Effects of Late-Life Caloric Restriction on Age-Related Alterations in the Rat Cortex and Hippocampus

Background: A major problem of aging is the disruption of metabolic homeostasis. This is particularly relevant in the brain where it provokes neurodegeneration. Caloric restriction is a physiologic intervention known to delay the deleterious consequences of aging in several species ranging from yeast to mammals. To date, most studies on experimental models have started this dietary intervention from weaning, which is very difficult to be translated to human beings. Here, we study the effects of a more realistic dietary regimen in rats, starting at an advanced age and lasting for six months. Methods: we analyzed in the cortex and hippocampus, the proteins involved in the energetic balance of the cells, cholesterol metabolism, oxidative stress response, inflammation, synaptic impairment, and brain trophism. Results: our results suggest that caloric restriction in late life can revert only some age-related changes studied here.     

全身亚低温对新生鼠缺氧缺血性脑病脑组织Ca~(2 )及含水量的影响

目的　研究全身亚低温对缺氧缺血性脑病 (HIE)新生大鼠脑组织含水量与Ca2 含量的影响。方法　 35只新生大鼠随机分为 5组。吸入 8%O2 和 92 %N2 混合气体建立HIE模型 ,低温处理后 2 4h取海马脑组织 ,测定其水分和Ca2 含量 ,对各组结果进行比较。结果　HIE后立即实施亚低温脑水肿和组织内Ca2 含量明显低于HIE或HIE 3h后再实施亚低温。实验组与对照组相比 p <0 .0 5。结论　HIE后立即实施亚低温能明显减少脑组织的含水量并能降低脑组织内Ca2 的含量。HIE后 3h再实施亚低温对减轻脑水肿的效果比较差。     

老龄大鼠海马CA3区神经元锥体细胞超微结构变化

目的　观察老龄大鼠海马CA3区神经元锥体细胞的超微结构变化。方法　将Wistar大鼠分为老龄组和成年组 ,应用透射电镜观察海马CA3区锥体细胞超微结构。结果　老龄组CA3区锥体细胞出现核膜内陷、核仁体积减少 ,线粒体肿胀、变性等形态学改变。结论　大鼠在衰老过程中 ,海马CA3区锥体细胞超微结构出现退行性改变     

大鼠脑缺血长期存活后海马可塑性的研究

本实验试图进一步探讨经长期存活后，脑缺血及不全脑缺血大鼠海马的可塑性变化，并验证它们之间的关系。脑缺血模型采用pulsinelli四血管结扎及其改变法，苔藓纤维显示采用Timm染色法．结果显示，大鼠脑缺血20muin、再存活90d后，海马CAI区细胞几乎全部丧失，CA2／CA3也出现严重的细胞消亡，CAI区明显萎缩，多数伴有苔藓纤维的侧枝抽芽，同期不全脑缺血大鼠海马未见或仅见局限于CAI的部分细胞丢失，齿状回或CA3区也伴有苔藓纤维抽芽．提示脑缺血经长期存活后引起的苔藓纤维的侧枝抽芽并不依赖于CAI区的细胞死亡．     

运动强度对幼龄大鼠海马VEGF及其受体Flk-1 mRNA表达的影响

为了研究不同强度跑台运动对5周龄大鼠海马表达血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)和胎肝激酶-1(fetal liver kinase-1,Flk-1)受体mRNA水平的影响,5周龄雄性SD大鼠被随机分为对照组和小强度、中等强度、大强度3个跑台运动组,并通过定量real-time PCR技术,观察不同强度跑台运动1周后大鼠海马内VEGF和Flk-1mRNA表达的影响。采用3-磷酸甘油醛脱氢酶(glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase,GAPDH)作为管家基因内参,以样品中所测得的VEGF和Flk-1基因拷贝数除以该样品中内参基因拷贝数进行校正后,各组动物海马内VEGF mRNA相对水平分别是:对照组为2740±2229,小强度运动组为3599±2386(P<0.05),中等强度运动组为1654±1136,大强度运动组为1572±1071。各组动物海马内Flk-1mR-NA相对水平分别是:对照组为147±47,小强度运动组为281±182(P<0.01),中等强度运动组为208±100;大强度运动组为54±31。以上结果提示,大鼠海马内VEGF和Flk-1mRNA的表达受运动的调节,且与运动强度有关。小强度跑台运动可对VEGF和Flk-1mRNA的表达产生促进作用,而大强度运动则不影响VEGF和Flk-1mRNA的表达。     

