丙戊酸钠对帕金森病小鼠多巴胺能神经元及胶质细胞源性神经营养因子表达的影响

帕金森病(Parkinson's disease ,PD)是一种神经系统退行性疾病,主要表现为中脑黑质致密部多巴胺能神经元的丧失,纹状体多巴胺含量下降[1],至今尚无有效的治疗手段.丙戊酸钠(valproate,VPA) 是临床上作为治疗双相精神障碍的药物,能有效控制患者的躁狂和抑郁症状[2].胶质细胞源性神经营养因子(glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor,GDNF)最初从大鼠胶质瘤细胞系B49条件培养液中分离纯化,对大鼠中脑多巴胺能神经元有特异性营养作用[3].为探讨VPA对小鼠帕金森病中脑黑质多巴胺能神经元及纹状体GDNF表达的影响,本研究拟用C57BL小鼠1-甲基-4-苯基-1,2,3,6-四氢吡啶(1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyfidine,MPTP)法建立帕金森病模型,通过中脑黑质致密部(SNc)酪氨酸羟化酶(TH)的免疫组织化学染色及原位杂交方法观察纹状体GDNF表达,有望为PD寻求更有效的治疗手段,并对VPA更广泛的临床应用提供依据.     

Hepatocyte growth factor,vascular endothelial growth factor,glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor are differentially affected by early chronic ethanol or red wine intake

Ethanol intake during pregnancy and lactation induces severe changes in brain and liver throughout mechanisms involving growth factors. These are signaling molecules regulating survival, differentiation, maintenance and connectivity of brain and liver cells. Ethanol is an element of red wine which contains also compounds with antioxidant properties. Aim of the study was to investigate differences in hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in brain areas and liver by ELISA of 1-month-old male mice exposed perinatally to ethanol at 11 vol.% or to red wine at same ethanol concentration. Ethanol was administered before and during pregnancy up to pups’ weaning. Ethanol per se elevated HGF in liver and cortex, potentiatied liver VEGF, reduced GDNF in the liver and decreased NGF content in hippocampus and cortex in the offspring. We did not find changes in HGF or NGF due to red wine exposure. However, we revealed elevation in VEGF levels in liver and reduced GDNF in the cortex of animals exposed to red wine but the VEGF liver increase was more marked in animals exposed to ethanol only compared to the red wine group. In conclusion the present findings in the mouse show differences in ethanol-induced toxicity when ethanol is administered alone or in red wine that may be related to compounds with antioxidant properties present in the red wine.     

Normalizing GDNF expression in the spinal cord alleviates cutaneous hyperalgesia but not ongoing pain in a rat model of bone cancer pain

Bone cancer pain (BCP) is the most common complication in patients with bone cancer. Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is believed to be involved in chronic pain conditions. In this article, the expression and roles of GDNF were studied in a rat model of BCP induced by tibia injection of Walker 256 rat mammary gland carcinoma cells. Significant mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia and ongoing pain were observed beginning as early as day 5 post injection. The expression level of GDNF protein examined on day 16 after tibia injection was decreased in the L3 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and lumbar spinal cord, but not in other spinal levels or the anterior cingulate cortex. Phosphorylation of Ret, the receptor for GDNF family ligands, was also decreased. Furthermore, normalizing GDNF expression with lentiviral vector constructs in the spinal cord significantly reduced mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia, spinal glial activation, and pERK induction induced by tibia injection, but did not affect ongoing pain. Together these findings provide new evidence for the use of GDNF as a therapeutic treatment for bone cancer pain states.     

胶质源性神经营养因子在正常和炎症牙髓组织中的变化

目的：探讨胶质原性神经营养在子（ＧＤＮＦ）在牙髓炎症中的表达变化及意义。方法：应用免疫组织化学方法比较正常和炎症状态下，ＧＤＮＦ在牙髓组织中的变化。结果：正常牙髓组织ＧＤＮＦ染色呈阴性，郯性牙髓组织染ＧＤＮＦ呈阳笥，其主要分布在牙髓成牙本质细胞和成牙本质反应，与炎性牙髓组织再发芽有关。     

Topographical localization of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in the human brain stem: an immunohistochemical study of prenatal, neonatal and adult brains

As a step towards the identification of the neuronal populations responsive to glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in the human nervous system and their changes with age, this study reports on the immunohistochemical localization of the protein GDNF in the autoptic normal human brain stem of pre- and full-term newborns and adult subjects. Two different anti-GDNF polyclonal antibodies were used. Western blot analysis on homogenates of human and rat brain and recombinant human GDNF resulted in differential detection of monomeric and dimeric forms of the proteins. The ABC immunohistochemical technique on cryostat tissue sections showed an uneven distribution of GDNF-like immunoreactive nerve fibers and terminals and neuronal cell bodies. Immunoreactive elements were mainly localized to the spinal trigeminal, cuneate, solitary, vestibular, and cochlear sensory nuclei, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, ventral grey column, hypoglossal nucleus, dorsal and ventrolateral medullary reticular formation, pontine subventricular grey and locus coeruleus, lateral regions of the rostral pontine tegmentum, tectal plate, trochlear nucleus, dorsal and median raphe nuclei, caudal and rostral linear nuclei, cuneiform nucleus, and substantia nigra. Comparison between pre- and full-term newborns and adult subjects revealed changes with age in density of positive innervation and frequency of immunoreactive perikarya. The results obtained provide detailed information on the occurrence of GDNF-like immunoreactive neurons in the human brain stem and suggest that the protein is present in a variety of neuronal systems, which subserve different functional activities, at developmental ages and in adult brains.     

GFRα-1 is expressed in parvalbumin GABAergic neurons in the hippocampus

Glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent survival factor for several types of neurons. GDNF binds with high affinity to GDNF-family receptor α-1 (GFRα-1). This receptor is expressed in different areas of the brain, including the hippocampus and dentate gyrus. By using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, we found that 19% to 37% of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) expressing neurons co-expressed GFRα-1 in the hippocampus. GFRα-1/GAD co-expression was found mainly in the stratum (s) pyramidale (29–37%) and s. oriens (20–25%). Further characterization of GFRα-1 expressing interneurons, based on their calcium-binding protein immunoreactivity, demonstrated that many parvalbumin (PV) immunoreactive neurons express GFRα-1 in the s. pyramidale of CA1 (72%), CA2 (70%) and CA3 (70%) subfields of the hippocampus. GFRα-1/PV double labeled neurons were also detected in the s. oriens of CA1 (52%), CA2 (27%) and CA3 (36%) subfields. The expression of GFRα-1 in principal neurons and in a specific sub-population of GABAergic neurons (PV-containing neurons) suggest that GDNF might modulate, in a selective manner, functions of the entire adult hippocampus.