable effects on locomotor activity or anxiety-like behavior in the open field. Taken together, these data show that NMDA receptor-dependent activity of brain's NA neurons influences behavioral flexibility.

Comparison of gene expression profiles in neuropathic and inflammatory pain.

Molecular mechanisms underlying the differences between chronic neuropathic and inflammatory pain are still poorly understood. Identifying those differences should provide insight into the molecular mechanism underlying features unique for neuropathic pain, such as allodynia. We have performed screening for differentially expressed genes in the spinal cord in the rat models of neuropathic and inflammatory pain. Using BD Atlas Rat 4K arrays we found several differences in expression of secretion-related genes between inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Development of the latter was characterized by up-regulated expression of genes associated with immune response and microglia activation and also, to a lesser extent, with cytoskeleton rearrangement. The relative increase in abundance of four genes, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), chemokine-like receptor 1 was confirmed by reverse transcription Real-Time PCR (qPCR) validation in the spinal cord in neuropathic pain. Levels of transcripts corresponding to ICAM-1 and TIMP-1 were also increased in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of neuropathic rats. Our data point at the importance of immune response- and microglia activation-related genes in the development of chronic neuropathic pain, and suggest that expression of CGRP gene in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord could be involved in persistence of its symptoms.

A neuroprotective phase precedes striatal degeneration upon nucleolar stress.

The nucleolus is implicated in sensing and responding to cellular stress by stabilizing p53. The pro-apoptotic effect of p53 is associated with several neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington's disease (HD), which is characterized by the progressive loss of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the striatum. Here we show that disruption of nucleolar integrity and function causes nucleolar stress and is an early event in MSNs of R6/2 mice, a transgenic model of HD. Targeted perturbation of nucleolar function in MSNs by conditional knockout of the RNA polymerase I-specific transcription initiation factor IA (TIF-IA) leads to late progressive striatal degeneration, HD-like motor abnormalities and molecular signatures. Significantly, p53 prolongs neuronal survival in TIF-IA-deficient MSNs by transient upregulation of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), a tumor suppressor that inhibits mammalian target of rapamycin signaling and induces autophagy. The results emphasize the initial role of nucleolar stress in neurodegeneration and uncover a p53/PTEN-dependent neuroprotective response.

Evidence for glycosylation of the juvenile-hormone-binding protein from Galleria mellonella hemolymph.

The juvenile-hormone-binding protein (JHBP) from Galleria mellonella hemolymph, which is a member of the high-affinity/low-molecular-mass group of JHBP proteins, was found to be glycosylated. Glycosylation was confirmed by the following evidence. Carbohydrate gas-liquid chromatography analysis of the purified JHBP preparations showed the presence of a low amount of sugars (Man and GlcNAc were the major components). The JHBP electrophoretic band blotted onto nitrocellulose was stained with GlycoTrack (a reagent kit used for the detection of protein glycosylation) and showed strong binding of concanavalin A (ConA). JHBP was fractionated on a ConA-Sepharose 4B column into ConA-bound (strongly stained with ConA) and ConA-unbound (hardly stained with ConA) portions. Both fractions showed juvenile-hormone-binding activity and were glycosylated, as revealed by staining both of them with GlycoTrack. Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry of JHBP suggested the presence of a small amount of presumably nonglycosylated protein (24988 Da) and five glycoforms, two of which (containing Man2GlcNAc, or Man2Fuc1GlcNAc2 chain) were not bound or were weakly bound to ConA, and three (with Man3GlcNAc2, Man5Fuc1GlcNAc2, or Man5GlcNAc2, chain) were present in the fraction strongly bound to ConA. In conclusion, the monosugar composition, GlycoTrack staining, ConA-binding properties and molecular mass analyses of JHBP supplied convincing evidence for its glycosylation and some information on the character of the oligosaccharide chains.

Effects of morphine on gene expression in the rat amygdala.

Influence of morphine self-administration on gene expression in the rat amygdala was studied using rat genome DNA arrays U34A from Affymetrix. Animals were trained to self-administer morphine, each having two 'yoked' control animals, receiving passive injections of either morphine or saline. After 40 sessions of self-administration, amygdalae were removed, total RNA was isolated and used to prepare probes for Genechip arrays. The treatment was found to significantly change abundance of 29 transcripts. Analysis by means of reverse transcription real-time PCR showed significant changes in abundance of five transcripts: gamma protein kinase C (PKC), upstream binding factor 2 (UBF2), lysozyme, noggin and heat shock protein 70 (hsp70). After 30 days of forced abstinence from morphine self-administration, abundance of hsp70 and lysozyme returned to basal levels. Changes in abundance of UBF2 persisted, and abundance of three additional genes, namely nuclear factor I/A, gamma1 subunit of GABAA receptor and the neuronal calcium sensor 1, changed. Additionally, acute as well as chronic intraperitoneal morphine administration changed the abundance of PKC gamma, gamma1 subunit of GABAA and hsp70 genes.