Experimental Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Decreases Astrocyte Density and Changes Astrocytic Polarity in the CA1 Hippocampus of Male Rats.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition resulting from exposure to a traumatic event. It is characterized by several debilitating symptoms including re-experiencing the past trauma, avoidance behavior, increased fear, and hyperarousal. Key roles in the neuropathology of PTSD and its symptomatology have been attributed to the hippocampus and amygdala. These regions are involved in explicit memory processes and context encoding during fear conditioning. The aim of our study was to investigate whether PTSD is capable of altering the morphology, density and expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in astrocytes from the CA1 region of the hippocampus and the medial amygdala and correlate the data obtained with the orientation index of the polarity of astrocytes. Thirty male rats were divided in two groups: control (n = 15) and PTSD (n = 15). The inescapable shock protocol, in which the animals are exposed to a single episode of footshock, was used to induce PTSD. Our results show that, in the hippocampus, PTSD is capable of decreasing the density of GFAP+ astrocytes as well as altering astrocytic morphology, as shown by the reductions observed in the total number of primary processes, in the number of primary processes in the lateral quadrants, and the degree of branching in the lateral quadrants. The analysis of the orientation index indicates that PTSD alters the polarity of hippocampal astrocytes. No alterations were observed in the amygdala astrocytes. Therefore, this study demonstrates notable changes in hippocampal astrocytes, supporting the concept that these cells play an important role in PTSD symptomatology.

Age-related tolerance to paraquat-induced parkinsonism in Drosophila melanogaster.

Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used herbicide that can cross the dopaminergic neuronal membrane, accumulate in mitochondria and damage complex I of the electron transport chain, leading to neuronal death. In Drosophila melanogaster, PQ exposure leads to the development of parkinsonism and is a classical model for studying Parkinson's Disease (PD). Muscle mitochondrial dysfunction, affecting survival and locomotion, is described in familial PD in D. melanogaster mutants. However, no study has shown the effects of PQ-induced parkinsonism in D. melanogaster regarding muscle ultrastructure and locomotor behavior at different ages. Thus, we evaluated survival, locomotion, and morphological parameters of mitochondria and myofibrils using transmission electron microscopy in 2 and 15-day-old D. melanogaster, treated with different PQ doses: control, 10, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mM. PQ100mM presented 100% lethality in 15-day-old D. melanogaster, while in 2-day-old animals PQ150mM produced 20% lethality. Bradykinesia was only observed in 15-day-old D. melanogaster treated with PQ10 mM and PQ50 mM. However, these results are unlikely to be associated with changes to morphology. Taken together, our data indicate pathophysiological differences between PQ-induced parkinsonism and familial parkinsonism in D. melanogaster (resultant from gene mutations), demonstrating for the first time a differential susceptibility to PQ in two developmental stages.

Neuroprotective effect of ACTH on collagenase-induced peri-intraventricular hemorrhage in newborn male rats.

Peri-intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH) is a common and serious prematurity-related complication in neonates. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) has neuroprotective actions and is a candidate to ameliorate brain damage following PIVH. Here, we tested the efficacy of ACTH1-24 on a collagenase-induced lesion of the germinal matrix (GM) in newborn male rats. Animals received microinjection of the vehicle (PBS, 2 µl) or collagenase type VII (0.3 IU) into the GM/periventricular tissue on postnatal day (PN) 2. Twelve hours later pups received microinjection of either the agonist ACTH1-24 (0.048 mg/kg), or the antagonist SHU9119 (antagonist of MCR3/MCR4 receptors, 0.01 mg/kg), or their combination. Morphological outcomes included striatal injury extension, neuronal and glial cells counting, and immunohistochemical expression of brain lesion biomarkers ipsilateral and contralateral to the hemorrhagic site. Data were evaluated on PN 8. Collagenase induced PIVH and severe ipsilateral striatal lesion. ACTH1-24 dampened the deleterious effects of collagenase-induced hemorrhage in significantly reducing the extension of the damaged area, the striatal neuronal and glial losses, and the immunoreactive expression of the GFAP, S100ß, and NG2-glia biomarkers in the affected periventricular area. SHU9119 blocked the glial density rescuing effect of ACTH1-24. ACTH1-24 could be further evaluated to determine its suitability for preclinical models of PVH in premature infants.

