Andrographolide improves PCP-induced schizophrenia-like behaviors through blocking interaction between NRF2 and KEAP1.

Schizophrenia is one of the foremost psychological illness around the world, and recent evidence shows that inflammation and oxidative stress may play a critical role in the etiology of schizophrenia. Andrographolide is a diterpenoid lactone from Andrographis paniculate, which has shown anti-inflammation and anti-oxidative effects. In this study, we explored whether andrographolide can improve schizophrenia-like behaviors through its inhibition of inflammation and oxidative stress in Phencyclidine (PCP)-induced mouse model of schizophrenia. We found that abnormal behavioral including locomotor activity, forced swimming and novel object recognition were ameliorated following andrographolide administration (5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg). Andrographolide inhibited PCP-induced production of inflammatory cytokines, decreased p-p65, p-IκBα, p-p38 and p-ERK1/2 in the prefrontal cortex. Andrographolide significantly declined the level of MDA and GSH, as well as elevated the activity of SOD, CAT and GCH-px. In addition, andrographolide increased expression of NRF-2, HO-1 and NQO-1, promoted nuclear translocation of NRF-2 through blocking the interaction between NRF-2 and KEAP1, which may be associated with directly binding to NRF-2. Furthermore, antioxidative effects and anti-schizophrenia-like behaviors of andrographolide were compromised by the application of NRF-2 inhibitor ML385. In conclusion, these results suggested that andrographolide improved oxidative stress and schizophrenia-like behaviors induced by PCP through increasing NRF-2 pathway.

Genetic variants and underlying mechanisms influencing variance heterogeneity in maize.

Traditional genetic studies focus on identifying genetic variants associated with the mean difference in a quantitative trait. Because genetic variants also influence phenotypic variation via heterogeneity, we conducted a variance-heterogeneity genome-wide association study to examine the contribution of variance heterogeneity to oil-related quantitative traits. We identified 79 unique variance-controlling single nucleotide polymorphisms (vSNPs) from the sequences of 77 candidate variance-heterogeneity genes for 21 oil-related traits using the Levene test (P < 1.0 × 10-5 ). About 30% of the candidate genes encode enzymes that work in lipid metabolic pathways, most of which define clear expression variance quantitative trait loci. Of the vSNPs specifically associated with the genetic variance heterogeneity of oil concentration, 89% can be explained by additional linked mean-effects genetic variants. Furthermore, we demonstrated that gene × gene interactions play important roles in the formation of variance heterogeneity for fatty acid compositional traits. The interaction pattern was validated for one gene pair (GRMZM2G035341 and GRMZM2G152328) using yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescent complementation analyses. Our findings have implications for uncovering the genetic basis of hidden additive genetic effects and epistatic interaction effects, and we indicate opportunities to stabilize efficient breeding and selection of high-oil maize (Zea mays L.).

Altered lipid composition in cortical lipid rafts occurs at early stages of sporadic Alzheimer's disease and facilitates APP/BACE1 interactions.

The presence of lipid alterations in lipid rafts from the frontal cortex in late stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been recently demonstrated. Here, we have isolated and analyzed the lipid composition of lipid rafts from different brain areas from control and AD subjects at initial neuropathologic stages. We have observed that frontal cortex lipid rafts are profoundly altered in AD brains from the earliest stages of AD, namely AD I/II. These changes in the lipid matrix of lipid rafts affected both lipid classes and fatty acids and were also detected in the entorhinal cortex, but not in the cerebellum from the same subjects. Paralleling these changes, lipid rafts from AD frontal and entorhinal cortices displayed higher anisotropy for environment-sensitive probes, indicating that lipid changes in AD lipid rafts increased membrane order and viscosity in these domains. The pathophysiological consequences of these alterations in the development and progression of AD were strengthened by the significant, and specific, accumulation of ß-secretase within the lipid rafts of AD subjects even at the earliest stages. Our results provide a mechanistic connection between lipid alterations in these microdomains and amyloidogenic processing of amyloid precursor protein.

Impact of 5-HTTLPR and BDNF polymorphisms on response to sertraline versus transcranial direct current stimulation: implications for the serotonergic system.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been intensively investigated as a non-pharmacological treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). While many studies have examined the genetic predictors of antidepressant medications, this issue remains to be investigated for tDCS. In the current study, we evaluated whether the BDNF Val66Met and the 5-HTT (5-HTTLPR) polymorphisms were associated with tDCS antidepressant response. We used data from a factorial trial that evaluated the efficacy of tDCS and sertraline and enrolled 120 moderate-to-severe, antidepressant-free participants. In the present study, we used analyses of variance to evaluate whether the BDNF (Val/Val vs. Met-carries) and 5-HTTLPR alleles (long/long vs short-carriers) were predictors of tDCS (active/sham) and sertraline (sertraline/placebo) response. Analyses were conducted on the polymorphisms separately and also on their interaction. Genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. BDNF polymorphism was not associated with treatment response. We found that 5-HTTLPR predicted tDCS effects as long/long homozygotes displayed a larger improvement comparing active vs. sham tDCS, while short-allele carriers did not. A dose-response relationship between active-sham differences with the long allele was also suggested. These results strengthen the role of the serotonergic system in the tDCS antidepressant effects and expand previous findings that reported that tDCS mechanisms of action partially involve serotonergic receptors. Therefore, we hypothesize that tDCS is a neuromodulation technique that acts over depression through the modulation of serotonergic system and that tDCS "top-down" antidepressant effects might not be optimal in brain networks with a hyperactive amygdala inducing bottom-up effects, such as occurs in short-carriers.

Altered placental methyl donor transport in the dexamethasone programmed rat.

There is increasing evidence for a role for epigenetic modifications in early life 'programming' effects. Altered placental methyl donor transport may impact on the establishment of epigenetic marks in the fetus. This study investigated the effects of prenatal glucocorticoid overexposure on placental methyl donor transport. Glucocorticoids increased folate but decreased choline transport and reduced fetal plasma methionine levels. There was no change in global DNA methylation in fetal liver. These data suggest prenatal glucocorticoid overexposure causes complex alterations in the placental transport of key methyl donors which may have important implications for maternal diet and nutrient supplementation in pregnancy.