Prolonged High Fat Diet Worsens the Cellular Response to a Small, Covert-like Ischemic Stroke.

Obesity is associated with worse neurological outcomes following overt ischemic strokes. The majority of strokes however, are covert, small strokes that often evade detection. How obesity impacts the cellular response to covert strokes is unclear. Here, we used a diet-induced obesity model by feeding mice a high fat diet (HFD) and examining its impact on the behavioral and cellular responses to either an Endothelin-1-induced focal ischemic stroke or a saline injection (control). Specifically, we examined cells in regions with different levels of blood perfusion: the non-perfused core, the hypo-perfused surround and the perfused region around the infarct. We show that HFD selectively exacerbated the response to stroke but not to saline injections. Stroke affected the composition of microglia/macrophages, astrocytes and neurons within each region of perfusion. In the non-perfused core, the majority of cells were Iba-1+ microglia and macrophages. HFD resulted in a greater infiltration of CD68+ macrophages into the infarct core while CD68+ /TMEM119+ microglia were reduced. Furthermore, there was a trend towards an increased spread of the astrogliosis scar from the infarct border in the HFD condition. Within the hypo-perfused region, significantly fewer neurons survived in HFD-fed mice than Chow-fed mice, suggesting that neurons in the HFD condition have an increased vulnerability. In summary, diet-induced obesity exacerbates covert-like stroke injuries by worsening the cellular responses in the varying levels of perfusion across the infarct.

Dopamine modulates excitatory transmission to orexin neurons in a receptor subtype-specific manner.

Dopamine (DA) can promote or inhibit consummatory and reward-related behaviors by activating different receptor subtypes in the lateral hypothalamus and perifornical area (LH/PF). Because orexin neurons are involved in reward and localized in the LH/PF, DA may modulate these neurons to influence reward-related behaviors. To determine the cellular mechanism underlying dopaminergic modulation of orexin neurons, the effect of DA on excitatory transmission to these neurons was investigated using in vitro electrophysiology on rat brain slices. We found that low concentrations (0.1-1 µM) of DA increased evoked excitatory postsynaptic current amplitude while decreasing paired-pulse ratio. In contrast, high concentrations (10-100 µM) of DA did the opposite. The excitatory effect of low DA was blocked by the D1 receptor antagonist SCH-23390, whereas the inhibitory effect of high DA was blocked by the D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride. These results indicate distinct roles of D1 and D2 receptors in bidirectional presynaptic modulation of excitatory transmission. DA had stronger effects on isolated synaptic activity than repetitive ones, suggesting that sensitivity to dopaminergic modulation depends on the level of network activity. In orexin neurons from high-fat diet-fed rats, a high concentration of DA was less effective in suppressing repetitive synaptic activity compared with chow controls. Therefore, in diet-induced obesity, intense synaptic inputs may preferentially reach orexin neurons while intermittent signals are inhibited by high DA levels. In summary, our study provides a cellular mechanism by which DA may exert opposite behavioral effects in the LH/PF through bidirectional modulation of orexin neurons via different DA receptors.

Simultaneous Ridge Augmentation and Accelerated Molar Uprighting for Implant Site Development: Two Case Reports with a Split-Mouth Design.

Well-coordinated interdisciplinary dental treatments provide the best esthetic, functional, and long-term results for patients. However, the length of such treatment, which may involve orthodontics, ridge augmentation, and dental implants, often deters patients from pursuing them. The two case reports presented here aim to present the advantage of simultaneous orthodontic molar uprighting and ridge augmentation procedures for future implant site development. Selective decortication of the alveolar bone, performed simultaneously with bone grafting, can accelerate the tooth uprighting process and synergistically reduce treatment duration. Two cases with bilaterally missing mandibular first molars were treated with this approach. In both patients, surgically accelerated uprighting of molars occurred 1.6 times faster than the contralateral site, where no surgery was performed. Additionally, ridge augmentation was successfully achieved with 2.5 to 5 mm of horizontal bone gain during the molar uprighting process.

Symptom word documentation: A novel approach to identifying and managing hospital-acquired infections.

An interprofessional team developed a symptom word documentation tool based on surveillance definitions for specific types of infections published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nursing documentation was monitored pre- and postimplementation of the tool, revealing increased compliance with symptom documentation. Although symptom word documentation does not reduce the number of infections, it may impact the central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rate by better differentiating CLABSI from other infection sources, as was observed in this institution.

High-Throughput Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Covalent Protein-Inhibitor Adducts for the Discovery of Irreversible Inhibitors: A Complete Workflow.

