Fluoxetine-enhanced autophagy ameliorates early brain injury via inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation following subrachnoid hemorrhage in rats.

BACKGROUND: The NLRP3 inflammasome is a multiprotein complex that regulates the innate immune inflammatory response by activating caspase-1 and subsequent IL-1ß and IL-18. Fluoxetine has been shown to have the anti-inflammatory properties in many disease models. However, the effects and mechanisms of these effects of fluoxetine in early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have not been defined. METHODS: The SAH model was induced by an endovascular perforation in adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats weighing 300-320 g. N-Ac-Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-chloromethyl ketone (AC-YVAD-CMK) was injected intraperitoneally (5 mg/kg) 1 h after SAH. Fluoxetine was administered via intravenous route 6 h after SAH. 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) was intracerebroventricularly injected 20 min before SAH. SAH grade, neurological function, brain water content, propidium iodide (PI) staining, western blot, double immunostaining, and transmission electron microscopy were performed. RESULTS: Expression of caspase-1 increased and peaked at 24 h after SAH. Caspase activation was along with the increased necrotic cells, which occurred mainly in neurons. Necrotic cell death of microglia and astrocyte were also found. Administration of AC-YVAD-CMK, a caspase-1 inhibitor, reduced the expression of IL-1ß and IL-18 and the number of PI-positive cells, attenuated brain edema, and improved neurological function, which was also observed in fluoxetine-treated rats. Furthermore, fluoxetine treatment significantly decreased the expression of NLRP3 and cleaved caspase-1 and upregulated the expression of beclin-1, a marker for autophagy. Finally, the effects of fluoxetine in NLRP3 inflammasome activation were reversed by additional 3-MA administration. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our present study indicated that NLRP3 inflammasome and caspase-1 activation play a deleterious role in early brain injury and fluoxetine mitigates NLRP3 inflammasome and caspase-1 activation through autophagy activation after SAH, providing a potential therapeutic agent for SAH treatment.

Pressure-induced Transformations of Dense Carbonyl Sulfide to Singly Bonded Amorphous Metallic Solid.

The application of pressure, internal or external, transforms molecular solids into non-molecular extended network solids with diverse crystal structures and electronic properties. These transformations can be understood in terms of pressure-induced electron delocalization; however, the governing mechanisms are complex because of strong lattice strains, phase metastability and path dependent phase behaviors. Here, we present the pressure-induced transformations of linear OCS (R3m, Phase I) to bent OCS (Cm, Phase II) at 9 GPa; an amorphous, one-dimensional (1D) polymer at 20 GPa (Phase III); and an extended 3D network above ~35 GPa (Phase IV) that metallizes at ~105 GPa. These results underscore the significance of long-range dipole interactions in dense OCS, leading to an extended molecular alloy that can be considered a chemical intermediate of its two end members, CO2 and CS2.

Neuroprotective Effects of Valproic Acid on Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption and Apoptosis-Related Early Brain Injury in Rats Subjected to Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Are Modulated by Heat Shock Protein 70/Matrix Metalloproteinases and Heat Shock Protein 70/AKT Pathways.

