Evaluating mice lacking serum carboxylesterase as a behavioral model for nerve agent intoxication.

Mice and other rodents are typically utilized for chemical warfare nerve agent research. Rodents have large amounts of carboxylesterase in their blood, while humans do not. Carboxylesterase nonspecifically binds to and detoxifies nerve agent. The presence of this natural bioscavenger makes mice and other rodents poor models for studies identifying therapeutics to treat humans exposed to nerve agents. To obviate this problem, a serum carboxylesterase knockout (Es1 KO) mouse was created. In this study, Es1 KO and wild type (WT) mice were assessed for differences in gene expression, nerve agent (soman; GD) median lethal dose (MLD) values, and behavior prior to and following nerve agent exposure. No expression differences were detected between Es1 KO and WT mice in more than 34 000 mouse genes tested. There was a significant difference between Es1 KO and WT mice in MLD values, as the MLD for GD-exposed WT mice was significantly higher than the MLD for GD-exposed Es1 KO mice. Behavioral assessments of Es1 KO and WT mice included an open field test, a zero maze, a Barnes maze, and a sucrose preference test (SPT). While sex differences were observed in various measures of these tests, overall, Es1 KO mice behaved similarly to WT mice. The two genotypes also showed virtually identical neuropathological changes following GD exposure. Es1 KO mice appear to have an enhanced susceptibility to GD toxicity while retaining all other behavioral and physiological responses to this nerve agent, making the Es1 KO mouse a more human-like model for nerve agent research.

Isoflurane-lipid emulsion injection as an anticonvulsant and neuroprotectant treatment for nerve agent exposure.

We have shown that briefly inhaled isoflurane rapidly halts convulsions and protects the central nervous system (CNS) from organophosphate-induced neuronal loss when administered at 5% for 5 min, even as late as 1 h after organophosphate exposure. In the current study we investigated if an injectable form of isoflurane was as effective as inhaled isoflurane. We used a mixture of 10% isoflurane dissolved in an IV-compatible lipid-water emulsion for intravenous administration. Rats with an implanted jugular vein cannula were infused with 1,000 µL of the 10% isoflurane-lipid emulsion (ILE) mixture at a rate of 200 µL per minute, which achieved full anesthesia lasting approximately 10 min. When administered 30 min after a highly lethal dose of the organophosphate insecticide paraoxon (POX), the short-duration administration halted convulsions over the course of the study and prevented the great majority of neuronal loss as shown by Fluoro-Jade B staining (FJB). Our results indicate that injectable isoflurane is very effective for treating organophosphate poisoning, negating the need for vaporizer equipment and enabling intravenous therapy.

Brief isoflurane administration as an adjunct treatment to control organophosphate-induced convulsions and neuropathology.

Organophosphate-based chemical agents (OP), including nerve agents and certain pesticides such as paraoxon, are potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors that cause severe convulsions and seizures, leading to permanent central nervous system (CNS) damage if not treated promptly. The current treatment regimen for OP poisoning is intramuscular injection of atropine sulfate with an oxime such as pralidoxime (2-PAM) to mitigate cholinergic over-activation of the somatic musculature and autonomic nervous system. This treatment does not provide protection against CNS cholinergic overactivation and therefore convulsions require additional medication. Benzodiazepines are the currently accepted treatment for OP-induced convulsions, but the convulsions become refractory to these GABAA agonists and repeated dosing has diminishing effectiveness. As such, adjunct anticonvulsant treatments are needed to provide improved protection against recurrent and prolonged convulsions and the associated excitotoxic CNS damage that results from them. Previously we have shown that brief, 4-min administration of 3%-5% isoflurane in 100% oxygen has profound anticonvulsant and CNS protective effects when administered 30 min after a lethal dose of paraoxon. In this report we provide an extended time course of the effectiveness of 5% isoflurane delivered for 5 min, ranging from 60 to 180 min after a lethal dose of paraoxon in rats. We observed substantial effectiveness in preventing neuronal loss as shown by Fluoro-Jade B staining when isoflurane was administered 1 h after paraoxon, with diminishing effectiveness at 90, 120 and 180 min. In vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) derived T2 and mean diffusivity (MD) values showed that 5-min isoflurane administration at a concentration of 5% prevents brain edema and tissue damage when administered 1 h after a lethal dose of paraoxon. We also observed reduced astrogliosis as shown by GFAP immunohistochemistry. Studies with continuous EEG monitoring are ongoing to demonstrate effectiveness in animal models of soman poisoning.