Fibroblast Growth Factor Enhances Long-term Potentiation in the Hippocampal Slice

Recently we reported that perfusion of hippocampal slices with epidermal growth factor (EGF) lead to enhancement of potentiated responses after tetanic stimulation. In the present study we report that basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) can also lead to an enhancement of potentiated responses. FGF is a mitogen for several cell types and exhibits neurotrophic effects on neurons of the central nervous system (CNS). Rat hippocampal slices were perfused with FGF at a concentration of 10-9 M. During extra- and intracellular recordings in the CA1-region, the addition of FGF to the perfusing medium produced no change in evoked responses if single pulse or paired pulse stimulation was used. Furthermore FGF had no influence on the resting membrane potential and input resistance. However, after tetanic stimulation, FGF-treated slices showed an increase in the magnitude of potentiation compared to control slices. Taken together with the EGF data these results support the hypothesis that growth factors like FGF with neurotrophic potential on CNS-neurons can influence synaptic efficacy. Furthermore these results show that factors which are able to modulate developmental plasticity and regenerative plasticity can also modulate synaptic plasticity.     

Dorsomedial telencephalon of lungfishes: A pallial or subpallial structure? criteria based on histology,connectivity, and histochemistry

The dorsomedial telencephalon of lepidosirenid lungfishes has been interpreted in two divergent ways: earlier investigators regarded it as a subpallial (septal) structure; more recently, it has been reinterpreted as the medial pallium (hippocampus). To resolve this question, we identified parameters that are conclusive in their association with either the medial pallium or the septum in anamniotes. The present study examines the position of ependymal thickenings and the distribution of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) in the cerebral hemispheres of the African lungfish Protopterus, the Australian lungfish Neoceratodus, and the amphibian species Xenopus and Ambystoma. In addition, projections from the hypothalamus (paraventricular organ) to the telencephalon are investigated in Protopterus. Ependymal specializations are located dorsally and ventrally in the lateral ventricles of amphibians, but laterally and medially in lungfishes. In Protopterus, the paraventricular organ projects to the medial telencephalic hemisphere, but not to the dorsal roof. High levels of AchE are present in restricted neuropil regions of the medial hemisphere and in the ventral and ventrolateral telencephalon, but they are lacking in the dorsal roof. Intensely AchE-stained neuronal cell bodies are located in the ventral telencephalon (rostrally) and the dorsomedial telencephalon (at mid-level). In Neoceratodus, AchE staining is pronounced in the septal area, but absent in the pallium. The terminal nerve proper lacks AchE stain in Protopterus; nerve fibres of the preoptic nerve are AchE-positive in both lungfish species. In Xenopus, AchE staining of fibers and terminals is restricted to the subpallium (medial septum, tuberculum olfactorium, striatum, nucleus accumbens, and medial amygdala); cell bodies are AchE positive in parts of the subpallium and rostral pallium. Comparison of cytological, histochemical, and "connectional" parameters substantiates the interpretation that the dorsomedial telencephalon of lungfishes represents a subpallial, but not a "medial pallial" structure. The dorsomedial part of the lepidosirenid telencephalon corresponds to the septum in the most plesiomorphic living lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri, but it differs considerably from the dorsomedial telencephalon (medial pallium) in amphibians.     