BACKGROUND: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and neural apoptosis are thought to promote early brain injury (EBI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Previous studies have demonstrated that valproic acid (VPA) decreased brain injury in a prechiasmatic injection model of SAH in mice. It should be noted that the beneficial effects of VPA and the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the effects of VPA on BBB disruption and neural apoptosis and to determine mechanisms involved in EBI after SAH. METHODS: An endovascular perforation model was used to induce SAH in rats. VPA (300 mg/kg) was promptly administered after SAH induction, and the same dose was given 12 hours later. Quercetin (100 mg/kg), an inhibitor of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), was injected into the peritoneum 2 hours before SAH induction. Mortality, SAH grades, neurological function, Evans Blue extravasation, brain edema, transmission electron microscopy, Western blot, double fluorescence labeling, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling staining also were used. RESULTS: VPA treatment decreased BBB disruption and brain edema, attenuated neural apoptosis, and improved neurobehavioral functions in EBI after SAH. Double fluorescence labeling indicated that matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) was located predominately in neurons and endothelial cells. VPA upregulated the expression of HSP70, effectively decreased the expression and activity of MMP-9, and reduced claudin-5 and occludin degradation. Meanwhile, VPA also upregulated the expression of phosphorylated Akt and bcl-2. Both the anti-BBB disruption and antiapoptotic effects of VPA were abolished by quercetin. CONCLUSION: VPA prevented BBB disruption and alleviated neural apoptosis after SAH. The action of VPA appeared to be mediated though the HSP70/MMPs and HSP70/Akt pathways. ABBREVIATIONS: BBB, blood-brain barrierEBI, early brain injuryHSP, heat shock proteinMMP, matrix metalloproteinasePBS, phosphate-buffered salineSAH, subarachnoid hemorrhageTUNEL, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labelingVPA, valproic acid.

[The relationship between hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression and apoptosis in early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression and apoptosis in the cerebral cortex following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODS: Subarachnoid hemorrhage was induced by modified monofilament puncture method in rats. Thirty-five adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to five groups: sham-operated group, SAH 6 h, SAH 12 h, SAH 24 h and SAH 72 h groups. HIF-1α expression was assessed by immunofluorescence staining. TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) technique was adopted to detect apoptotic cells. Double immunolabeling was used to identify cell types with positive HIF-1α expression. RESULTS: The expression of HIF-1α was increased at 6 h (4.65%±1.01%), peaked at 24 h (18.55%±4.23%), and decreased at 72 h (6.31%±1.15%) after SAH (P<0.05). TUNEL-positive cells were up-regulated in the brain at 6 h (7.09%±2.34%), peaked at 24 h (25.54%±7.36%), and down-regulated at 72 h (14.11%±3.03%) after SAH (P<0.05). A significant positive correlation was noted between HIF-1α positive rates and TUNEL positive rates following SAH (r=0.738, P<0.05). Double immunolabeling indicated that HIF-1α was expressed predominantly in neurons and some nuclei with positive HIF-1α were co-stained with TUNEL. CONCLUSION: The data indicate that HIF-1α might participate in the pathological progression of early brain injury after SAH.

Pressure-induced phase transition and polymerization of tetracyanoethylene (TCNE).

We have studied the pressure-induced physical and chemical transformations of tetracyanoethylene (TCNE or C6N4) in diamond anvil cells using micro-Raman spectroscopy, laser-heating, emission spectroscopy, and synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The results indicate that TCNE in a quasi-hydrostatic condition undergoes a shear-induced phase transition at 10 GPa and then a chemical change to two-dimensional (2D) C=N polymers above 14 GPa. These phase and chemical transformations depend strongly on the state of stress in the sample and occur sluggishly in non-hydrostatic conditions over a large pressure range between 7 and 14 GPa. The x-ray diffraction data indicate that the phase transition occurs isostructurally within the monoclinic structure (P21∕c) without any apparent volume discontinuity and the C=N polymer is highly disordered but remains stable to 60 GPa-the maximum pressure studied. On the other hand, laser-heating of the C=N polymer above 25 GPa further converts to a theoretically predicted 3D C-N network structure, evident from an emergence of new Raman νs(C-N) at 1404 cm(-1) at 25 GPa and the visual appearance of translucent solid. The C-N product is, however, unstable upon pressure unloading below 10 GPa, resulting in a grayish powder that can be considered as nano-diamonds with high-nitrogen content at ambient pressure. The C-N product shows a strong emission line centered at 640 nm at 30 GPa, which linearly shifts toward shorter wavelength at the rate of -1.38 nm∕GPa. We conjecture that the observed red shift upon unloading pressure is due to increase of defects in the C-N product and thereby weakening of C-N bonds.

