Chronic lead exposure disrupts neurometabolic activity in mouse brain: An ex vivo1H-[13C]-NMR study.

Lead poisoning has been identified as a problem in adults as well as in children. Chronic exposure to lead has been implicated in neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of chronic lead exposure on cerebral glutamatergic and GABAergic metabolic activity in mice. C57BL6 mice were provided lead acetate in drinking water for two months. The regional cerebral metabolic activity was measured using 1H-[13C]-NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with infusion of [1,6-13C2]glucose. The blood Pb2+ increased significantly in lead acetate treated mice. Concomitantly, there was a significant reduction in the forelimb strength. The level of myo-inositol was elevated in the cerebral cortex of mice chronically exposed to lead. The glutamatergic neurometabolic activity was found to be reduced following chronic lead exposure in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. In contrast, the GABAergic fluxes were impaired in the hippocampus and thalamus only. The metabolic fluxes in the cerebellum were unperturbed to Pb2+ toxicity. In conclusion, we report that chronic lead exposure in mice leads to an impairment in forelimb strength, and a perturbation in neurometabolism in brain regions involving cognition and movement.

Are shed hair genomes the most effective noninvasive resource for estimating relationships in the wild?

Knowledge of relationships in wild populations is critical for better understanding mating systems and inbreeding scenarios to inform conservation strategies for endangered species. To delineate pedigrees in wild populations, study genetic connectivity, study genotype-phenotype associations, trace individuals, or track wildlife trade, many identified individuals need to be genotyped at thousands of loci, mostly from noninvasive samples. This requires us to (a) identify the most common noninvasive sample available from identified individuals, (b) assess the ability to acquire genome-wide data from such samples, and (c) evaluate the quality of such genome-wide data, and its ability to reconstruct relationships between animals within a population.We followed identified individuals from a wild endangered tiger population and found that shed hair samples were the most common compared to scat samples, opportunistically found carcasses, and opportunistic invasive samples. We extracted DNA from these samples, prepared whole genome sequencing libraries, and sequenced genomes from these.Whole genome sequencing methods resulted in between 25%-98% of the genome sequenced for five such samples. Exploratory population genetic analyses revealed that these data were free of holistic biases and could recover expected population structure and relatedness. Mitochondrial genomes recovered matrilineages in accordance with long-term monitoring data. Even with just five samples, we were able to uncover the matrilineage for three individuals with unknown ancestry.In summary, we demonstrated that noninvasive shed hair samples yield adequate quality and quantity of DNA in conjunction with sensitive library preparation methods, and provide reliable data from hundreds of thousands of SNPs across the genome. This makes shed hair an ideal noninvasive resource for studying individual-based genetics of elusive endangered species in the wild.

Neuroprotective effects of caffeine in MPTP model of Parkinson's disease: A (13)C NMR study.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons with an accompanying neuroinflammation leading to loss of dopamine in the basal ganglia. Caffeine, a well-known A2A receptor antagonist is reported to slow down the neuroinflammation caused by activated microglia and reduce the extracellular glutamate in the brain. In this study, we have evaluated the neuroprotective effect of caffeine in the MPTP model of PD by monitoring the region specific cerebral energy metabolism. Adult C57BL6 mice were treated with caffeine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min prior to MPTP (25 mg/kg, i.p.) administration for 8 days. The paw grip strength of mice was assessed in order to evaluate the motor function after various treatments. For metabolic studies, mice were infused with [1,6-(13)C2]glucose, and (13)C labeling of amino acids was monitored using ex vivo(1)H-[(13)C]-NMR spectroscopy. The paw grip strength was found to be reduced following the MPTP treatment. The caffeine pretreatment showed significant protection against the reduction of paw grip strength in MPTP treated mice. The levels of GABA and myo-inositol were found to be elevated in the striatum of MPTP treated mice. The (13)C labeling of GluC4, GABAC2 and GlnC4 from [1,6-(13)C2]glucose was decreased in the cerebral cortex, striatum, olfactory bulb, thalamus and cerebellum suggesting impaired glutamatergic and GABAergic neuronal activity and neurotransmission of the MPTP treated mice. Most interestingly, the pretreatment of caffeine maintained the (13)C labeling of amino acids to the control values in cortical, olfactory bulb and cerebellum regions while it partially retained in striatal and thalamic regions in MPTP treated mice. The pretreatment of caffeine provides a partial neuro-protection against severe striatal degeneration in the MPTP model of PD.

In vivo NMR studies of regional cerebral energetics in MPTP model of Parkinson's disease: recovery of cerebral metabolism with acute levodopa treatment.

In this study, we have evaluated cerebral atrophy, neurometabolite homeostasis, and neural energetics in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin (MPTP) model of Parkinson's disease. In addition, the efficacy of acute l-DOPA treatment for the reversal of altered metabolic functions was also evaluated. Cerebral atrophy and neurochemical profile were monitored in vivo using MRI and (1) H MR Spectroscopy. Cerebral energetics was studied by (1) H-[(13) C]-NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with infusion of (13) C labeled [1,6(-13) C2 ]glucose or [2-(13) C]acetate. MPTP treatment led to reduction in paw grip strength and increased level of GABA and myo-inositol in striatum and olfactory bulb. (13) C Labeling of glutamate-C4 (1.93 ± 0.24 vs. 1.48 ± 0.06 µmol/g), GABA-C2 (0.24 ± 0.04 vs. 0.18 ± 0.02 µmol/g) and glutamaine-C4 (0.26 ± 0.04 vs. 0.20 ± 0.04 µmol/g) from [1,6-(13) C2 ]glucose was found to be decreased with MPTP exposure in striatum as well as in other brain regions. However, glutamine-C4 labeling from [2-(13) C]acetate was found to be increased in the striatum of the MPTP-treated mice. Acute l-DOPA treatment failed to normalize the increased ventricular size and level of metabolites but recovered the paw grip strength and (13) C labeling of amino acids from [1,6-(13) C2 ]glucose and [2-(13) C]acetate in MPTP-treated mice. These data indicate that brain energy metabolism is impaired in Parkinson's disease and acute l-DOPA therapy could temporarily recover the cerebral metabolism. Cerebral atrophy, neurometabolite homeostasis, and neural energetics have been evaluated in an MPTP model of Parkinson's disease using MRI, in vivo (1) H MRS and (1) H-[(13) C]-NMR spectroscopy, respectively. MPTP treatment led to reduced paw grip strength and neuronal function. Acute Levodopa treatment was able to recover the diminished motor function and cerebral function. CMRGlc, Cerebral metabolic rate of glucose oxidation; MPTP, 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin.