Training of verbal creativity modulates brain activity in regions associated with language- and memory-related demands.

This functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study was designed to investigate changes in functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation as a result of a computerized, 3-week verbal creativity training. The training was composed of various verbal divergent thinking exercises requiring participants to train approximately 20 min per day. Fifty-three participants were tested three times (psychometric tests and fMRI assessment) with an intertest-interval of 4 weeks each. Participants were randomly assigned to two different training groups, which received the training time-delayed: The first training group was trained between the first and the second test, while the second group accomplished the training between the second and the third test session. At the behavioral level, only one training group showed improvements in different facets of verbal creativity right after the training. Yet, functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation were strikingly similar across both training groups. Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses (along with supplementary region of interest analyses) revealed that the training was associated with activity changes in well-known creativity-related brain regions such as the left inferior parietal cortex and the left middle temporal gyrus, which have been shown as being particularly sensitive to the originality facet of creativity in previous research. Taken together, this study demonstrates that continuous engagement in a specific complex cognitive task like divergent thinking is associated with reliable changes of activity patterns in relevant brain areas, suggesting more effective search, retrieval, and integration from internal memory representations as a result of the training.

Endothelial LRP1 transports amyloid-ß(1-42) across the blood-brain barrier.

According to the neurovascular hypothesis, impairment of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1) in brain capillaries of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) contributes to neurotoxic amyloid-ß (Aß) brain accumulation and drives Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. However, due to conflicting reports on the involvement of LRP1 in Aß transport and the expression of LRP1 in brain endothelium, the role of LRP1 at the BBB is uncertain. As global Lrp1 deletion in mice is lethal, appropriate models to study the function of LRP1 are lacking. Moreover, the relevance of systemic Aß clearance to AD pathology remains unclear, as no BBB-specific knockout models have been available. Here, we developed transgenic mouse strains that allow for tamoxifen-inducible deletion of Lrp1 specifically within brain endothelial cells (Slco1c1-CreER(T2) Lrp1(fl/fl) mice) and used these mice to accurately evaluate LRP1-mediated Aß BBB clearance in vivo. Selective deletion of Lrp1 in the brain endothelium of C57BL/6 mice strongly reduced brain efflux of injected [125I] Aß(1-42). Additionally, in the 5xFAD mouse model of AD, brain endothelial-specific Lrp1 deletion reduced plasma Aß levels and elevated soluble brain Aß, leading to aggravated spatial learning and memory deficits, thus emphasizing the importance of systemic Aß elimination via the BBB. Together, our results suggest that receptor-mediated Aß BBB clearance may be a potential target for treatment and prevention of Aß brain accumulation in AD.

Expression of the ALS-causing variant hSOD1(G93A) leads to an impaired integrity and altered regulation of claudin-5 expression in an in vitro blood-spinal cord barrier model.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive paralysis due to the loss of primary and secondary motor neurons. Mutations in the Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene are associated with familial ALS and to date numerous hypotheses for ALS pathology exist including impairment of the blood-spinal cord barrier. In transgenic mice carrying mutated SOD1 genes, a disrupted blood-spinal cord barrier as well as decreased levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-5 were detected. Here, we examined TJ protein levels and barrier function of primary blood-spinal cord barrier endothelial cells of presymptomatic hSOD1(G93A) mice and bEnd.3 cells stably expressing hSOD1(G93A). In both cellular systems, we observed reduced claudin-5 levels and a decreased transendothelial resistance (TER) as well as an increased apparent permeability. Analysis of the ß-catenin/AKT/forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1) pathway and the FoxO1-regulated activity of the claudin-5 promoter revealed a repression of the claudin-5 gene expression in hSOD1(G93A) cells, which was depended on the phosphorylation status of FoxO1. These results strongly indicate that mutated SOD1 affects the expression and localization of TJ proteins leading to impaired integrity and breakdown of the blood-spinal cord barrier.

LRP1 is critical for the surface distribution and internalization of the NR2B NMDA receptor subtype.