Increased expression of the chemokines CXCL1 and MIP-1α by resident brain cells precedes neutrophil infiltration in the brain following prolonged soman-induced status epilepticus in rats.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to the nerve agent soman (GD) causes neuronal cell death and impaired behavioral function dependent on the induction of status epilepticus (SE). Little is known about the maturation of this pathological process, though neuroinflammation and infiltration of neutrophils are prominent features. The purpose of this study is to quantify the regional and temporal progression of early chemotactic signals, describe the cellular expression of these factors and the relationship between expression and neutrophil infiltration in damaged brain using a rat GD seizure model. METHODS: Protein levels of 4 chemokines responsible for neutrophil infiltration and activation were quantified up to 72 hours in multiple brain regions (i.e. piriform cortex, hippocampus and thalamus) following SE onset using multiplex bead immunoassays. Chemokines with significantly increased protein levels were localized to resident brain cells (i.e. neurons, astrocytes, microglia and endothelial cells). Lastly, neutrophil infiltration into these brain regions was quantified and correlated to the expression of these chemokines. RESULTS: We observed significant concentration increases for CXCL1 and MIP-1α after seizure onset. CXCL1 expression originated from neurons and endothelial cells while MIP-1α was expressed by neurons and microglia. Lastly, the expression of these chemokines directly preceded and positively correlated with significant neutrophil infiltration in the brain. These data suggest that following GD-induced SE, a strong chemotactic response originating from various brain cells, recruits circulating neutrophils to the injured brain. CONCLUSIONS: A strong induction of neutrophil attractant chemokines occurs following GD-induced SE resulting in neutrophil influx into injured brain tissues. This process may play a key role in the progressive secondary brain pathology observed in this model though further study is warranted.

The acute phase response and soman-induced status epilepticus: temporal, regional and cellular changes in rat brain cytokine concentrations.

BACKGROUND: Neuroinflammation occurs following brain injury, including soman (GD) induced status epilepticus (SE), and may contribute to loss of neural tissue and declined behavioral function. However, little is known about this important pathological process following GD exposure. Limited transcriptional information on a small number of brain-expressed inflammatory mediators has been shown following GD-induced SE and even less information on protein upregulation has been elucidated. The purpose of this study is to further characterize the regional and temporal progression of the neuroinflammatory process following acute GD-induced SE. METHODS: The protein levels of 10 cytokines was quantified using bead multiplex immunoassays in damaged brain regions (i.e., piriform cortex, hippocampus and thalamus) up to 72 hours following seizure onset. Those factors showing significant changes were then localized to neural cells using fluorescent IHC. RESULTS: A significant concentration increase was observed in all injured brain regions for four acute phase response (APR) induction cytokines: interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. Increases in these APR cytokines corresponded both temporally and regionally to areas of known seizure damage and neuronal death. Neurotoxic cytokines IL-1alpha and IL-1beta were primarily expressed by activated microglia whereas the potentially neuroprotective cytokine IL-6 was expressed by neurons and hypertrophic astrocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in neurotoxic cytokines likely play an active role in the progression of GD-induced SE neuropathology though the exact role that these and other cytokines play in this process require further study.

Retrograde activation of CB1R by muscarinic receptors protects against central organophosphorus toxicity.

