痛情绪相关神经递质及神经环路研究进展＊

痛情绪是指因疼痛引发的情绪和情感体验，是疾病过程中最常见的一种情绪。痛情绪相关神经机制非常复杂，但主要与单胺类神经递质、神经肽和某些神经环路有关，笔者将结合目前研究现状分别从以上两方面展开，就痛情绪相关单胺类神经递质和神经肽在受体分类、脑区通路、共疾病以及各神经递质之间的联系和痛情绪相关神经环路中各个蛋白的作用机制等方面进行探讨。     

Immunisation with the BCG and DTPw vaccines induces different programs of trained immunity in mice

In addition to providing pathogen-specific immunity, vaccines can also confer nonspecific effects (NSEs) on mortality and morbidity unrelated to the targeted disease. Immunisation with live vaccines, such as the BCG vaccine, has generally been associated with significantly reduced all-cause infant mortality. In contrast, some inactivated vaccines, such as the diphtheria, tetanus, whole-cell pertussis (DTPw) vaccine, have been controversially associated with increased all-cause mortality especially in female infants in high-mortality settings. The NSEs associated with BCG have been attributed, in part, to the induction of trained immunity, an epigenetic and metabolic reprograming of innate immune cells, increasing their responsiveness to subsequent microbial encounters. Whether non-live vaccines such as DTPw induce trained immunity is currently poorly understood. Here, we report that immunisation of mice with DTPw induced a unique program of trained immunity in comparison to BCG immunised mice. Altered monocyte and DC cytokine responses were evident in DTPw immunised mice even months after vaccination. Furthermore, splenic cDCs from DTPw immunised mice had altered chromatin accessibility at loci involved in immunity and metabolism, suggesting that these changes were epigenetically mediated. Interestingly, changing the order in which the BCG and DTPw vaccines were co-administered to mice altered subsequent trained immune responses. Given these differences in trained immunity, we also assessed whether administration of these vaccines altered susceptibility to sepsis in two different mouse models. Immunisation with either BCG or a DTPw-containing vaccine prior to the induction of sepsis did not significantly alter survival. Further studies are now needed to more fully investigate the potential consequences of DTPw induced trained immunity in different contexts and to assess whether other non-live vaccines also induce similar changes.     

Putting age-related task activation into large-scale brain networks: A meta-analysis of 114 fMRI studies on healthy aging

Normal aging is associated with cognitive decline and underlying brain dysfunction. Previous studies concentrated less on brain network changes at a systems level. Our goal was to examine these age-related changes of fMRI-derived activation with a common network parcellation of the human brain function, offering a systems-neuroscience perspective of healthy aging. We conducted a series of meta-analyses on a total of 114 studies that included 2035 older adults and 1845 young adults. Voxels showing significant age-related changes in activation were then overlaid onto seven commonly referenced neuronal networks. Older adults present moderate cognitive decline in behavioral performance during fMRI scanning, and hypo-activate the visual network and hyper-activate both the frontoparietal control and default mode networks. The degree of increased activation in frontoparietal network was associated with behavioral performance in older adults. Age-related changes in activation present different network patterns across cognitive domains. The systems neuroscience approach used here may be useful for elucidating the underlying network mechanisms of various brain plasticity processes during healthy aging.     

Engraftable neural crest stem cells derived from cynomolgus monkey embryonic stem cells

Neural crest stem cells (NCSCs), a population of multipotent cells that migrate extensively and give rise to diverse derivatives, including peripheral and enteric neurons and glia, craniofacial cartilage and bone, melanocytes and smooth muscle, have great potential for regenerative medicine. Non-human primates provide optimal models for the development of stem cell therapies. Here, we describe the first derivation of NCSCs from cynomolgus monkey embryonic stem cells (CmESCs) at the neural rosette stage. CmESC-derived neurospheres replated on polyornithine/laminin-coated dishes migrated onto the substrate and showed characteristic expression of NCSC markers, including Sox10, AP2α, Slug, Nestin, p75, and HNK1. CmNCSCs were capable of propagating in an undifferentiated state in vitro as adherent or suspension cultures, and could be subsequently induced to differentiate towards peripheral nervous system lineages (peripheral sympathetic neurons, sensory neurons, and Schwann cells) and mesenchymal lineages (osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes, and smooth muscle cells). CmNCSCs transplanted into developing chick embryos or fetal brains of cynomolgus macaques survived, migrated, and differentiated into progeny consistent with a neural crest identity. Our studies demonstrate that CmNCSCs offer a new tool for investigating neural crest development and neural crest-associated human disease and suggest that this non-human primate model may facilitate tissue engineering and regenerative medicine efforts.     