Formation and phase transitions of methane hydrates under dynamic loadings: compression rate dependent kinetics.

We describe high-pressure kinetic studies of the formation and phase transitions of methane hydrates (MH) under dynamic loading conditions, using a dynamic-diamond anvil cell (d-DAC) coupled with time-resolved confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy and high-speed microphotography. The time-resolved spectra and dynamic pressure responses exhibit profound compression-rate dependences associated with both the formation and the solid-solid phase transitions of MH-I to II and MH-II to III. Under dynamic loading conditions, MH forms only from super-compressed water and liquid methane in a narrow pressure range between 0.9 and 1.6 GPa at the one-dimensional (1D) growth rate of 42 µm/s. MH-I to II phase transition occurs at the onset of water solidification 0.9 GPa, following a diffusion controlled mechanism. We estimated the activation volume to be -109±29 Å(3), primarily associated with relatively slow methane diffusion which follows the rapid interfacial reconstruction, or martensitic displacements of atomic positions and hydrogen bonds, of 5(12)6(2) water cages in MH-I to 4(3)5(12)6(3) cages in MH-II. MH-II to III transition, on the other hand, occurs over a broad pressure range between 1.5 and 2.2 GPa, following a reconstructive mechanism from super-compressed MH-II clathrates to a broken ice-filled viscoelastic solid of MH-III. It is found that the profound dynamic effects observed in the MH formation and phase transitions are primarily governed by the stability of water and ice phases at the relevant pressures.

Time- and angle-resolved x-ray diffraction to probe structural and chemical evolution during Al-Ni intermetallic reactions.

We present novel time- and angle-resolved x-ray diffraction (TARXD) capable of probing structural and chemical evolutions during rapidly propagating exothermic intermetallic reactions between Ni-Al multilayers. The system utilizes monochromatic synchrotron x-rays and a two-dimensional (2D) pixel array x-ray detector in combination of a fast-rotating diffraction beam chopper, providing a time (in azimuth) and angle (in distance) resolved x-ray diffraction image continuously recorded at a time resolution of ~30 µs over a time period of 3 ms. Multiple frames of the TARXD images can also be obtained with time resolutions between 30 and 300 µs over three to several hundreds of milliseconds. The present method is coupled with a high-speed camera and a six-channel optical pyrometer to determine the reaction characteristics including the propagation speed of 7.6 m/s, adiabatic heating rate of 4.0 × 10(6) K/s, and conductive cooling rate of 4.5 × 10(4) K/s. These time-dependent structural and temperature data provide evidences for the rapid formation of intermetallic NiAl alloy within 45 µs, thermal expansion coefficient of 1.1 × 10(-6) K for NiAl, and crystallization of V and Ag(3)In in later time.

High density amorphous ice at room temperature.

The phase diagram of water is both unusual and complex, exhibiting a wide range of polymorphs including proton-ordered or disordered forms. In addition, a variety of stable and metastable forms are observed. The richness of H(2)O phases attests the versatility of hydrogen-bonded network structures that include kinetically stable amorphous ices. Information of the amorphous solids, however, is rarely available especially for the stability field and transformation dynamics--but all reported to exist below the crystallization temperature of approximately 150-170 K below 4-5 GPa. Here, we present the evidence of high density amorphous (HDA) ice formed well above the crystallization temperature at 1 GPa--well inside the so-called "no-man's land." It is formed from metastable ice VII in the stability field of ice VI under rapid compression using dynamic-diamond anvil cell (d-DAC) and results from structural similarities between HDA and ice VII. The formation follows an interfacial growth mechanism unlike the melting process. Nevertheless, the occurrence of HDA along the extrapolated melt line of ice VII resembles the ice Ih-to-HDA transition, indicating that structural instabilities of parent ice VII and Ih drive the pressure-induced amorphization.

Phase transition and chemical decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and its water mixtures under high pressures.