We have implemented a solid-phase extraction based time-of-flight mass spectrometer system in combination with novel informatics to rapidly screen and characterize the covalent binding of different irreversible inhibitors to intact proteins. This high-throughput screening platform can be used to accurately detect and quantitate the extent of formation of different covalent protein-inhibitor adducts between electrophilic inhibitors and nucleophilic residues such as cysteine or lysine. For a representative 19.5 kDa protein, the analysis time is approximately 20 s per sample, including an efficient sample loading and desalting step. Accurate protein masses are measured (±0.5 amu of the theoretical molecular weight; measured precision of ±0.02 amu). The fraction of protein reacted with an electrophilic compound is determined relative to an unmodified protein control. A key element of the workflow is the automated identification and quantitation of the expected masses of covalent protein-inhibitor adducts using a custom routine that obviates the need to manually inspect each individual spectrum. Parallel screens were performed on a library of approximately 1000 acrylamide containing compounds (different structures and reactivities) using the solid-phase extraction mass spectrometry based assay and a fluorescence based thiol-reactive probe assay enabling comparison of false positives and false negatives between these orthogonal screening approaches.

Concentration-dependent activation of dopamine receptors differentially modulates GABA release onto orexin neurons.

Dopamine (DA) and orexin neurons play important roles in reward and food intake. There are anatomical and functional connections between these two cell groups: orexin peptides stimulate DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area and DA inhibits orexin neurons in the hypothalamus. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying the action of DA on orexin neurons remain incompletely understood. Therefore, the effect of DA on inhibitory transmission to orexin neurons was investigated in rat brain slices using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. We found that DA modulated the frequency of spontaneous and miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) in a concentration-dependent bidirectional manner. Low (1 µM) and high (100 µM) concentrations of DA decreased and increased IPSC frequency, respectively. These effects did not accompany a change in mIPSC amplitude and persisted in the presence of G-protein signaling inhibitor GDPßS in the pipette, suggesting that DA acts presynaptically. The decrease in mIPSC frequency was mediated by D2 receptors whereas the increase required co-activation of D1 and D2 receptors and subsequent activation of phospholipase C. In summary, our results suggest that DA has complex effects on GABAergic transmission to orexin neurons, involving cooperation of multiple receptor subtypes. The direction of dopaminergic influence on orexin neurons is dependent on the level of DA in the hypothalamus. At low levels DA disinhibits orexin neurons whereas at high levels it facilitates GABA release, which may act as negative feedback to curb the excitatory orexinergic output to DA neurons. These mechanisms may have implications for consummatory and motivated behaviours.

Inhibitors of the lipid phosphatase SHIP2 discovered by high-throughput affinity selection-mass spectrometry screening of combinatorial libraries.

This manuscript describes the discovery and characterization of inhibitors of the lipid phosphatase SHIP2, an important target for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, using the Automated Ligand Identification System. ALIS is an affinity selection-mass spectrometry platform for label-free, high throughput screening of mixture-based combinatorial libraries. We detail the mass-encoded synthesis of a library that yielded NGD-61338, a pyrazole-based SHIP2 inhibitor. Quantitative ALIS affinity measurements and inhibition of SHIP2 enzymatic activity indicate that this compound has micromolar binding affinity and inhibitory activity for this target. This inhibitor, which does not contain a phosphatase "warhead," binds the active site of SHIP2 as determined by ALIS-based competition experiments with the enzyme's natural substrate, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3). Structure-activity relationships for NGD-61338 and two other ligand classes discovered by ALIS screening were explored using a combination of combinatorial library synthesis and ALIS-enabled affinity ranking in compound mixtures.

A high-throughput microfluidic assay for SH2 domain-containing inositol 5-phosphatase 2.

SH2 domain-containing inositol 5-phosphatase 2 (SHIP2) is a potential drug target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This enzyme serves as a negative regulator of insulin-mediated signal transduction by catalyzing the dephosphorylation of the second messenger lipid molecule phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate. Traditionally, assays for phosphoinositide phosphatases such as SHIP2 have relied on radiolabeled phosphatidylinositol-containing lipid membranes and chromatographic separation of labeled phospholipid substrate from product by thin-layer chromatography. We have expressed and purified catalytically active phosphatase domain constructs of SHIP2 from Escherichia coli and developed a sensitive and antibody- or binding protein-independent assay for SHIP2 amenable to high-throughput screening of phosphoinositide phosphatases or phosphoinositide kinases. This microfluidic assay, with Z' values approximately 0.8, is based upon the difference in mobility within an electric field between a fluorophore-labeled phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate substrate and the corresponding 3,4-bisphosphate product. High-throughput screening of a 91,060-member compound library in 384-well format resulted in the identification of SHIP2 inhibitors.