Heterogeneity in the Dorsal Subiculum of the Rat. Distinct Neuronal Zones Project to Different Cortical and Subcortical Targets

The aim of the present study was to relate the distribution of efferents of the dorsal subiculum to their origin along the proximodistal axis of the subiculum. The distribution of subicular projections was studied in detail by means of the sensitive anterograde tracer Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin (PHA-L), and the precise origin of these projections analysed with retrogradely transported fluorescent tracers, using double- and triple-labelling protocols. Injections of PHA-L in the proximal part of the dorsal subiculum, i.e. that part which borders field CA1, result in labelling of the infralimbic, entorhinal and perirhinal cortices, the nucleus accumbens and the lateral septal region, the interanteromedial nucleus of the thalamus, the core of the nucleus gelatinosus, and the mammillary nuclei, in particular in the rostral parts of the medial nucleus. In contrast, injections in the distal part of the dorsal subiculum, i.e. that part which borders the presubiculum, give rise to labelling in the retrosplenial and postrhinal cortices, the presubiculum, the anterior thalamic complex, the shell of the nucleus gelatinosus, and the mammillary nuclei, preferentially in the caudal part of the medial nucleus. The results of injections of different retrograde tracers, simultaneously placed in two or three targets of the subicular efferents, confirm the results of the anterograde tracing experiments. Moreover, they clearly demonstrate that the population of subicular neurons which, for example, projects to the nucleus accumbens and the interanteromedial nucleus of the thalamus is almost completely segregated from the population that projects to the retrosplenial cortex and the anterior complex of the thalamus. Thus within the dorsal subiculum, populations of neurons can be differentiated so that each population projects to a unique set of target structures. These cell populations are differentially positioned along the proximo-distal axis. In view of additional evidence indicating that some of the major afferents to the subiculum are organized along the same axis, we suggest that the heterogeneity of the dorsal subiculum along the proximo-distal axis reflects a general organizational characteristic of this hippocampal field.     

Double Labeling Immulloelectron Microscopic Study on the Synaptic Connections between Glutamic Acid Neurons and GABA Neurons in the Hippocampus of Rats

The pathogenesis of epilepsy is a very complicated process, In which neurotransmltters play important roles. The hippocamplls is a frequently attacked site and an ideal model tissue for epilepsy' l]. In general, the seizure results from the imbalance of excitation and inhibition, i. e., increased effect of excltatory neurotransmltters ordecreased effect of inhlbitory neurotransrnlttersL =' ']. However, there was no nlorphologlcal, eel)eclally at the ultrastructural level, evidenceic identify …     

益气通络方对大鼠短暂性脑缺血后海马DND的保护作用

目的 :探讨益气通络方对大鼠短暂性脑缺血后海马迟发性神经元死亡 (DND)的保护作用及其机制。方法 :用Pulsinelli四血管闭塞法制作全脑缺血模型。实验动物随机分为假手术对照组、脑缺血加生理盐水组和脑缺血加益气通络方组。缺血再灌 3天后进行HE染色、TUNEL染色。结果 :①HE染色 ,光镜下观察CA1区组织病理学变化 ,并用显微测微尺测量CA1区存活锥体细胞密度 (存活锥体细胞的个数 /mm) ,表明益气通络口服液组 ( 1 1 4 .5± 1 9.0 )与生理盐水组 ( 1 0 .5± 3.0 )比较 ,P <0 .0 1。②TUNEL染色 ,光镜下假手术组未见阳性结果 ,缺血再灌流加生理盐水组CA1区大部分锥体神经元发生凋亡 ( 1 2 4 .0± 1 1 .5) ,益气通络方组CA1区凋亡的锥体神经元明显减少 ( 2 4 .5± 3.0 ) ,存活细胞增多。结论 :益气通络方能够显著降低大鼠短暂性脑缺血后海马迟发性神经元死亡 ,抑制细胞凋亡可能是其临床疗效的机制之一。