Does Angiotensin II Peak in Response to SARS-CoV-2?

Human infection by the SARS-CoV-2 is causing the current COVID-19 pandemic. With the growing numbers of cases and deaths, there is an urgent need to explore pathophysiological hypotheses in an attempt to better understand the factors determining the course of the disease. Here, we hypothesize that COVID-19 severity and its symptoms could be related to transmembrane and soluble Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (tACE2 and sACE2); Angiotensin II (ANG II); Angiotensin 1-7 (ANG 1-7) and angiotensin receptor 1 (AT1R) activation levels. Additionally, we hypothesize that an early peak in ANG II and ADAM-17 might represent a physiological attempt to reduce viral infection via tACE2. This viewpoint presents: (1) a brief introduction regarding the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), detailing its receptors, molecular synthesis, and degradation routes; (2) a description of the proposed early changes in the RAAS in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, including biological scenarios for the best and worst prognoses; and (3) the physiological pathways and reasoning for changes in the RAAS following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Induction and removal of DNA damage in blood leukocytes of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus undergoing hemodialysis.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a high production of reactive oxygen species, which may cause oxidative DNA damage. High levels of genomic damage have been associated with renal failure and hemodialysis. However, no information is available in the literature concerning the levels of DNA damage in T2DM individuals who are dependent on hemodialysis. This study used the comet assay to assess the levels of DNA damage before, immediately after and 48 h after the hemodialysis session in 25 patients with T2DM and in a group of 20 healthy individuals, selected according to mean age, sex and smoking habit. Our results showed increased levels of DNA damage in hemodialysis-dependent T2DM individuals (12.36+/-8.04) when compared with healthy individuals (7.35+/-7.41) (p=0.014). Damage levels increased immediately after the hemodialysis session (19.76+/-12.40) (p=0.04), which suggests a possible action of pro-oxidative factors related to the therapy, with a genotoxic effect on cells. Results obtained 48 h after hemodialysis (6.44+/-5.99) evidenced damage removal (p=0.001), which may be suggestive of DNA repair.

Effects of tannery wastewater exposure on adult Drosophila melanogaster.

Our aim was to evaluate the effects of exposure to tannery wastewater on mortality and/or antioxidant enzyme system in adult wild-type Canton-S Drosophila melanogaster. Exposure to tannery wastewater induced a concentration-dependent lethality in adult Canton-S flies. Tannery wastewater was able to alter antioxidant enzyme activities, specifically glutathione peroxidase-like and glutathione S-transferase, in adult Canton-S D. melanogaster. We conclude that D. melanogaster is a reliable model to evaluate the toxicity induced by tannery wastewater.

Physical exercise reverses spatial memory deficit and induces hippocampal astrocyte plasticity in diabetic rats.

Physical exercise can induce brain plasticity and reduce the cognitive decline observed in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We investigated the effects of physical exercise to prevent or reverse spatial memory deficits produced by diabetes and some biochemical and immunohistochemical changes in hippocampal astrocytes of T1DM model. In this study, 56 male Wistar rats were divided in four groups: trained control (TC), non-trained control (NTC), trained diabetic (TD) and non-trained diabetic (NTD). 27 days after streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetes, the exercise groups were submitted to 5 weeks of aerobic exercise. All groups were assessed in place recognition (PR) test before and after training. The glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive astrocytes were evaluated using planar morphology, optical densitometry and Sholl's concentric circles method. Glucose and glutamate uptake, reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutamine synthetase (GS) levels were measured using biochemical assays. Our main results are: 1-Exercise reverses spatial memory impairments generated by T1DM; 2-Exercise increases GSH and GS in TC but not in TD rats; 3-Exercise increases density of GFAP positive astrocytes in the TC and TD groups and increases astrocytic ramification in TD animals. Our findings indicate that physical exercise reverses the cognitive deficits present in T1DM and induces important biochemical and immunohistochemical astrocytic changes.

