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Myeloid-Specific Deletion of Diacylglycerol Lipase α Inhibits Atherogenesis in ApoE-Deficient Mice

2016

BACKGROUND:The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is a known modulator of inflammation. Despite its high concentration in vascular tissue, the role of 2-AG in atherogenesis has not yet been examined. METHODS:ApoE-deficient mice were sublethally irradiated and reconstituted with bone marrow from mice with a myeloid-specific knockout of the 2-AG synthesising enzyme diacylglycerol lipase α (Dagla) or control bone marrow with an intact 2-AG biosynthesis. After a cholesterol-rich diet for 8 weeks, plaque size and plaque morphology were examined in chimeric mice. Circulating inflammatory cells were assessed by flow cytometry. Aortic tissue and plasma levels of endocannabinoids were mea…

Disruption of the CCL1-CCR8 axis inhibits vascular Treg recruitment and function and promotes atherosclerosis in mice

2019

The CC chemokine 1 (CCL1, also called I-309 or TCA3) is a potent chemoattractant for leukocytes that plays an important role in inflammatory processes and diseases through binding to its receptor CCR8. Here, we investigated the role of the CCL1-CCR8 axis in atherosclerosis. We found increased expression of CCL1 in the aortas of atherosclerosis-prone fat-fed apolipoprotein E (Apoe)-null mice; moreover, in vitro flow chamber assays and in vivo intravital microscopy demonstrated an essential role for CCL1 in leukocyte recruitment. Mice doubly deficient for CCL1 and Apoe exhibited enhanced atherosclerosis in aorta, which was associated with reduced plasma levels of the anti-inflammatory interle…

Gene Expression and Apoptosis Levels in Cumulus Cells of Patients with Polymorphisms of FSHR and LHB Undergoing in Vitro Fertilization Program

2017

Background/Aims: FSH receptor (FSHR) Ala307Thr and Asn680Ser and LHβ chain (LHB) Trp28Arg and Ile35Thr polymorphisms affect the response to pharmacological ovarian stimulation with r-FSH in women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (ART). Here, we evaluated the expression level of selected genes involved in follicle maturation and the possible onset of apoptosis in cumulus cells of patients with single and double FSHR and LHB polymorphisms, as potential markers of oocyte competence. Methods: Cumulus cells from 36 stimulated patients were collected and SNP genotyping performed by PCR. Gene expression was evaluated through real-time PCR, and apoptosis estimated via TUNEL assay, and cle…

Production of Injectable Marine Collagen-Based Hydrogel for the Maintenance of Differentiated Chondrocytes in Tissue Engineering Applications

2020

Cartilage is an avascular tissue with limited ability of self-repair. The use of autologous chondrocyte transplants represent an effective strategy for cell regeneration

Evolution of Pallial Areas and Networks Involved in Sociality: Comparison Between Mammals and Sauropsids

2019

Birds are extremely interesting animals for studying the neurobiological basis of cognition and its evolution. They include species that are highly social and show high cognitive capabilities. Moreover, birds rely more on visual and auditory cues than on olfaction for social behavior and cognition, just like primates. In primates, there are two major brain networks associated to sociality: (1) one related to perception and decision-making, involving the pallial amygdala (with the basolateral complex as a major component), the temporal and temporoparietal neocortex, and the orbitofrontal cortex; (2) another one related to affiliation, including the medial extended amygdala, the ventromedial …

Effect of chronic exercise on myocardial electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability. Role of intrinsic cholinergic neurons: A study in the isol…

2018

[EN] A study has been made of the effect of chronic exercise on myocardial electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability, as well as of the role of cholinergic neurons in these changes. Determinations in hearts from untrained and trained rabbits on a treadmill were performed. The hearts were isolated and perfused. A pacing electrode and a recording multielectrode were located in the left ventricle. The parameters determined during induced VF, before and after atropine (1 mu M), were: fibrillatory cycle length (VV), ventricular functional refractory period (FRPVF), normalized energy (NE) of the fibrillatory signal and its coefficient of variation (CV), and electrical ventricular activatio…

Neuroanatomical substrate of noise sensitivity.

2018

Recent functional studies suggest that noise sensitivity, a trait describing attitudes towards noise and predicting noise annoyance, is associated with altered processing in the central auditory system. In the present work, we examined whether noise sensitivity could be related to the structural anatomy of auditory and limbic brain areas. Anatomical MR brain images of 80 subjects were parcellated with FreeSurfer to measure grey matter volume, cortical thickness, cortical area and folding index of anatomical structures in the temporal lobe and insular cortex. The grey matter volume of amygdala and hippocampus was measured as well. According to our findings, noise sensitivity is associated wi…

2019

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) leading to CNS inflammation and neurodegeneration. Current anti-inflammatory drugs have only limited efficacy on progressive neurodegenerative processes underlining the need to understand immune-mediated neuronal injury. Cell adhesion molecules play an important role for immune cell migration over the blood-brain barrier whereas their role in mediating potentially harmful contacts between invading immune cells and neurons is incompletely understood. Here, we assess the role of the CNS-specific neuronal adhesion molecule ICAM-5 using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of …

Autophagy is induced by resistance exercise in young men, but unfolded protein response is induced regardless of age.

2017

AIM Autophagy and unfolded protein response (UPR) appear to be important for skeletal muscle homoeostasis and may be altered by exercise. Our aim was to investigate the effects of resistance exercise and training on indicators of UPR and autophagy in healthy untrained young men (n = 12, 27 ± 4 years) and older men (n = 8, 61 ± 6 years) as well as in resistance-trained individuals (n = 15, 25 ± 5 years). METHODS Indicators of autophagy and UPR were investigated from the muscle biopsies after a single resistance exercise bout and after 21 weeks of resistance training. RESULTS Lipidated LC3II as an indicator of autophagosome content increased at 48 hours post-resistance exercise (P < .05) and …

Progranulin overexpression in sensory neurons attenuates neuropathic pain in mice: Role of autophagy

2016

Peripheral or central nerve injury is a frequent cause of chronic pain and the mechanisms are not fully understood. Using newly generated transgenic mice we show that progranulin overexpression in sensory neurons attenuates neuropathic pain after sciatic nerve injury and accelerates nerve healing. A yeast-2-hybrid screen revealed putative interactions of progranulin with autophagy-related proteins, ATG12 and ATG4b. This was supported by colocalization and proteomic studies showing regulations of ATG13 and ATG4b and other members of the autophagy network, lysosomal proteins and proteins involved in endocytosis. The association of progranulin with the autophagic pathway was functionally confi…