Microglial Nogo delays recovery following traumatic brain injury in mice.

Nogo-A, B, and C are well described members of the reticulon family of proteins, most well known for their negative regulatory effects on central nervous system (CNS) neurite outgrowth and repair following injury. Recent research indicates a relationship between Nogo-proteins and inflammation. Microglia, the brain's immune cells and inflammation-competent compartment, express Nogo protein, although specific roles of the Nogo in these cells is understudied. To examine inflammation-related effects of Nogo, we generated a microglial-specific inducible Nogo KO (MinoKO) mouse and challenged the mouse with a controlled cortical impact (CCI) traumatic brain injury (TBI). Histological analysis shows no difference in brain lesion sizes between MinoKO-CCI and Control-CCI mice, although MinoKO-CCI mice do not exhibit the levels of ipsilateral lateral ventricle enlargement as injury matched controls. Microglial Nogo-KO results in decreased lateral ventricle enlargement, microglial and astrocyte immunoreactivity, and increased microglial morphological complexity compared to injury matched controls, suggesting decreased tissue inflammation. Behaviorally, healthy MinoKO mice do not differ from control mice, but automated tracking of movement around the home cage and stereotypic behavior, such as grooming and eating (termed cage "activation"), following CCI is significantly elevated. Asymmetrical motor function, a deficit typical of unilaterally brain lesioned rodents, was not detected in CCI injured MinoKO mice, while the phenomenon was present in CCI injured controls 1-week post-injury. Overall, our studies show microglial Nogo as a negative regulator of recovery following brain injury. To date, this is the first evaluation of the roles microglial specific Nogo in a rodent injury model.

Loss of smelling is an early marker of aging and is associated with inflammation and DNA damage in C57BL/6J mice.

Olfactory dysfunction is a prevalent symptom and an early marker of age-related neurodegenerative diseases in humans, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. However, as olfactory dysfunction is also a common symptom of normal aging, it is important to identify associated behavioral and mechanistic changes that underlie olfactory dysfunction in nonpathological aging. In the present study, we systematically investigated age-related behavioral changes in four specific domains of olfaction and the molecular basis in C57BL/6J mice. Our results showed that selective loss of odor discrimination was the earliest smelling behavioral change with aging, followed by a decline in odor sensitivity and detection while odor habituation remained in old mice. Compared to behavioral changes related with cognitive and motor functions, smelling loss was among the earliest biomarkers of aging. During aging, metabolites related with oxidative stress, osmolytes, and infection became dysregulated in the olfactory bulb, and G protein coupled receptor-related signaling was significantly down regulated in olfactory bulbs of aged mice. Poly ADP-ribosylation levels, protein expression of DNA damage markers, and inflammation increased significantly in the olfactory bulb of older mice. Lower NAD+ levels were also detected. Supplementation of NAD+ through NR in water improved longevity and partially enhanced olfaction in aged mice. Our studies provide mechanistic and biological insights into the olfaction decline during aging and highlight the role of NAD+ for preserving smelling function and general health.

Double knockin mice show NF-κB trajectories in immune signaling and aging.

In vitro studies suggest that mapping the spatiotemporal complexity of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling is essential to understanding its function. The lack of tools to directly monitor NF-κB proteins in vivo has hindered such efforts. Here, we introduce reporter mice with the endogenous RelA (p65) or c-Rel labeled with distinct fluorescent proteins and a double knockin with both subunits labeled. Overcoming hurdles in simultaneous live-cell imaging of RelA and c-Rel, we show that quantitative features of signaling reflect the identity of activating ligands, differ between primary and immortalized cells, and shift toward c-Rel in microglia from aged brains. RelA:c-Rel heterodimer is unexpectedly depleted in the nuclei of stimulated cells. Trajectories of subunit co-expression in immune lineages reveal a reduction at key cell maturation stages. These results demonstrate the power of these reporters in gaining deeper insights into NF-κB biology, with the spectral complementarity of the labeled NF-κB proteins enabling diverse applications.

Evaluation of promoter hypermethylation detection in body fluids as a screening/diagnosis tool for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To evaluate aberrant promoter hypermethylation of candidate tumor suppressor genes as a means to detect epigenetic alterations specific to solid tumors, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Using promoter regions identified via a candidate gene and discovery approach, we evaluated the ability of an expanded panel of CpG-rich promoters known to be differentially hypermethylated in HNSCC in detection of promoter hypermethylation in serum and salivary rinses associated with HNSCC. We did preliminary evaluation via quantitative methylation-specific PCR (Q-MSP) using a panel of 21 genes in a limited cohort of patients with HNSCC and normal controls. Using sensitivity and specificity for individual markers as criteria, we selected panels of eight and six genes, respectively, for use in salivary rinse and serum detection and tested these in an expanded cohort including up to 211 patients with HNSCC and 527 normal controls. RESULTS: Marker panels in salivary rinses showed improved detection when compared with single markers, including a panel with 35% sensitivity and 90% specificity and a panel with 85% sensitivity and 30% specificity. A similar pattern was noted in serum panels, including a panel with 84.5% specificity with 50.0% sensitivity and a panel with sensitivity of 81.0% with specificity of 43.5%. We also noted that serum and salivary rinse compartments showed a differential pattern of methylation in normal subjects that influenced the utility of individual markers. CONCLUSIONS: Q-MSP detection of HNSCC in serum and salivary rinses using multiple targets offers improved performance when compared with single markers. Compartment-specific methylation in normal subjects affects the utility of Q-MSP detection strategies.

Detection of promoter hypermethylation in salivary rinses as a biomarker for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma surveillance.

PURPOSE: Hypermethylation of tumor suppressor gene promoters has been found in head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC) and other solid tumors. We evaluated these alterations in pretreatment salivary rinses from HNSCC patients by using real-time quantitative methylation-specific PCR (Q-MSP). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Pretreatment saliva DNA samples from HNSCC patients were evaluated for patterns of hypermethylation by using Q-MSP. Target tumor suppressor gene promoter regions were selected based on a previous study describing a screening panel for HNSCC in a high-risk population subjects. The selected genes were: DAPK, DCC, MINT-31, TIMP-3, p16, MGMT, CCNA1. RESULTS: We analyzed the panel in a cohort of 61 HNSCC patients. Thirty-three of the analyzed patients (54.1%) showed methylation of at least one of the selected genes in the saliva DNA. Pretreatment methylated saliva DNA was not significantly associated with tumor site (P = 0.209) nor clinical stage (P = 0.299). However, local disease control and overall survival were significantly lower in patients presenting hypermethylation in saliva rinses (P = 0.010 and P = 0.015, respectively). Multivariate analysis confirmed that this hypermethylation pattern remained as an independent prognostic factor for local recurrence (HR = 12.2; 95% CI = 1.8-80.6; P = 0.010) and overall survival (HR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.2-6.5; P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: We were able to confirm an elevated rate of promoter hypermethylation in HNSCC saliva of patients by using a panel of gene promoters previously described as methylated specifically in HNSCC. Detection of hypermethylation in pretreatment saliva DNA seems to be predictive of local recurrence and overall survival. This finding has potential to influence treatment and surveillance of HNSCC patients.