An evaluation of aversive memory and hippocampal oxidative status in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats treated with resveratrol.

The present study evaluated the effects of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes on aversive memory, free radical content and enzymatic antioxidant activity in the hippocampus of adult Wistar rats submitted to oral treatment with resveratrol. Animals were divided into eight groups: non-diabetic rats treated with saline (ND SAL), non-diabetic rats treated with resveratrol at a dose 5mg/kg (ND RSV 5), non-diabetic rats treated with resveratrol at a dose 10mg/kg (ND RSV 10), non-diabetic rats treated with resveratrol at a dose 20mg/kg (ND RSV 20), diabetic rats treated with saline (D SAL), diabetic rats treated with resveratrol at a dose 5mg/kg (D RSV 5), diabetic rats treated with resveratrol at a dose 10mg/kg (D RSV 10) and diabetic rats treated with resveratrol at a dose 20mg/kg (D RSV 20). The animals received oral gavage for 35days. The contextual fear conditioning task was performed to evaluate aversive-based learning and memory. The oxidative status was evaluated in the hippocampus, by measuring the free radical content - using a 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate probe - and enzymatic antioxidant activities, such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. Our main behavioral results demonstrated that rats from the D RSV 10 and D RSV 20 groups showed an increase in freezing behavior when compared, respectively, to the ND RSV 10 (p<0.01) and ND RSV 20 (p<0.05). Oxidative stress parameters remained unchanged in the hippocampus of all the experimental groups. In contrast to previous experimental findings, our study was unable to detect either cognitive impairments or oxidative stress in the hippocampus of the diabetic rats. We suggest additional long-term investigations be conducted into the temporal pattern of STZ-induced diabetic disruption in memory and hippocampal oxidative status, as well as the effects of resveratrol on these parameters, in a time and dose-dependent manner.

Astrocyte morphology after ischemic and hemorrhagic experimental stroke has no influence on the different recovery patterns.

Stroke, broadly subdivided into ischemic and hemorrhagic subtypes, is a serious health-care problem worldwide. Previous studies have suggested ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke could present different functional recovery patterns. However, little attention has been given to this neurobiological finding. Coincidently, astrocyte morphology could be related to improved sensorimotor recovery after skilled reaching training and modulated by physical exercise and environmental enrichment. Therefore, it is possible that astrocyte morphology might be linked to differential recovery patterns between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Thus, we decided to compare long-term GFAP-positive astrocyte morphology after ischemic (IS, n=5), hemorrhagic (HS, n=5) and sham (S, n=5) stroke groups (induced by endothelin-1, collagenase type IV-S and salina, respectively). Our results showed ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke subtypes induced similar long-term GFAP-positive astrocyte plasticity (P>0.05) for all evaluated measures (regional and cellular optical density; astrocytic primary processes ramification and length; density of GFAP positive astrocytes) in perilesional sensorimotor cortex and striatum. These interesting negative results discourage similar studies focused on long-term plasticity of GFAP-positive astrocyte morphology and recovery comparison of stroke subtypes.

