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Mayadali ÜS, Chertes CAM, Sinicina I, Shaikh AG, Horn AKE. Ion channel profiles of extraocular motoneurons and internuclear neurons in human abducens and trochlear nuclei. Front Neuroanat 2024; 18:1411154. [PMID: 38957435 PMCID: PMC11217180 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2024.1411154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Extraocular muscles are innervated by two anatomically and histochemically distinct motoneuron populations: motoneurons of multiply-innervated fibers (MIF), and of singly-innervated fibers (SIF). Recently, it has been established by our research group that these motoneuron types of monkey abducens and trochlear nuclei express distinct ion channel profiles: SIF motoneurons, as well as abducens internuclear neurons (INT), express strong Kv1.1 and Kv3.1b immunoreactivity, indicating their fast-firing capacity, whereas MIF motoneurons do not. Moreover, low voltage activated cation channels, such as Cav3.1 and HCN1 showed differences between MIF and SIF motoneurons, indicating distinct post-inhibitory rebound characteristics. However, the ion channel profiles of MIF and SIF motoneurons have not been established in human brainstem tissue. Methods Therefore, we used immunohistochemical methods with antibodies against Kv, Cav3 and HCN channels to (1) examine the human trochlear nucleus in terms of anatomical organization of MIF and SIF motoneurons, (2) examine immunolabeling patterns of ion channel proteins in the distinct motoneurons populations in the trochlear and abducens nuclei. Results In the examination of the trochlear nucleus, a third motoneuron subgroup was consistently encountered with weak perineuronal nets (PN). The neurons of this subgroup had -on average- larger diameters than MIF motoneurons, and smaller diameters than SIF motoneurons, and PN expression strength correlated with neuronal size. Immunolabeling of various ion channels revealed that, in general, human MIF and SIF motoneurons did not differ consistently, as opposed to the findings in monkey trochlear and abducens nuclei. Kv1.1, Kv3.1b and HCN channels were found on both MIF and SIF motoneurons and the immunolabeling density varied for multiple ion channels. On the other hand, significant differences between SIF motoneurons and INTs were found in terms of HCN1 immunoreactivity. Discussion These results indicated that motoneurons may be more variable in human in terms of histochemical and biophysiological characteristics, than previously thought. This study therefore establishes grounds for any histochemical examination of motor nuclei controlling extraocular muscles in eye movement related pathologies in the human brainstem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ümit S. Mayadali
- Chair of Vegetative Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Anatomy, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christina A. M. Chertes
- Chair of Vegetative Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Anatomy, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Inga Sinicina
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Aasef G. Shaikh
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals, Cleveland VA Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Anja K. E. Horn
- Chair of Vegetative Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Anatomy, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
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Gary JM, Cramer S, Bolon B, Bradley AE, Butt MT. Incidental Gliosis in the Central Nervous System of Control Nonhuman Primates and Rats. Toxicol Pathol 2024:1926233241253255. [PMID: 38828567 DOI: 10.1177/01926233241253255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Gliosis, including microgliosis and astrocytosis, can be challenging to interpret in nonclinical studies. Incidences of glial foci in brains and spinal cords of control rats and nonhuman primates (NHPs) were reviewed in the historical control databases from two contract research organizations, including one specializing in neuropathology. In the brain, minimal to mild (grades 1-2) microgliosis was the most common diagnosis, especially in NHPs, although occasional moderate or marked microgliosis (grades 3 and 4) was encountered in both species. Microgliosis was more common in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and medulla oblongata in both species and was frequent in the white matter (brain), thalamus, and basal nuclei of NHPs. Gliosis ("not otherwise specified") of minimal severity was diagnosed in similar brain sub-sites for both species and was more common in NHPs compared with rats. Astrocytosis was most prominent in the cerebellum (molecular layer) of NHPs but was otherwise uncommon. In the spinal cord, microgliosis was most common in the lateral white matter tracts in rats and NHPs, and in the dorsal white matter tracts in NHPs. These data indicate that low-grade spontaneous glial responses occur with some frequency in control animals of two common nonclinical species.