We have studied the pressure-induced phase transition and chemical decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and its mixtures with water to 50 GPa, using confocal micro-Raman and synchrotron x-ray diffractions. The x-ray results indicate that pure hydrogen peroxide crystallizes into a tetragonal structure (P4(1)2(1)2), the same structure previously found in 82.7% H(2)O(2) at high pressures and in pure H(2)O(2) at low temperatures. The tetragonal phase (H(2)O(2)-I) is stable to 15 GPa, above which transforms into an orthorhombic structure (H(2)O(2)-II) over a relatively large pressure range between 13 and 18 GPa. Inferring from the splitting of the nu(s)(O-O) stretching mode, the phase I-to-II transition pressure decreases in diluted H(2)O(2) to around 7 GPa for the 41.7% H(2)O(2) and 3 GPa for the 9.5%. Above 18 GPa H(2)O(2)-II gradually decomposes to a mixture of H(2)O and O(2), which completes at around 40 GPa for pure and 45 GPa for the 9.5% H(2)O(2). Upon pressure unloading, H(2)O(2) also decomposes to H(2)O and O(2) mixtures across the melts, occurring at 2.5 GPa for pure and 1.5 GPa for the 9.5% mixture. At H(2)O(2) concentrations below 20%, decomposed mixtures form oxygen hydrate clathrates at around 0.8 GPa--just after H(2)O melts. The compression data of pure H(2)O(2) and the stability data of the mixtures seem to indicate that the high-pressure decomposition is likely due to the pressure-induced densification, whereas the low-pressure decomposition is related to the heterogeneous nucleation process associated with H(2)O(2) melting.

Physical and chemical transformations of sodium cyanide at high pressures.

Pressure-induced physical and chemical transformations of sodium cyanide (NaCN) have been studied up to 50 GPa in diamond-anvil cells, using micro-Raman spectroscopy and angle-resolved synchrotron x-ray diffraction. We observe three phase transitions in this pressure range: NaCN-IIA (orthorhombic, Immm), to NaCN-IIB (orthorhombic, Pmmn) at 4 GPa, to NaCN-III (monoclinic, Cm) at 8 GPa, and to NaCN-IV (tetragonal, P4mm) at 15 GPa, which is stable to 25 GPa. At higher pressures, NaCN-IV undergoes an irreversible chemical change, which occurs over a large pressure range between 25 and 34 GPa. The new material exhibits a broad yet strong Raman band at around 1550 cm(-1), indicating the formation of C=N bonds in a similar configuration of carbon graphite. The absence of sharp diffraction lines in this material suggests an amorphous nature of CN polymer products.

Hydration dependence of conformational dielectric relaxation of lysozyme.

Dielectric response of hen egg white lysozyme is measured in the far infrared (5-65 cm-1, 0.15-1.95 THz, 0.6-8.1 meV) as a function of hydration. The frequency range is associated with collective vibrational modes of protein tertiary structure. The observed frequency dependence of the absorbance is broad and glass-like. For the entire frequency range, there is a slight increase in both the absorbance and index of refraction with increasing hydration for <0.27 h (mass of H2O per unit mass protein). At 0.27 h, the absorbance and index begin to increase more rapidly. This transition corresponds to the point where the first hydration shell is filled. The abrupt increase in dielectric response cannot be fully accounted for by the additional contribution to the dielectric response due to bulk water, suggesting that the protein has not yet achieved its fully hydrated state. The broad, glass-like response suggests that at low hydrations, the low frequency conformational hen egg white lysozyme dynamics can be described by a dielectric relaxation model where the protein relaxes to different local minima in the conformational energy landscape. However, the low frequency complex permittivity does not allow for a pure relaxational mechanism. The data can best be modeled with a single low frequency resonance (nu approximately 120 GHz=4 cm-1) and a single Debye relaxation process (tau approximately .03-.04 ps). Terahertz dielectric response is currently being considered as a possible biosensing technique and the results demonstrate the required hydration control necessary for reliable biosensor applications.