BACKGROUND: The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are key mediators of excitatory transmission and are implicated in many forms of synaptic plasticity. These receptors are heterotetrameres consisting of two obligatory NR1 and two regulatory subunits, usually NR2A or NR2B. The NR2B subunits are abundant in the early postnatal brain, while the NR2A/NR2B ratio increases during early postnatal development. This shift is driven by NMDA receptor activity. A functional interplay of the Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor Related Protein 1 (LRP1) NMDA receptor has already been reported. Such abilities as interaction of LRP1 with NMDA receptor subunits or its important role in tPa-mediated NMDA receptor signaling were already demonstrated. Moreover, mice harboring a conditional neuronal knock-out mutation of the entire Lrp1 gene display NMDA-associated behavioral changes. However, the exact role of LRP1 on NMDA receptor function remains still elusive. RESULTS: To provide a mechanistic explanation for such effects we investigated whether an inactivating knock-in mutation into the NPxY2 motif of LRP1 might influence the cell surface expression of LRP1 and NMDA receptors in primary cortical neurons. Here we demonstrate that a knock-in into the NPxY2 motif of LRP1 results in an increased surface expression of LRP1 and NR2B NMDA receptor subunit due to reduced endocytosis rates of LRP1 and the NR2B subunit in primary neurons derived from LRP1ΔNPxY2 animals. Furthermore, we demonstrate an altered phosphorylation pattern of S1480 and Y1472 in the NR2B subunit at the surface of LRP1ΔNPxY2 neurons, while the respective kinases Fyn and casein kinase II are not differently regulated compared with wild type controls. Performing co-immunoprecipitation experiments we demonstrate that binding of LRP1 to NR2B might be linked by PSD95, is phosphorylation dependent and this regulation mechanism is impaired in LRP1ΔNPxY2 neurons. Finally, we demonstrate hyperactivity and changes in spatial and reversal learning in LRP1ΔNPxY2 mice, confirming the mechanistic interaction in a physiological readout. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our data demonstrate that LRP1 plays a critical role in the regulation of NR2B expression at the cell surface and may provide a mechanistic explanation for the behavioral abnormalities detected in neuronal LRP1 knock-out animals reported earlier.

Nanoparticulate flurbiprofen reduces amyloid-ß42 generation in an in vitro blood-brain barrier model.

INTRODUCTION: The amyloid-ß42 (Aß42) peptide plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting the elderly. Over the past years, several approaches and compounds developed for the treatment of AD have failed in clinical studies, likely in part due to their low penetration of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Since nanotechnology-based strategies offer new possibilities for the delivery of drugs to the brain, this technique is studied intensively for the treatment of AD and other neurological disorders. METHODS: The Aß42 lowering drug flurbiprofen was embedded in polylactide (PLA) nanoparticles by emulsification-diffusion technique and their potential as drug carriers in an in vitro BBB model was examined. First, the cytotoxic potential of the PLA-flurbiprofen nanoparticles on endothelial cells and the cellular binding and uptake by endothelial cells was studied. Furthermore, the biological activity of the nanoparticulate flurbiprofen on γ-secretase modulation as well as its in vitro release was examined. Furthermore, the protein corona of the nanoparticles was studied as well as their ability to transport flurbiprofen across an in vitro BBB model. RESULTS: PLA-flurbiprofen nanoparticles were endocytosed by endothelial cells and neither affected the vitality nor barrier function of the endothelial cell monolayer. The exposure of the PLA-flurbiprofen nanoparticles to human plasma occurred in a rapid protein corona formation, resulting in their decoration with bioactive proteins, including apolipoprotein E. Furthermore, luminally administered PLA-flurbiprofen nanoparticles in contrast to free flurbiprofen were able to modulate γ-secretase activity by selectively decreasing Aß42 levels in the abluminal compartment of the BBB model. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we were able to show that flurbiprofen can be transported by PLA nanoparticles across an in vitro BBB model and most importantly, the transported flurbiprofen modulated γ-secretase activity by selectively decreasing Aß42 levels. These results demonstrate that the modification of drugs via embedding in nanoparticles is a promising tool to facilitate drug delivery to the brain, which enables future development for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders like AD.