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Weber K, Domènech A, Kegler K, Kreutzer R, Mayoral FJ, Okazaki Y, Ortega P, Polledo L, Razinger T, Richard OK, Sanchez R, Warfving N, Vallejo R, de Miguel R. Onset and progression of postmortem histological changes in the central nervous system of RccHan ™: WIST rats. Front Vet Sci 2024; 11:1378609. [PMID: 38835889 PMCID: PMC11149423 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1378609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Death initiates a cascade of physiological and biochemical alterations in organs and tissues, resulting in microscopic changes that challenge the histopathological evaluation. Moreover, the brain is particularly susceptible to artifacts owing to its unique composition and its location within the cranial vault. The aim of this study was to compile and illustrate the microscopic changes in the central nervous system (CNS) of rats subjected to delayed postmortem fixation. It also scrutinizes the influence of exsanguination and cooling methods on the initiation and progression of these alterations. Twenty-four Wistar Han outbred rats (RccHan™: WIST) were sacrificed and stored either at room temperature (18-22°C) or under refrigeration (2-4°C). Necropsies were conducted at different time points postmortem (i.e., 0.5 h, 1 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h, 36 h, 48 h, 7 days and 14 days). Brain sections underwent simultaneous digital evaluation by 14 pathologists until a consensus was reached on terminology, key findings, and intensity levels. Microscopic observations varied among cell types. Glial cells were similarly affected throughout the CNS and showed pericellular halo, chromatin condensation and nuclear shrinkage. Neurons showed two types of postmortem changes as most of them showed progressive shrinkage, cytoplasmic dissolution and karyorrhexis whereas others acquired a dark-neuron-like appearance. Neuronal changes showed marked differences among neuroanatomical locations. Additional postmortem changes encompassed: granulation and microcavitation in neuropil and white matter; retraction spaces; detachment of ependyma, choroid plexus, and leptomeninges. Severity of findings after 48 h at room temperature was higher than after seven days under refrigeration and similar to or slightly lower than after 14 days under refrigeration. No clear differences were observed related to the sex or weight of the animals or their exsanguination status. This work elucidates the onset and progression of autolytic changes in the brains of Wistar Han rats, offering insights to accurately identify and enhance the histopathological evaluation.
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Leung TCS, Fields E, Rana N, Shen RYL, Bernstein AE, Cook AA, Phillips DE, Watt AJ. Mitochondrial damage and impaired mitophagy contribute to disease progression in SCA6. Acta Neuropathol 2024; 147:26. [PMID: 38286873 PMCID: PMC10824820 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02680-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6) is a neurodegenerative disease that manifests in midlife and progressively worsens with age. SCA6 is rare, and many patients are not diagnosed until long after disease onset. Whether disease-causing cellular alterations differ at different disease stages is currently unknown, but it is important to answer this question in order to identify appropriate therapeutic targets across disease duration. We used transcriptomics to identify changes in gene expression at disease onset in a well-established mouse model of SCA6 that recapitulates key disease features. We observed both up- and down-regulated genes with the major down-regulated gene ontology terms suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction. We explored mitochondrial function and structure and observed that changes in mitochondrial structure preceded changes in function, and that mitochondrial function was not significantly altered at disease onset but was impaired later during disease progression. We also detected elevated oxidative stress in cells at the same disease stage. In addition, we observed impairment in mitophagy that exacerbates mitochondrial dysfunction at late disease stages. In post-mortem SCA6 patient cerebellar tissue, we observed metabolic changes that are consistent with mitochondrial impairments, supporting our results from animal models being translatable to human disease. Our study reveals that mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired mitochondrial degradation likely contribute to disease progression in SCA6 and suggests that these could be promising targets for therapeutic interventions in particular for patients diagnosed after disease onset.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eviatar Fields
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Namrata Rana
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | | | - Anna A Cook
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Alanna J Watt
