0000000000553484
AUTHOR
V. Di Liberto
Imaging and biochemical biomarkers of psychiatric comorbidities in a rat epilepsy model
Aims: Biomarkers of epilepsy-associated psychiatric comorbidities represent a powerful tool for an early diagnosis and personalized therapy in patients with epilepsy. Here, in order to identify new candidates as biomarkers of epilepsy comorbidities, alterations in brain metabolic activity and serotonergic neurotransmission in a rat post-status epilepticus model were explored and cross-correlated with alterations in various neurobehavioral and biochemical parameters. Methods: Status epilepticus was induced in twelve female Sprague Dawley rats by lithium chloride-pilocarpine treatment. µPET analysis to determine [18F]FDG uptake and [18F]MPPF binding were performed in the chronic phase of epil…
The FGF-2/FGFRs neurotrophic system promotes neurogenesis in the adult brain.
Neurogenesis occurs in two regions of the adult brain, namely, the subventricular zone (SVZ) throughout the wall of the lateral ventricle and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG) in hippocampal formation. Adult neurogenesis requires several neurotrophic factors to sustain and regulate the proliferation and differentiation of the adult stem cell population. In the present review, we examine the cellular and functional aspects of a trophic system mediated by fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and its receptors (FGFRs) related to neurogenesis in the SVZ and SGZ of the adult rat brain. In the SVZ, FGF-2 is expressed in GFAP-positive cells of SVZ but is not present in proliferati…
Constraints on mantle source and interactions from He-Sr isotope variation in Italian Plio-Quaternary volcanism
[1] Helium isotope ratios of olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts from Plio-Quaternary volcanic rocks from southern Italy (seven Aeolian Islands, Mt. Vulture, Etna, Ustica, and Pantelleria) range from 2.3 to 7.1 Ra. Importantly, the phenocryst 3He/4He correlate well with whole rock Sr isotopic composition (0.70309–0.70711), reflecting the mixing of two sources. A significant contribution of He from crustal contamination is recorded only occasionally (e.g., pyroxenes from Vulcano). When merged with data from the Roman Comagmatic Province, a remarkably strong near-linear He-Sr isotope correlation is apparent. The general northward decrease in 3He/4He corresponds to an increase in 87Sr/86Sr (and a…
Existence of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) heteroreceptor complexes and their enhancement of neurite outgrowth in neural hippocampal cultures
Abstract Background Recently, it was demonstrated that G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can transactivate tyrosine kinase receptors in absence of their ligands. In this work, driven by the observation that mAChRs and fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) share signalling pathways and regulation of brain functions, it was decided to explore whether mAChRs activation may transactivate FGFRs and, if so, to characterize the related trophic effects in cultured hippocampal neurons. Methods Oxotremorine-M transactivation of FGFRs and related trophic effects were tested in primary hippocampal neurons. Western blotting and in situ proximity ligation assay (PLA) were used to detect FGFR phosp…
Genesis of chlorine and sulphur in fumarolic emissions at Vulcano Island (Italy): assessment of pH and redox conditions in the hydrothermal system
Chlorine- and sulphur-bearing compounds in fumarole discharges of the La Fossa crater at Vulcano Island (Italy) can be modelled by a mixing process between magmatic gases and vapour from a boiling hydrothermal system. This allows estimating the compounds in both endmembers. Magma degassing cannot explain the time variation of sulphur and HCl concentrations in the deep endmember, which are more probably linked to reactions of solid phases at depth, before mixing with the hydrothermal vapours. Based on the P–T conditions and speciation of the boiling hydrothermal system below La Fossa, the HCl and Stot contents in the hydrothermal vapours were used to compute the redox conditions and pH of th…
Group II metabotropic glutamate receptor activation by agonist LY379268 treatment increases the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor in the mouse brain
A number of in vitro and in vivo studies using selective agonists have indicated a neuroprotective role for group-II metabotropic glutamate (mGlu2/3) receptors in various models of neuronal injury. Although an interplay among neurotrophic factors and mGlu2/3 receptors signalling system has been suggested as possible mechanism involved on neuroprotection, at present poor information are available concerning the in vivo regulation by mGlu2/3 receptors activation of specific neurotrophic factors. By using in situ hybridization and western blotting methods the aim of present study was to analyse the potential regulatory role of selective mGluR2/3 agonist LY379268 treatment on brain derived neur…