Physical training improves non-spatial memory, locomotor skills and the blood brain barrier in diabetic rats.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) progressively affects cognitive domains, increases blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and promotes neurovascular impairment in specific brain areas. Physical exercise, on the other hand, has beneficial effects on brain functions, improving learning and memory. This study investigated the effects of treadmill training on cognitive and motor behavior, and on the expression of proteins related to BBB integrity, such as claudin-5 and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) in the hippocampus and striatum in diabetic rats. For this study, 60 Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n=15 per group): non-trained control (NTC), trained control (TC), non-trained diabetic (NTD), trained diabetic (TD). After diabetic induction of 30 days by streptozotocin injection, the exercise groups were submitted to 5 weeks of running training. After that, all groups were assessed in a novel object-recognition task (NOR) and the rotarod test. Additionally, claudin-5 and AQP4 levels were measured using biochemical assays. The results showed that exercise enhanced NOR task performance and rotarod ability in the TC and TD animals. Diabetes produced a decrease in claudin-5 expression in the hippocampus and striatum and reduced AQP4 in the hippocampus. Exercise preserved the claudin-5 content in the striatum of TD rats, but not in the hippocampus. The reduction of AQP4 levels produced by diabetes was not reversed by exercise. We conclude that exercise improves short-term memory retention, enhances motor performance in diabetic rats and affects important structural components of the striatal BBB. The results obtained could enhance the knowledge regarding the neurochemical benefits of exercise in diabetes.

Physical exercise increases GFAP expression and induces morphological changes in hippocampal astrocytes.

Physical exercise has an important influence on brain plasticity, which affects the neuron-glia interaction. Astrocytes are susceptible to plasticity, and induce and stabilize synapses, regulate the concentration of various molecules, and support neuronal energy metabolism. The aim of our study was to investigate whether physical exercise is capable of altering the morphology, density and expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in astrocytes from the CA1 region of rat hippocampus. Thirteen male rats were divided in two groups: sedentary (n = 6) and exercise (n = 7). The animals in the exercise group were submitted to a protocol of daily physical exercise on a treadmill for four consecutive weeks. GFAP immunoreactivity was evaluated using optical densitometry and the morphological analyses were an adaptation of Sholl's concentric circles method. Our results show that physical exercise is capable of increasing the density of GFAP-positive astrocytes as well as the regional and cellular GFAP expression. In addition, physical exercise altered astrocytic morphology as shown by the increase observed in the degree of ramification in the lateral quadrants and in the length of the longest astrocytic processes in the central quadrants. Our data demonstrate important changes in astrocytes promoted by physical exercise, supporting the idea that these cells are involved in regulating neural activity and plasticity.

Behavior outcome after ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, with similar brain damage, in rats.

Stroke causes disability and mortality worldwide and is divided into ischemic and hemorrhagic subtypes. Although clinical trials suggest distinct recovery profiles for ischemic and hemorrhagic events, this is not conclusive due to stroke heterogeneity. The aim of this study was to produce similar brain damage, using experimental models of ischemic (IS) and hemorrhagic (HS) stroke and evaluate the motor spontaneous recovery profile. We used 31 Wistar rats divided into the following groups: Sham (n=7), ischemic (IS) (n=12) or hemorrhagic (HS) (n=12). Brain ischemia or hemorrhage was induced by endotelin-1 (ET-1) and collagenase type IV-S (collagenase) microinjections, respectively. All groups were evaluated in the open field, cylinder and ladder walk behavioral tests at distinct time points as from baseline to 30 days post-surgery (30 PS). Histological and morphometric analyses were used to assess the volume of lost tissue and lesion length. Present results reveal that both forms of experimental stroke had a comparable long-term pattern of damage, since no differences were found in volume of tissue lost or lesion size 30 days after surgery. However, behavioral data showed that hemorrhagic rats were less impaired at skilled walking than ischemic ones at 15 and 30 days post-surgery. We suggest that experimentally comparable stroke design is useful because it reduces heterogeneity and facilitates the assessment of neurobiological differences related to stroke subtypes; and that spontaneous skilled walking recovery differs between experimental ischemic and hemorrhagic insults.

Morphology of fetal vocal fold and associated structures.

This study is the first detailed qualitative morphologic description of the vocal fold and its associated structures (false vocal fold, larynx ventricle, epithelium, mucous glands, blood vessels, and vocal ligament) of a human fetus aged 25 weeks. In addition, a quantitative analysis of thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle fiber orientation is presented to investigate similarities with adult TA. Histologic cross sections from the vocal fold and the anterior, middle, and posterior regions of the TA muscle were examined bilaterally, and both qualitative and quantitative analyses show that the vocal fold and most of the associated structures are completely established in the studied sample.