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Tapia-González S, DeFelipe J. Secretagogin as a marker to distinguish between different neuron types in human frontal and temporal cortex. Front Neuroanat 2023; 17:1210502. [PMID: 38020216 PMCID: PMC10646422 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2023.1210502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The principal aim of the present work was to chemically characterize the population of neurons labeled for the calcium binding protein secretagogin (SCGN) in the human frontal and temporal cortices (Brodmann's area 10 and 21, respectively). Both cortical regions are involved in many high cognitive functions that are especially well developed (or unique) in humans, but with different functional roles. The pattern of SCGN immunostaining was rather similar in BA10 and BA21, with all the labeled neurons displaying a non-pyramidal morphology (interneurons). Although SCGN cells were present throughout all layers, they were more frequently observed in layers II, III and IV, whereas in layer I they were found only occasionally. We examined the degree of colocalization of SCGN with parvalbumin (PV) and calretinin (CR), as well as with nitric oxide synthase (nNOS; the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of nitric oxide by neurons) by triple immunostaining. We looked for possible similarities or differences in the coexpression patterns of SCGN with PV, CR and nNOS between BA10 and BA21 throughout the different cortical layers (I-VI). The percentage of colocalization was estimated by counting the number of all labeled cells through columns (1,100-1,400 μm wide) across the entire thickness of the cortex (from the pial surface to the white matter) in 50 μm-thick sections. Several hundred neurons were examined in both cortical regions. We found that SCGN cells include multiple neurochemical subtypes, whose abundance varies according to the cortical area and layer. The present results further highlight the regional specialization of cortical neurons and underline the importance of performing additional experiments to characterize the subpopulation of SCGN cells in the human cerebral cortex in greater detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Tapia-González
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Laboratorio de Neurofisiología Celular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
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Xiong G, Metheny H, Hood K, Jean I, Farrugia AM, Johnson BN, Tummala SR, Cohen NA, Cohen AS. Detection and verification of neurodegeneration after traumatic brain injury in the mouse: Immunohistochemical staining for amyloid precursor protein. Brain Pathol 2023; 33:e13163. [PMID: 37156643 PMCID: PMC10580020 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.13163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies of human traumatic brain injury (TBI) have shown diffuse axonal injury as varicosities or spheroids in white matter (WM) bundles when using immunoperoxidase-ABC staining with 22C11, a mouse monoclonal antibody against amyloid precursor protein (APP). These findings have been interpreted as TBI-induced axonal pathology. In a mouse model of TBI however, when we used immunofluorescent staining with 22C11, as opposed to immunoperoxidase staining, we did not observe varicosities or spheroids. To explore this discrepancy, we performed immunofluorescent staining with Y188, an APP knockout-validated rabbit monoclonal that shows baseline immunoreactivity in neurons and oligodendrocytes of non-injured mice, with some arranged-like varicosities. In gray matter after injury, Y188 intensely stained axonal blebs. In WM, we encountered large patches of heavily stained puncta, heterogeneous in size. Scattered axonal blebs were also identified among these Y188-stained puncta. To assess the neuronal origin of Y188 staining after TBI we made use of transgenic mice with fluorescently labeled neurons and axons. A close correlation was observed between Y188-stained axonal blebs and fluorescently labeled neuronal cell bodies/axons. By contrast, no correlation was observed between Y188-stained puncta and fluorescent axons in WM, suggesting that these puncta in WM did not originate from axons, and casting further doubt on the nature of previous reports with 22C11. As such, we strongly recommend Y188 as a biomarker for detecting damaged neurons and axons after TBI. With Y188, stained axonal blebs likely represent acute axonal truncations that may lead to death of the parent neurons. Y188-stained puncta in WM may indicate damaged oligodendrocytes, whose death and clearance can result in secondary demyelination and Wallerian degeneration of axons. We also provide evidence suggesting that 22C11-stained varicosities or spheroids previously reported in TBI patients might be showing damaged oligodendrocytes, due to a cross-reaction between the ABC kit and upregulated endogenous biotin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoxiang Xiong
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care MedicineThe Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Hannah Metheny
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care MedicineThe Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Kaitlin Hood
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care MedicineThe Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
