A mouse model of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an adult-onset motor neuron disease, caused by the expansion of a trinucleotide repeat (TNR) in exon 1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. This disorder is characterized by degeneration of motor and sensory neurons, proximal muscular atrophy, and endocrine abnormalities, such as gynecomastia and reduced fertility. We describe the development of a transgenic model of SBMA expressing a full-length human AR (hAR) cDNA carrying 65 (AR(65)) or 120 CAG repeats (AR(120)), with widespread expression driven by the cytomegalovirus promoter. Mice carrying the AR(120) transgene displayed behavioral and motor dysfunction, while mice carrying 65 CAG repeats showed a mild phenotype. Progressive muscle weakness and atrophy was observed in AR(120) mice and was associated with the loss of alpha-motor neurons in the spinal cord. There was no evidence of neurodegeneration in other brain structures. Motor dysfunction was observed in both male and female animals, showing that in SBMA the polyglutamine repeat expansion causes a dominant gain-of-function mutation in the AR. The male mice displayed a progressive reduction in sperm production consistent with testis defects reported in human patients. These mice represent the first model to reproduce the key features of SBMA, making them a useful resource for characterizing disease progression, and for testing therapeutic strategies for both polyglutamine and motor neuron diseases.     

Coronary Artery Dissection in Prader–Willi Syndrome: Case Report and Literature Review

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a syndrome characterized in babies by small birth weight, hypogonadism, flaccid muscle tone, and skeletal abnormalities, and in older children by intense food cravings leading to morbid obesity, hypoxemia, and right heart failure. To our knowledge, PWS has not been associated with coronary artery dissection. We report a 17-year-old woman with PWS who suffered an inferior myocardial infarction secondary to dissection of her right coronary artery.     

Evaluation of 10 chemicals for aneuploidy induction in the hexaploid wheat assay.

This study was a part of an international project sponsored by the Commission of the European Communities to evaluate the utility of certain bioassays including hexaploid wheat assay to identify potential aneugens. Ten suspect spindle poisons, i.e. colchicine (COL), cadmium chloride (CdCl2), chloral hydrate (CH), diazepam (DIZ), econazole (EZ), hydroquinone (HQ), pyrimethamine (PY), thiabendazole (TB), thimerosal (TM), and vinblastin sulphate (VBL) were tested for their ability to induce green and/or white leaf sectors as indicators of loss or gain of a chromosome respectively, in Neatby's strain of Chinese Spring wheat (2n = 6x = 42). All the chemicals tested in this study, with the exception of CH and HQ yielded positive response.     

Regulation of glutamate transporters in astrocytes: Evidence for a relationship between transporter expression and astrocytic phenotype

The astrocytic glutamate transporters, EAAT1 and EAAT2, remove released L-glutamate from the synaptic milieu thereby maintaining normal excitatory transmission. EAAT dysfunction during the excitotoxicity and oxidative stress of neurological insults may involve homoeostatic mechanisms associated with astrocytic function. We investigated aspects of EAAT function and expression in concert with astrocytic phenotype in primary cultures of cortical astrocytes and mixed cells of the spinal cord. In spinal cord mixed cultures, hydrogen peroxide (300 microM) reduced both EAAT activity and cellular viability to half of their basal values at 24 h post-treatment, but at 2 h EAAT activity was unaltered, while cellular viability was significantly decreased, suggestive of a mechanism for the maintenance of EAAT activity. Cytochemistry for MAP2, GFAP and propidium iodide revealed that neurons and astrocytes were damaged in a time-dependent manner. A change in astrocyte morphology was observed, with astrocyte cell bodies becoming larger and processes becoming more stellate and often shorter in length. EAAT1 immunoreactivity was reduced at 24 h post-treatment and a re-distribution of the protein was noted after 2 h treatment. In pure astrocytes, lipopolysaccharide (1 microg/ml, 3 d) increased [3H]D-aspartate uptake by 90%, as well EAAT1 immunoreactivity and astrocyte stellation, as shown by immunofluorescent labelling for GFAP. In both culture systems, prominent changes were noted in EAAT function and localization in conjunction with altered astrocytic phenotype. Our findings are indicative of a relationship between astrocytic phenotype and the level of EAAT activity that may be a vital component of astrocytic homeostatic responses in brain injury.     