Genomic instability in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVE: A previous study by our research group evaluated the levels of DNA damage using the comet assay in hemodialysis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The same blood samples were also evaluated using the cytochalasin B micronucleus assay. A comparison of the results of the two assays is presented here. METHODS: Whole blood samples were collected from 22 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients on hemodialysis and from 22 control subjects. Samples were collected from patients early in the morning on Mondays, before the first weekly hemodialysis session. The cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) was used to evaluate genomic instability. RESULTS: The frequencies of micronuclei and nuclear buds were higher in patients than in controls (p-value = 0.001 and p-value < 0.001, respectively). There was a correlation between the frequency of micronuclei and DNA damage with the results of the comet assay (p-value < 0.001). The difference in the frequency of micronuclei and nuclear buds between patients and controls was more pronounced in the group with higher median comet values than in the group with lower comet values. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the increased rates of DNA damage as measured by the comet assay and influenced by the weekly routine therapy of these patients has a mutagenic effect, thereby increasing the risk of cancer in this group.

The role of calcium channel blockers and resveratrol in the prevention of paraquat-induced parkinsonism in Drosophila melanogaster: a locomotor analysis.

Studies have suggested that neuronal loss in Parkinson's disease (PD) could be related to the pacemaker activity of the substantia nigra pars compacta generated by L-type Ca(v) 1.3 calcium channels, which progressively substitute voltage-dependent sodium channels in this region during aging. Besides this mechanism, which leads to increases in intracellular calcium, other factors are also known to play a role in dopaminergic cell death due to overproduction of reactive oxygen species. Thus, dihydropyridines, a class of calcium channel blockers, and resveratrol, a polyphenol that presents antioxidant properties, may represent therapeutic alternatives for the prevention of PD. In the present study, we tested the effects of the dihydropyridines, isradipine, nifedipine, and nimodipine and of resveratrol upon locomotor behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. As previously described, paraquat induced parkinsonian-like motor deficits. Moreover, none of the drugs tested were able to prevent the motor deficits produced by paraquat. Additionally, isradipine, nifedipine, resveratrol, and ethanol (vehicle), when used in isolation, induced motor deficits in flies. This study is the first demonstration that dyhidropyridines and resveratrol are unable to reverse the locomotor impairments induced by paraquat in Drosophila melanogaster.

Evaluation of chronic omega-3 fatty acids supplementation on behavioral and neurochemical alterations in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesion model of Parkinson's disease.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) have been widely associated to beneficial effects over different neuropathologies, but only a few studies associate them to Parkinson's disease (PD). Rats were submitted to chronic supplementation (21-90 days of life) with fish oil, rich in omega-3 PUFAs, and were uni- or bilaterally lesioned with 4microg of the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in the medial forebrain bundle. Although lipid incorporation was evidenced in neuronal membranes, it was not sufficient to compensate motor deficits induced by 6-OHDA. In contrast, omega-3 PUFAs were capable of reducing rotational behavior induced by apomorphine, suggesting neuroprotection over dyskinesia. The beneficial effects of omega-3 PUFAs were also evident in the maintenance of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances index from animals lesioned with 6-OHDA similar to levels from SHAM and intact animals. Although omega-3 PUFAs did not modify the tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the substantia nigra pars compacta and in the ventral tegmental area, nor the depletion of dopamine (DA) and its metabolites in the striatum, DA turnover was increased after omega-3 PUFAs chronic supplementation. Therefore, it is proposed that omega-3 PUFAs action characterizes the adaptation of remaining neurons activity, altering striatal DA turnover without modifying the estimated neuronal population.