The acute toxicity of organophosphorus-based compounds is primarily a result of acetylcholinesterase inhibition in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The resulting cholinergic crisis manifests as seizure, paralysis, respiratory failure and neurotoxicity. Though overstimulation of muscarinic receptors is the mechanistic basis of central organophosphorus (OP) toxicities, short-term changes in synapse physiology that precede OP-induced seizures have not been investigated in detail. To study acute effects of OP exposure on synaptic function, field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) were recorded from Schaffer collateral synapses in the mouse hippocampus CA1 stratum radiatum during perfusion with various OP compounds. Administration of the OPs paraoxon, soman or VX rapidly and stably depressed fEPSPs via a presynaptic mechanism, while the non-OP proconvulsant tetramethylenedisulfotetramine had no effect on fEPSP amplitudes. OP-induced presynaptic long-term depression manifested prior to interictal spiking, occurred independent of recurrent firing, and did not require NMDA receptor currents, suggesting that it was not mediated by activity-dependent calcium uptake. Pharmacological dissection revealed that the presynaptic endocannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) as well as postsynaptic M1 and M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors were necessary for OP-LTD. Administration of CB1R antagonists significantly reduced survival in mice after a soman challenge, revealing an acute protective role for endogenous CB1R signaling during OP exposure. Collectively these data demonstrate that the endocannabinoid system alters glutamatergic synaptic function during the acute response to OP acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

Glutamate receptor pathology is present in the hippocampus following repeated sub-lethal soman exposure in the absence of spatial memory deficits.

Much is still unknown about the long-term effects of repeated, sub-lethal exposure to organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents, such as soman (GD), on learning and memory tasks and related protein expression in the hippocampus. In the present study, guinea pigs were exposed to sub-lethal doses of GD for 10 days and cognitive performance assessed using the Morris water maze (MWM) up to 88 days post-exposure to investigate spatial learning. Additionally, hippocampal lysates were probed for cytoskeletal, synaptic and glutamate receptor proteins using Western blot analyses. No significant difference in MWM performance was observed between repeated sub-lethal GD exposed and saline control groups. However, Western blot analyses revealed significant changes in glutamate receptor protein immunoreactivity for subunits GluR2, NMDAR1, NMDAR2a and NMDAR2b in the hippocampi of GD-exposed guinea pigs. Levels of GluR2, NMDAR2a and NMDAR2b increased by 3 months post-initial exposure and returned to control levels by 6 months while NMDAR1 decreased by 6 months. No significant differences in neurofilament medium (NFM), neurofilament light (NFL) or synaptophysin densitometry were detected and alpha-II-spectrin proteolytic breakdown was also absent. These results reveal that repeated, sub-lethal exposure to GD affects glutamate receptor subunit expression but does not affect cytoskeletal protein immunoreactivity or the proteolytic state in the hippocampus. Though these changes do not affect spatial memory, they may contribute to other cognitive deficits previously observed following sub-lethal OP exposure.

Assessment of mouse strain differences in baseline esterase activities and toxic response to sarin.

Genetics likely play a role in various responses to nerve agent (NA) exposure, as genetic background plays an important role in behavioral, neurological, and physiological responses. This study uses different mouse strains to identify if mouse strain differences in sarin exposure exist. In Experiment 1, basal levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and carboxylesterase (CE) were measured in different strains of naïve mice to account for potential pharmacokinetic determinants of individual differences. In Experiment 2, median lethal dose (MLD) levels were estimated in 8 inbred mouse strains following subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of sarin. Few strain or sex differences in esterase activity levels were observed, with the exception of erythrocyte AChE activity in the C57BL/6J strain. Both sex and strain differences in toxicity were observed, with the most resistant strains being the BALB/cByJ and FVB/NJ strains and the most sensitive strain being the DBA/2J strain. These findings can be expanded to explore pathways involved in NA response, which may provide an avenue to develop therapeutics for preventing and treating the damaging effects of NA exposure.