Cell integrity indicators assessed by bioelectrical impedance: A systematic review of studies involving athletes

IntroductionBioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) has been used to evaluate cellular health and integrity through bioelectrical indicators. In the sporting context, monitoring these indicators can be useful to assess the quality and vitality of cells and body tissues.ObjectiveThe aim of this systematic review was to investigate indicators of cellular health and integrity evaluated by BIA in athletes.MethodsSearches were performed in December 2017 in the Lilacs, Medline, PubMed, Science Direct, Scielo, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science databases, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.ResultsThe searches retrieved 31 articles (30 involving professional athletes and one involving university athletes). In longitudinal studies (n = 15), the bioelectrical parameters directly associated with cellular health and integrity were extracellular water (ECW), phase angle (PA), BIA vector analysis (BIVA), crude reactance data (Xc), resistance (R), and ECW/BCM ratio. Regarding the findings of cross-sectional studies (n = 16), the investigated parameters (ECW, PA, BIVA, Z, BCM, and ECW/BCM) were directly associated with gender, age, sports performance level, modality, and game position.ConclusionsIn the included studies, the cellular health and integrity indicators were: Z, Xc, R, total water, intracellular water, ECW, PA, BIVA, BCM, and ECW/BCM.     

Cost-effective differentiation of hepatocyte-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells using small molecules

Significant efforts have been invested into the differentiation of stem cells into functional hepatocyte-like cells that can be used for cell therapy, disease modeling and drug screening. Most of these efforts have been concentrated on the use of growth factors to recapitulate developmental signals under in vitro conditions. Using small molecules instead of growth factors would provide an attractive alternative since small molecules are cell-permeable and cheaper than growth factors. We have developed a protocol for the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells using a predominantly small molecule–based approach (SM-Hep). This 3 step differentiation strategy involves the use of optimized concentrations of LY294002 and bromo-indirubin-3’-oxime (BIO) for the generation of definitive endoderm; sodium butyrate and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for the generation of hepatoblasts and SB431542 for differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells. Activin A is the only growth factor required in this protocol. Our results showed that SM-Hep were morphologically and functionally similar or better compared to the hepatocytes derived from the growth-factor induced differentiation (GF-Hep) in terms of expression of hepatic markers, urea and albumin production and cytochrome P450 (CYP1A2 and CYP3A4) activities. Cell viability assays following treatment with paradigm hepatotoxicants Acetaminophen, Chlorpromazine, Diclofenac, Digoxin, Quinidine and Troglitazone showed that their sensitivity to these drugs was similar to human primary hepatocytes (PHHs). Using SM-Hep would result in 67% and 81% cost reduction compared to GF-Hep and PHHs respectively. Therefore, SM-Hep can serve as a robust and cost effective replacement for PHHs for drug screening and development.     

超顺磁性氧化铁标记大鼠骨髓基质细胞经门静脉移植MRI活体示踪的研究

目的观察1．5T场强MRI联合动物专用线圈是否可以活体示踪经门静脉移植的纳米级超顺磁性氧化铁颗粒标记的骨髓基质细胞（bone marrow stromal cells BMSCs），为介人性门静脉骨髓基质细胞移植治疗终末期肝脏疾病的研究提供进一步的依据。方法供体大鼠5只，梯度密度离心分离BMSCs，纳米级超顺磁性氧化铁颗粒和脂质体转染BMSCs，体外经普鲁士蓝染色和HE染色确定细胞标记率。受体大鼠15只，分为5组，分别为对照组和纳米级超顺磁性氧化铁颗粒标记的骨髓基质细胞经门静脉移植人正常大鼠肝脏后2h、3d、7d及2周组。1．5T场强MRI联合动物专用线圈行T1W、T2W和T2＊序列扫描，观察肝脏信号改变情况，与对照组比较，并且与组织切片对照。结果纳米级超顺磁性氧化铁颗粒和脂质体转染BMSCs，细胞标记率〉95％。经门静脉移植人正常大鼠肝脏后，T2＊序列扫描显示经标记的BMSCs在肝内显示弥漫性的结节性低信号影，移植后2h到2周均可见到细胞在受体肝脏内存在，组织学切片显示信号缺失部位与铁颗粒标记细胞相一致。结论纳米级超顺磁性铁氧体颗粒标记的大鼠BMSCs经门静脉移植后可以通过1、5T场强行MRI活体示踪，为临床干细胞移植的应用提供可行的示踪方法。