Antisense peptide nucleic acid targeting GluR3 delays disease onset and progression in the SOD1 G93A mouse model of familial ALS

Glutamate excitotoxicity is strongly implicated as a major contributing factor in motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Excitotoxicity results from elevated intracellular calcium ion (Ca(2+)) levels, which in turn recruit cell death signaling pathways. Recent evidence suggests that alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunit (GluR) stoichiometry is a dominant factor leading to excess Ca(2+) loading in neurodegeneration. In particular, the Ca(2+) permeable glutamate receptor subunit 3 (GluR3) has been implicated in several neurologic conditions such as bipolar disorder and epilepsy. Recent proteomic analysis within our group on the copper zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1)(G93A) transgenic mouse model of familial ALS (FALS) reveals a potentially deleterious upregulation of GluR3 in spinal cord compared to that in wild-type littermates. Based on this finding we designed a 12mer antisense peptide nucleic acid (PNA) directed against GluR3. This sequence significantly reduced levels of GluR3 protein and protected neuroblastoma x spinal cord (NSC-34) cells against death induced by the AMPA receptor-specific agonist (S)-5-fluorowillardiine. We subsequently treated SOD1(G93A) mice thrice weekly with intraperitoneal injections of the antisense PNA (2.5 mg/kg) commencing at postnatal day 50. Mice treated with the antisense sequence had significantly extended survival compared to mice injected with a nonsense sequence. Western blot analysis, however, did not reveal a significant reduction in GluR3 protein levels in whole extracts of the lumbar spinal cord. These results suggest that interference with the GluR3 component of the AMPA receptor assembly may be a novel strategy for controlling excitotoxic destruction of motor neurons and may lead to new therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of human ALS.     

脊髓损伤后神经营养因子及干细胞治疗对轴突再生的影响：国外基础和临床研究新进展

背景:近几年国外学者在脊髓损伤的病理机制、损伤后神经元的保护、少突胶质细胞的再生及神经干细胞的移植治疗等研究方面取得了实质性地进展。介绍国外近10年来对脊髓损伤的新认识,最新研究成果及未来的科研和治疗方向。资料来源:应6用计算机检索Medline数据库1987-01/2006-10脊髓损伤的相关文章,限定文章语言种类为English,检索词为“脊髓损伤;神经干细胞;轴突;神经营养因子;动物模型”,进行不同组合,选出相关文章。资料选择:对资料进行初审,选择脊髓研究中的与神经干细胞及神经营养因子有关的研究文献查找全文。纳入标准:①脊髓损伤中以探讨其机制及新治疗方法的文章。②探讨脊髓损伤后轴突再生,生长锥作用,引导再生方向的靶点,突触再形成及功能重建的文章。③神经营养因子和内源性神经干细胞治疗的文章。排除标准:①未被SCI收录的文章,相类似的研究。②无英文摘要的文章。资料提炼:共收集到相关文献1166篇,按上述标准纳入101篇,实际采用61篇,脊髓损伤机制相关文献12篇,轴突再生相关文献14篇,增长锥作用相关文献8篇,少突胶质细胞相关文献8篇,神经干细胞相关文献7篇,神经生长因子相关文献12篇。其余文献均被排除。资料综合:①脊髓损伤功能恢复的基础:损伤的轴突再生及增长;轴突穿透损伤瘢痕区的能力;轴突朝着正确的靶区方向再生;轴突增长到一定程度后停止,终端形成突触,与神经元相接;神经传递功能重建及运动功能重新恢复。②脊髓损伤的神经病理分析:脊髓损伤后的原发性损害、继发性损害。③脊髓损伤的分子生物学机制包括3个方面:对于成年人中枢神经系统损伤后的神经元的发展、再生,神经元通路的建立起着重要的作用轴突增长锥;对轴突的再生起到抑制作用中枢神经系统髓鞘蛋白;细胞膜和细胞内信号传递。④脊髓损伤中起重要作用的细胞和因子:少突胶质细胞,白血病抑制因子和Minocycline,内源性神经干细胞。⑤脊髓损伤动物模型:最常使用的模型是全部离断、部分离断模型和挫伤模型。⑥脊髓损伤研究的前景:已经开始把动物实验中神经营养因子和神经干细胞治疗发现用于临床,如白血病抑制因子在国外已经开始临床Ⅳ期实验,对内源性神经干细胞的诱导调控增殖研究也已经越来越受到重视。结论:神经营养因子干预治疗及神经干细胞治疗使脊髓损伤后的功能恢复成为可能。进一步探讨神经营养因子引起轴突再生的机制,将是脊髓损伤研究领域的未来方向,了解引导调控神经干细胞的增殖和分化方向,将在修复脊髓损伤方面发挥巨大的作用。     