- Neuroscience Graduate GroupUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Ian Jean
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care MedicineThe Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Anthony M. Farrugia
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care MedicineThe Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Brian N. Johnson
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care MedicineThe Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Shanti R. Tummala
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied SciencesUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Noam A. Cohen
- Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical CenterPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck SurgeryPerelman School of Medicine, University of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Akiva S. Cohen
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care MedicineThe Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Perelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
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Detcheverry F, Senthil S, Narayanan S, Badhwar A. Changes in levels of the antioxidant glutathione in brain and blood across the age span of healthy adults: A systematic review. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 40:103503. [PMID: 37742519 PMCID: PMC10520675 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Aging is characterized by a gradual decline of the body's biological functions, which can lead to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Antioxidants neutralize ROS and maintain balance between oxidation and reduction. If ROS production exceeds the ability of antioxidant systems to neutralize, a damaging state of oxidative stress (OS) may exist. The reduced form of glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant antioxidant, and decline of GSH is considered a marker of OS. Our review summarizes the literature on GSH variations with age in healthy adults in brain (in vivo, ex vivo) and blood (plasma, serum), and reliability of in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) measurement of GSH. A systematic PubMed search identified 35 studies. All in vivo MRS studies (N = 13) reported good to excellent reproducibility of GSH measures. In brain, 3 out of 4 MRS studies reported decreased GSH with age, measured in precuneus, cingulate, and occipital regions, while 1 study reported increased GSH with age in frontal and sensorimotor regions. In post-mortem brain, out of 3 studies, 2 reported decreased GSH with age in hippocampal and frontal regions, while 1 study reported increased GSH with age in a frontal region. Oxidized glutathione disulfide (GSSG) was reported to be increased in caudate with age in 1 study, suggesting OS. Although findings in the brain lacked a clear consensus, the majority of studies suggested a decline of GSH with age. The low number of studies (particularly ex vivo) and potential regional differences may have contributed to variability in the findings in brain. In blood, in contrast, GSH levels predominately were reported to decrease with advancing age (except in the oldest-old, who may represent a select group of particularly successful agers), while GSSG findings lacked consensus. The larger number of studies assessing age-specific GSH level changes in blood (N = 16) allowed for more robust consensus across studies than in brain. Overall, the literature suggests that aging is associated with increased OS in brain and body, but the timing and regional distribution of changes in the brain require further study. The contribution of brain OS to brain aging, and the effect of interventions to raise brain GSH levels on decline of brain function, remain understudied. Given that reliable tools to measure brain GSH exist, we hope this paper will serve as a catalyst to stimulate more work in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavie Detcheverry
- Multiomics Investigation of Neurodegenerative Diseases (MIND) lab, Montreal, QC, Canada; Département de Pharmacologie et Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Institut de Génie Biomédical, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sneha Senthil
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sridar Narayanan
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - AmanPreet Badhwar