Two intrathecal transplants of bone marrow mononuclear cells produce motor improvement in an acute and severe model of spinal cord injury / Recuperação motora após dois transplantes de células mononucleares da medula óssea administrados no espaço subaracnóideo utilizando modelo de lesão traumática grave da medula espinal / Recuperación motora después de dos trasplantes de células mononucleares de la médula ósea, administrados en el espacio subaracnoideo, utilizando modelo de lesión aguda y grave de la médula espinal

OBJECTIVE: We studied transplants of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) by lumbar puncture (LP) in a severe model of spinal cord injury (SCI) using clip compression. METHODS: BMMCs or saline solution were transplanted by LP 48 hours and 9 days post injury. Motor function was evaluated by BBB scale, histological analysis by Nissl technique and the verification of cell migration by PCR analysis. RESULTS: The BBB had significantly improved in rats treated with BMMCs by LP compared with controls (p<0.001). The histological analysis did not showed difference in the lesional area between the groups. The PCR analysis was able to found BMMCs in the injury site. CONCLUSIONS: two BMMC transplants by LP improved motor function in a severe model of SCI and BMMC was found in the injury site.

OBJETIVO: Estudamos transplantes de células mononucleares da medula óssea (CMMO) por punção lombar (PL) em um modelo de lesão da medula espinal (LME) grave usando compressão por clipe. MÉTODOS: CMMOs ou solução salina foram transplantadas por PL 48 horas e 9 dias após a LME. A função motora foi avaliada pela escala de BBB, a análise histológica pela técnica de Nissl e a migração celular pela análise de reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR). RESULTADOS: A BBB demonstrou melhora significativa nos animais tratados com CMMOs por PL, em comparação com os controles (p < 0,001). A análise histológica não apresentou diferença entre as áreas de lesão dos grupos. CMMOs foram encontradas no local da lesão na análise de PCR. CONCLUSÃO: Dois transplantes de CMMOs por PL melhoraram a função motora em um modelo de LME grave. CMMOs foram encontradas no local da lesão.

OBJETIVO: Estudiamos trasplantes de células mononucleares de la médula ósea (CMMO) por punción lumbar (PL) en un modelo de lesión de la médula espinal (LME) grave, usando compresión por clip. MÉTODOS: CMMOs o solución salina fueron trasplantadas por PL, 48 horas y 9 días después de la LME. La función motora fue evaluada por la escala de BBB, el análisis histológico por la técnica de Nissl y la migración celular por el análisis de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR). RESULTADOS: La BBB demostró mejoría significativa en los animales tratados con CMMOs por PL, en comparación con los controles (p < 0,001). El análisis histológico no presentó diferencia entre las áreas de lesión de los grupos. CMMOs fueron encontradas en el lugar de la lesión en el análisis de PCR. CONCLUSIÓN: Dos trasplantes de CMMOs por PL mejoraron la función motora en un modelo de LME grave. CMMOs fueron encontradas en el área de la lesión.

Genomic instability in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on hemodialysis

OBJECTIVE: A previous study by our research group evaluated the levels of DNA damage using the comet assay in hemodialysis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The same blood samples were also evaluated using the cytochalasin B micronucleus assay. A comparison of the results of the two assays is presented here. METHODS: Whole blood samples were collected from 22 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients on hemodialysis and from 22 control subjects. Samples were collected from patients early in the morning on Mondays, before the first weekly hemodialysis session. The cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) was used to evaluate genomic instability. RESULTS: The frequencies of micronuclei and nuclear buds were higher in patients than in controls (p-value = 0.001 and p-value < 0.001, respectively). There was a correlation between the frequency of micronuclei and DNA damage with the results of the comet assay (p-value < 0.001). The difference in the frequency of micronuclei and nuclear buds between patients and controls was more pronounced in the group with higher median comet values than in the group with lower comet values. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the increased rates of DNA damage as measured by the comet assay and influenced by the weekly routine therapy of these patients has a mutagenic effect, thereby increasing the risk of cancer in this group.