Neuropathological and behavioral sequelae in IL-1R1 and IL-1Ra gene knockout mice after soman (GD) exposure.

Soman (GD) exposure results in status epilepticus (SE) that leads to neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and behavioral consequences including learning and memory deficits. The neuroinflammatory response is characterized by the upregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1 (IL-1), which mediates the expression of other neurotoxic cytokines induced after GD exposure. However, the specific role of IL-1 signaling has not been defined in terms of the consequences of GD-induced SE. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to regulate IL-1 signaling and study the behavioral deficits and neurodegeneration that occur after convulsion onset. Wild type (WT), IL-1 receptor (IL-1R1) knockout (KO), and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) KO mice were exposed to a convulsive dose of GD, and behavior was evaluated up to 18days later. Activity was studied using the Open Field, anxiety was assessed in the Zero Maze, and spatial learning and memory were evaluated with the Barnes Maze. The animals were euthanized at 24hours and 18days to determine neuropathology in the piriform cortex, amygdala, thalamus, and CA1, CA2/3, and CA4 regions of the hippocampus. Unlike the IL-1Ra KO, the IL-1R1 KO showed less neuropathology compared to WT at 24hours, but moderate to severe injury was found in all strains at 18days. Compared to their saline controls, the exposed WT mice were significantly more active in the Open Field, and the IL-1R1 KO strain showed reduced anxiety in the Zero Maze Test. Compared to WT mice, IL-1R1 and IL-1Ra KO mice had spatial learning and memory impairments in the Barnes Maze. Therefore, the IL-1 signaling pathway affects neurodegeneration and behavior after GD-induced convulsions.

Interleukin-18 expression increases in response to neurovascular damage following soman-induced status epilepticus in rats.

BACKGROUND: Status epilepticus (SE) can cause neuronal cell death and impaired behavioral function. Acute exposure to potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as soman (GD) can cause prolonged SE activity, micro-hemorrhage and cell death in the hippocampus, thalamus and piriform cortex. Neuroinflammation is a prominent feature of brain injury with upregulation of multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines including those of the IL-1 family. The highly pleiotropic pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18) belongs to the IL-1 family of cytokines and can propagate neuroinflammation by promoting immune cell infiltration, leukocyte and lymphocyte activation, and angiogenesis and helps facilitate the transition from the innate to the adaptive immune response. The purpose of this study is to characterize the regional and temporal expression of IL -18 and related factors in the brain following SE in a rat GD seizure model followed by localization of IL-18 to specific cell types. METHODS: The protein levels of IL-18, vascular endothelial growth factor and interferon gamma was quantified in the lysates of injured brain regions up to 72 h following GD-induced SE onset using bead multiplex immunoassays. IL-18 was localized to various cell types using immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, macrophage appearance scoring and T-cell quantification was determined using immunohistochemistry. Micro-hemorrhages were identified using hematoxylin and eosin staining of brain sections. RESULTS: Significant increases in IL-18 occurred in the piriform cortex, hippocampus and thalamus following SE. IL-18 was primarily expressed by endothelial cells and astrocytes associated with the damaged neurovascular unit. The increase in IL-18 was not related to macrophage accumulation, neutrophil infiltration or T-cell appearance in the injured tissue. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that IL-18 is significantly upregulated following GD-induced SE and localized primarily to endothelial cells in damaged brain vasculature. IL-18 upregulation occurred following leukocyte/lymphocyte infiltration and in the absence of other IL-18-related cytokines, suggesting another function, potentially for angiogenesis related to GD-induced micro-hemorrhage formation. Further studies at more chronic time points may help to elucidate this function.

Cell-specific upregulation of survivin after experimental traumatic brain injury in rats.

