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James LM, Dolan S, Leuthold AC, Engdahl BE, Georgopoulos A, Georgopoulos AP. The effects of human leukocyte antigen DRB1*13 and apolipoprotein E on age-related variability of synchronous neural interactions in healthy women. EBioMedicine 2018; 35:288-294. [PMID: 30139626 PMCID: PMC6161538 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.08.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Age-related brain changes are well-documented and influenced by genetics. Extensive research links apolipoprotein E (apoE) to brain function, with the E4 allele serving as a risk factor for brain disease, including Alzheimer's disease, and the E2 allele conferring protection. Recent evidence also supports protective effects of another gene, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DRB1*13, on brain disease and age-related brain atrophy in cognitively healthy adults. Here we investigated the effects of apoE and HLA DRB1*13 on brain function by examining changes in neural network properties with age in healthy adults. METHODS One hundred seventy-eight cognitively healthy women (28-99 y old) underwent a magnetoencephalography scan and provided a blood sample for genetic analysis. Age-related changes in neural network variability in genetic subgroups of DRB1*13 × apoE genotype combinations were assessed using linear regression of network variability against age. FINDINGS For individuals lacking a DRB1*13 allele and/or carrying an apoE4 allele, network variability increased significantly with age. In contrast, no such increase was observed in the presence of DRB1*13 and/or apoE2. INTERPRETATION These findings extend previous research documenting the protective effect of DRB1*13 on brain structure to include protection against age-related changes in brain function, and demonstrate similar protective effects on neural network variability for either DRB1*13 or apoE2. These protective effects could be due to reduction or elimination of factors known to disrupt brain function, including neuroinflammation and amyloid beta protein. FUNDING U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and University of Minnesota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M James
- Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 5541, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Stacy Dolan
- Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 5541, USA
| | - Arthur C Leuthold
- Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 5541, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Brian E Engdahl
- Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 5541, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Angeliki Georgopoulos
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Apostolos P Georgopoulos
- Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 5541, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Georgopoulos AP, Tsilibary EPC, Souto EP, James LM, Engdahl BE, Georgopoulos A. Adverse effects of Gulf War Illness (GWI) serum on neural cultures and their prevention by healthy serum. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 3:19-27. [PMID: 31032476 DOI: 10.29245/2572.942x/2018/2.1177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic debilitating disease of unknown etiology that affects the brain and has afflicted many veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War (GW). Here we tested the hypothesis that brain damage may be caused by circulating harmful substances to which GW veterans were exposed but which could not be eliminated due to lack of specific immunity. We assessed the effects of serum from GWI patients on function and morphology of brain cultures in vitro, including cultures of embryonic mouse brain and neuroblastoma N2A line. Blood serum from GWI and healthy GW veterans was added, alone and in combination, to the culture and its effects on the function and morphology of the culture assessed. Neural network function was assessed using electrophysiological recordings from multielectrode arrays in mouse brain cultures, whereas morphological assessments (neural growth and cell apoptosis) were done in neuroblastoma cultures. In contrast to healthy serum, the addition of GWI serum disrupted neural network communication and caused reduced cell growth and increased apoptosis. All of these detrimental effects were prevented or ameliorated by the concomitant addition of serum from healthy GW veterans. These findings indicate that GWI serum contains neuropathogenic factors that can be neutralized by healthy serum. We hypothesize that these factors are persistent antigens circulating in GWI blood that can be neutralized, possibly by specific antibodies present in the healthy serum, as proposed earlier1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apostolos P Georgopoulos
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Effie-Photini C Tsilibary
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Eric P Souto
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Lisa M James
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Brian E Engdahl
- Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Angeliki Georgopoulos
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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