Search results for "nervous system"
showing 10 items of 3271 documents
Alterations in reelin and reelin receptors in Down syndrome.
2019
Reelin is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein that modulates synaptic function and plasticity, with a crucial role in neuronal migration. Changes in the expression of this protein have been reported in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). This molecule is produced by Cajal-Retzius neurons during development and by inhibitory neurons in the adult nervous system. Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) present an early development of AD; therefore, we analyzed the alterations in this molecule and its receptors in the murine model for DS Ts65Dn as well as in human with DS. We performed immunofluorescence analysis for reelin and its receptors very-low-density lipoprotein r…
Two different pathogenic mechanisms, dying-back axonal neuropathy and pancreatic senescence, are present in the YG8R mouse model of Friedreich ataxia
2016
Frataxin (FXN) deficiency causes Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), a multisystem disorder with neurological and non-neurological symptoms. FRDA pathophysiology combines developmental and degenerative processes of dorsal root ganglia (DRG), sensory nerves, dorsal columns and other central nervous structures. A dying-back mechanism has been proposed to explain the peripheral neuropathy and neuropathology. In addition, affected individuals have non-neuronal symptoms such as diabetes mellitus or glucose intolerance. To go further in the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of neuropathy and diabetes associated with the disease, we have investigated the humanized mouse YG8R model of FRDA. By bio…
Stem Cells and Other Emerging Agents as Innovative "Drugs" in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Benefits and Limitations.
2018
The brain has a limited process of repair/regeneration linked to the restricted and localized activity of neuronal stem cells. Consequently, it shows a reduced capacity to counteract the age-related loss of neural and glial cells and to repair the consequent injuries/lesions of nervous system. This progressively determines nervous dysfunction and onset/progression of neurodegenerative diseases, which represent a serious social (and economic) problem of our populations. Thus, the research of efficient treatments is encouraged. Stem cell therapy might represent a solution. Today, it, indeed, represents the object of intensive research with the hope of using it, in a near future, as effective …
Effects of acetyl-l-carnitine in diabetic neuropathy and other geriatric disorders
2018
A long history of diabetes mellitus and increasing age are associated with the onset of diabetic neuropathy, a painful and highly disabling complication with a prevalence peaking at 50% among elderly diabetic patients. Acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) is a molecule derived from the acetylation of carnitine in the mitochondria that has an essential role in energy production. It has recently been proposed as a therapy to improve the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. ALC is widely distributed in mammalian tissues, including the brain, blood–brain barrier, brain neurons, and astrocytes. Aside from its metabolic activity, ALC has demonstrated cytoprotective, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects in the …
Exosomes and other extracellular vesicles in neural cells and neurodegenerative diseases
2016
The function of human nervous system is critically dependent on proper interneuronal communication. Exosomes and other extracellular vesicles are emerging as a novel form of information exchange within the nervous system. Intraluminal vesicles within multivesicular bodies (MVBs) can be transported in neural cells anterogradely or retrogradely in order to be released into the extracellular space as exosomes. RNA loading into exosomes can be either via an interaction between RNA and the raft-like region of the MVB limiting membrane, or via an interaction between an RNA-binding protein-RNA complex with this raft-like region. Outflow of exosomes from neural cells and inflow of exosomes into neu…
Involvement of Thyroid Hormones in Brain Development and Cancer
2021
Simple Summary Development and function of the mammalian brain clearly require precise regulation of gene expression at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. Thyroid hormones have been recognized to play a fundamental role in these processes, by acting at multiple levels and in different brain cell types, through direct effects on transcription, mediated by nuclear receptors, and also by triggering transduction pathways at the plasma membrane. At the same time, due to their effects on proliferation, differentiation, and cell metabolism, thyroid hormones may have a critical role in different kinds of cancer, including brain cancer. Abstract The development and maturation o…
The Role of SVZ Stem Cells in Glioblastoma
2019
As most common primary brain cancer, glioblastoma is also the most aggressive and malignant form of cancer in the adult central nervous system. Glioblastomas are genetic and transcriptional heterogeneous tumors, which in spite of intensive research are poorly understood. Over the years conventional therapies failed to affect a cure, resulting in low survival rates of affected patients. To improve the clinical outcome, an important approach is to identify the cells of origin. One potential source for these are neural stem cells (NSCs) located in the subventricular zone, which is one of two niches in the adult nervous system where NSCs with the capacity of self-renewal and proliferation resid…
Cell-to-Cell Communication in Learning and Memory: From Neuro- and Glio-Transmission to Information Exchange Mediated by Extracellular Vesicles
2019
Most aspects of nervous system development and function rely on the continuous crosstalk between neurons and the variegated universe of non-neuronal cells surrounding them. The most extraordinary property of this cellular community is its ability to undergo adaptive modifications in response to environmental cues originating from inside or outside the body. Such ability, known as neuronal plasticity, allows long-lasting modifications of the strength, composition and efficacy of the connections between neurons, which constitutes the biochemical base for learning and memory. Nerve cells communicate with each other through both wiring (synaptic) and volume transmission of signals. It is by now…
Cholinergic signaling controls immune functions and promotes homeostasis
2020
Abstract Acetylcholine (ACh) was created by nature as one of the first signaling molecules, expressed already in procaryotes. Based on the positively charged nitrogen, ACh could initially mediate signaling in the absence of receptors. When evolution established more and more complex organisms the new emerging organs systems, like the smooth and skeletal muscle systems, energy-generating systems, sexual reproductive system, immune system and the nervous system have further optimized the cholinergic signaling machinery. Thus, it is not surprising that ACh and the cholinergic system are expressed in the vast majority of cells. Consequently, multiple common interfaces exist, for example, betwee…
Septin/anillin filaments scaffold central nervous system myelin to accelerate nerve conduction
2016
Myelination of axons facilitates rapid impulse propagation in the nervous system. The axon/myelin-unit becomes impaired in myelin-related disorders and upon normal aging. However, the molecular cause of many pathological features, including the frequently observed myelin outfoldings, remained unknown. Using label-free quantitative proteomics, we find that the presence of myelin outfoldings correlates with a loss of cytoskeletal septins in myelin. Regulated by phosphatidylinositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2)-levels, myelin septins (SEPT2/SEPT4/SEPT7/SEPT8) and the PI(4,5)P2-adaptor anillin form previously unrecognized filaments that extend longitudinally along myelinated axons. By confoca…