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Quintá HR. Intraspinal Administration of Netrin-1 Promotes Locomotor Recovery after Complete Spinal Cord Transection. J Neurotrauma 2021; 38:2084-2102. [PMID: 33599152 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2020.7571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Complete spinal cord lesions interrupt the connection of all axonal projections with their neuronal targets below and above the lesion site. In particular, the interruption of connections with the neurons at lumbar segments after thoracic injuries impairs voluntary body control below the injury. The failure of spontaneous regrowth of transected axons across the lesion prevents the reconnection and reinnervation of the neuronal targets. At present, the only treatment in humans that has proven to promote some degree of locomotor recovery is physical therapy. The success of these strategies, however, depends greatly on the type of lesion and the level of preservation of neural tissue in the spinal cord after injury. That is the reason it is key to design strategies to promote axonal regrowth and neuronal reconnection. Here, we test the use of a developmental axon guidance molecule as a biological agent to promote axonal regrowth, axonal reconnection, and recovery of locomotor activity after spinal cord injury (SCI). This molecule, netrin-1, guides the growth of the corticospinal tract (CST) during the development of the central nervous system. To assess the potential of this molecule, we used a model of complete spinal cord transection in rats, at thoracic level 10-11. We show that in situ delivery of netrin-1 at the epicenter of the lesion: (1) promotes regrowth of CST through the lesion and prevents CST dieback, (2) promotes synaptic reconnection of regenerated motor and sensory axons, and (3) preserves the polymerization of the neurofilaments in the sciatic nerve axons. These anatomical findings correlate with a significant recovery of locomotor function. Our work identifies netrin-1 as a biological agent with the capacity to promote the functional repair and recovery of locomotor function after SCI. These findings support the use of netrin-1 as a therapeutic intervention to be tested in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héctor R Quintá
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Medicina Experimental "Dr. Jorge E. Toblli," Hospital Alemán. CABA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Sartim AG, Sartim MA, Cummings RD, Dias-Baruffi M, Joca SR. Impaired emotional response to stress in mice lacking galectin-1 or galectin-3. Physiol Behav 2020; 220:112862. [PMID: 32156558 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Galectin-1 (Gal-1) and galectin-3 (Gal-3) are multifunctional glycan-binding proteins, expressed in the brain and in its limbic structures that are involved in behavioral control. Gal-1 induces the expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and promotes adult neural stem cells proliferation, biological events impaired in stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Despite that, there is no evidence regarding galectin involvement in emotional control during stressful situations. Thus, we analyzed the behavioral phenotype of Gal-1 or Gal-3 knock-out mice (Gal-1 KO or Gal-3 KO) in different experimental models predictive of depressive and compulsive-like behaviors. METHODS C57BL-6 Gal-1 KO, Gal-3 KO, and wild-type mice (WT) were analyzed under the open field test (OFT) and, 6 h later, under the forced swim test (FST). Additionally, independent groups of male mice, lacking galectins or not, were exposed to the tail suspension test (TST) or to the marble burying test (MBT). The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of the mice submitted to MBT were dissected to access BDNF levels. RESULTS Both Gal-1 and Gal-3 KO mice showed increased time of immobility in the FST and in the TST compared to WT animals, thus reflecting an impaired stress-coping behavior. Additionally, Gal-1 and Gal-3 KO female mice presented increased compulsive-like behavior in the MBT, without significant changes in the locomotor activity. BDNF levels were found to be decreased in the PFC of Gal-1 KO mice. DISCUSSION Our results demonstrate that the absence of either endogenous Gal-1 and Gal-3 impairs stress-coping and increases compulsive-like behavior, suggesting that Gal-1 and Gal-3 are involved in the neurobiology of depression and obsessive-compulsive-like disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- A G Sartim
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Science of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - M A Sartim
- Basic and Applied Immunology Graduate Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - R D Cummings
- Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 3 Blackfan Circle, Room 11087, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
| | - M Dias-Baruffi
- Department of Clinical Analyses, Toxicology and Food Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo. Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - S R Joca
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Science of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS), Aarhus University, Aarhus Denmark.
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Kim JY, Kim HJ, Jang MJ, Kim JH, Lee JH, Lee E, Park K, Kim H, Lee J, Kwag J, Kim N, Song MR, Kim H, Sun W. BrainFilm, a novel technique for physical compression of 3D brain slices for efficient image acquisition and post-processing. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8531. [PMID: 29867183 PMCID: PMC5986777 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26776-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Tissue clearing enables us to observe thick tissue at a single cell resolution by reducing light scattering and refractive index matching. However, imaging of a large volume of tissue for 3D reconstruction requires a great deal of time, cost, and efforts. Few methods have been developed to transcend these limitations by mechanical compression or isotropic tissue shrinkage. Tissue shrinkage significantly lessens the imaging burden; however, there is an inevitable trade-off with image resolution. Here, we have developed the “BrainFilm” technique to compress cleared tissue at Z-axis by dehydration, without alteration of the XY-axis. The Z-axis compression was approximately 90%, and resulted in substantial reduction in image acquisition time and data size. The BrainFilm technique was successfully used to trace and characterize the morphology of thick biocytin-labelled neurons following electrophysiological recording and trace the GFP-labelled long nerve projections in irregular tissues such as the limb of mouse embryo. Thus, BrainFilm is a versatile tool that can be applied in diverse studies of 3D tissues in which spatial information of the Z-axis is dispensable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joo Yeon Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Hyun Jung Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Min Jee Jang
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - June Hoan Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Ju-Hyun Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Eunsoo Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Kyerl Park
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Hyuncheol Kim
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Jaedong Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Jeehyun Kwag
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Namhee Kim
- School of Life Sciences, GIST Research Institute, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, 61005, Korea
| | - Mi-Ryoung Song
- School of Life Sciences, GIST Research Institute, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, 61005, Korea
| | - Hyun Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea
| | - Woong Sun
- Department of Anatomy and Division of Brain Korea 21 Plus Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea.
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