Proactive care of older people undergoing surgery ('POPS'): designing, embedding, evaluating and funding a comprehensive geriatric assessment service for older elective surgical patients

BACKGROUND: older people undergoing elective surgery have significant post-operative problems prolonging hospitalisation. OBJECTIVE: to design, embed, and evaluate an evidence-based comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) service for at-risk older patients undergoing elective surgery. SETTING: urban teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: elective surgical patients aged 65+. Intervention: multidisciplinary preoperative CGA service with post-operative follow-through (proactive care of older people undergoing surgery ['POPS']). METHODS: observational cohort study and multilevel surveys (development and modelling phase). Prospective 'before and after' comparison (exploratory evaluation). RESULTS: findings from the development phase showed high levels of preoperative co-morbidity, no multidisciplinary preoperative input, and multiple potentially preventable post-operative problems delaying discharge in older elective surgery patients. Comparison of 2 cohorts of elective orthopaedic patients (pre-POPS vs POPS, N = 54) showed the POPS group had fewer post-operative medical complications including pneumonia (20% vs 4% [p = 0.008]) and delirium (19% vs 6% [p = 0.036]), and significant improvements in areas reflecting multidisciplinary practice including pressure sores (19% vs 4% [p = 0.028]), poor pain control (30% vs 2% [p<0.001]), delayed mobilisation (28% vs 9% [p = 0.012]) and inappropriate catheter use (20% vs 7% [p = 0.046]). Length of stay was reduced by 4.5 days. There were fewer delayed discharges relating to medical complications (37% vs 13%) or waits for OT assessment or equipment (20% vs 4%). CONCLUSION: a proactive evidence-based CGA service for at-risk older elective surgical patients was developed according to MRC framework for complex interventions. Pre/post comparison in elective orthopaedic patients showed improved (within methodological limitations) post-operative outcomes indicative of better clinical effectiveness and efficiency, and contributed to the service obtaining mainstream funding. Informed by the present study, a randomised controlled trial is ongoing.     

Sex-specific behavioural effects of environmental enrichment in a transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterised by motor neuron degeneration, muscle wasting and paralysis. While twin studies support a role for both genetic and environmental factors in ALS, the nature of environmental modifiers is unknown. We therefore compared onset and progression of disease symptoms in female and male transgenic ALS mice (expressing the human SOD1^G93A gene mutation) and their wild-type littermates, housed in environmentally enriched versus standard conditions. Environmental enrichment significantly improved motor performance, as measured using the accelerating rotarod, in particular for female mice. This enhanced motor coordination was observed for both SOD1^G93A and wild-type mice, suggesting this effect is independent of genotype. Female SOD1^G93A mice housed with environmental enrichment were found to reach overt end-stage disease sooner than their standard-housed littermates. However, male SOD1^G93A mice did not show significantly accelerated disease progression. This evidence for environmental modulation of ALS pathogenesis in transgenic mice provides insights into activity-dependent aspects of the disease process, and may help identify molecular targets for pharmacological modulators as future therapeutics.