In this study, we examined the expression and cellular localization of survivin and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) after controlled cortical impact traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats. There was a remarkable and sustained induction of survivin mRNA and protein in the ipsilateral cortex and hippocampus of rats after TBI, peaking at five days post injury. In contrast, both survivin mRNA and protein were virtually undetectable in craniotomy control animals. Concomitantly, expression of PCNA was also significantly enhanced in the ipsilateral cortex and hippocampus of these rats with similar temporal and spatial patterns. Immunohistochemistry revealed that survivin and PCNA were co-expressed in the same cells and had a focal distribution within the injured brain. Further analysis revealed a frequent co-localization of survivin and GFAP, an astrocytic marker, in both the ipsilateral cortex and hippocampus, while a much smaller subset of cells showed co-localization of survivin and NeuN, a mature neuronal marker. Neuronal localization of survivin was observed predominantly in the ipsilateral cortex and contralateral hippocampus after TBI. PCNA protein expression was detected in both astrocytes and neurons of the ipsilateral cortex and hippocampus after TBI. Collectively these data demonstrate that the anti-apoptotic protein survivin, previously characterized in cancer cells, is abundantly expressed in brain tissues of adult rats subjected to TBI. We found survivin expression in both astrocytes and a sub-set of neurons. In addition, the expression of survivin was co-incident with PCNA, a cell cycle protein. This suggests that survivin may be involved in regulation of neural cell proliferative responses after traumatic brain injury.

Generation of aberrant forms of DFF40 concurrent with caspase-3 activation during acute and chronic liver injury in rats.

DNA fragmentation factors (DFF) form protein complexes consisting of nuclease DFF40/CAD and inhibitory chaperon DFF45/ICAD. Although activated caspase-3 has been shown to cleave DFF complexes with the release of active DFF40 and DNA fragmentation, the organ-specific mechanisms of DFF turnover during liver injury accompanied by massive apoptosis are unclear. In this study, we investigated hepatic profile of DFF40-immunopositive proteins in two models of liver injury in rats: acute ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and chronic alcohol administration. We show that DFF40-like proteins occur in intact rat liver mainly as a 52kDa protein. Hepatic I/R-induced caspase-3 activation and a time-dependent accumulation of DFF40-positive protein fragments (40 and 20kDa), most likely via specific caspase-3 cleavage as evidenced by in vitro digestion of intact liver tissue with recombinant caspase-3. In addition, immunoprecipitation with DFF40 followed by Western blot with active caspase-3 antibody revealed the presence of active caspase-3 in DFF40-immunopositive 20kDa proteins. Chronic alcohol administration in rats also resulted in a dose-dependent fragmentation of DFF40 proteins similar to I/R injury. Collectively, these data demonstrate that DFF40 immunopositive proteins exist in the liver as distinct, tissue-specific molecular forms that may be processed by caspase-3 during both acute and chronic liver injury.

Cell-specific DNA fragmentation may be attenuated by a survivin-dependent mechanism after traumatic brain injury in rats.

Survivin attenuates apoptosis by inhibiting cleavage of some cell proteins by activated caspase-3. We recently discovered strong up-regulation of survivin, primarily in astrocytes and a sub-set of neurons, after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats. In this study we characterized co-expression of survivin with activated caspase-3 and downstream DNA fragmentation (TUNEL) in astrocytes and neurons after TBI. Western blot analysis revealed significant time-dependent increases in active caspase-3 between 5 and 14 days post-injury. No difference was observed between the proportion of survivin-positive and survivin-negative cells labeled with active caspase-3 at 5 or 7 days post-injury, as indicated by dual fluorescent immunostaining. Labeling of survivin-negative cells with TUNEL was, however, significantly greater than for survivin-positive cells, suggesting that expression of survivin may attenuate DNA cleavage and progression of apoptosis. A higher proportion of astrocytes than neurons accumulated active caspase-3. In contrast, co-localization with TUNEL was significantly higher for neurons than for astrocytes. These data suggest that survivin expression may attenuate DNA cleavage and cell death, and that this mechanism operates in a cell type-specific manner after TBI.