- Multiomics Investigation of Neurodegenerative Diseases (MIND) lab, Montreal, QC, Canada; Département de Pharmacologie et Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Institut de Génie Biomédical, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Cuevas-Delgado P, Miguel V, Rupérez FJ, Lamas S, Barbas C. Impact of renal tubular Cpt1a overexpression on the kidney metabolome in the folic acid-induced fibrosis mouse model. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1161036. [PMID: 37377862 PMCID: PMC10291237 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1161036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by the progressive and irreversible deterioration of kidney function and structure with the appearance of renal fibrosis. A significant decrease in mitochondrial metabolism, specifically a reduction in fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in tubular cells, is observed in tubulointerstitial fibrosis, whereas FAO enhancement provides protection. Untargeted metabolomics offers the potential to provide a comprehensive analysis of the renal metabolome in the context of kidney injury. Methodology: Renal tissue from a carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a (Cpt1a) overexpressing mouse model, which displays enhanced FAO in the renal tubule, subjected to folic acid nephropathy (FAN) was studied through a multiplatform untargeted metabolomics approach based on LC-MS, CE-MS and GC-MS analysis to achieve the highest coverage of the metabolome and lipidome affected by fibrosis. The expression of genes related to the biochemical routes showing significant changes was also evaluated. Results: By combining different tools for signal processing, statistical analysis and feature annotation, we were able to identify variations in 194 metabolites and lipids involved in many metabolic routes: TCA cycle, polyamines, one-carbon metabolism, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism, FAO, glycerolipids and glycerophospholipids synthesis and degradation, glycosphingolipids interconversion, and sterol metabolism. We found several metabolites strongly altered by FAN, with no reversion induced by Cpt1a overexpression (v.g. citric acid), whereas other metabolites were influenced by CPT1A-induced FAO (v.g. glycine-betaine). Conclusion: It was implemented a successful multiplatform metabolomics approach for renal tissue analysis. Profound metabolic changes accompany CKD-associated fibrosis, some associated with tubular FAO failure. These results highlight the importance of addressing the crosstalk between metabolism and fibrosis when undertaking studies attempting to elucidate the mechanism of CKD progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Cuevas-Delgado
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), School of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Madrid, Spain
| | - Verónica Miguel
- Program of Physiological and Pathological Processes, Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (CBMSO, CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco J. Rupérez
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), School of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Madrid, Spain
| | - Santiago Lamas
- Program of Physiological and Pathological Processes, Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (CBMSO, CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Coral Barbas
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), School of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Madrid, Spain
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Insausti R, Insausti AM, Muñoz López M, Medina Lorenzo I, Arroyo-Jiménez MDM, Marcos Rabal MP, de la Rosa-Prieto C, Delgado-González JC, Montón Etxeberria J, Cebada-Sánchez S, Raspeño-García JF, Iñiguez de Onzoño MM, Molina Romero FJ, Benavides-Piccione R, Tapia-González S, Wisse LEM, Ravikumar S, Wolk DA, DeFelipe J, Yushkevich P, Artacho-Pérula E. Ex vivo, in situ perfusion protocol for human brain fixation compatible with microscopy, MRI techniques, and anatomical studies. Front Neuroanat 2023; 17:1149674. [PMID: 37034833 PMCID: PMC10076536 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2023.1149674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a method for human brain fixation based on simultaneous perfusion of 4% paraformaldehyde through carotids after a flush with saline. The left carotid cannula is used to perfuse the body with 10% formalin, to allow further use of the body for anatomical research or teaching. The aim of our method is to develop a vascular fixation protocol for the human brain, by adapting protocols that are commonly used in experimental animal studies. We show that a variety of histological procedures can be carried out (cyto- and myeloarchitectonics, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, intracellular cell injection, and electron microscopy). In addition, ex vivo, ex situ high-resolution MRI (9.4T) can be obtained in the same specimens. This procedure resulted in similar morphological features to those obtained by intravascular perfusion in experimental animals, provided that the postmortem interval was under 10 h for several of the techniques used and under 4 h in the case of intracellular injections and electron microscopy. The use of intravascular fixation of the brain inside the skull provides a fixed whole human brain, perfectly fitted to the skull, with negligible deformation compared to conventional techniques. Given this characteristic of ex vivo, in situ fixation, this procedure can probably be considered the most suitable one available for ex vivo MRI scans of the brain. We describe the compatibility of the method proposed for intravascular fixation of the human brain and fixation of the donor's body for anatomical purposes. Thus, body donor programs can provide human brain tissue, while the remainder of the body can also be fixed for anatomical studies. Therefore, this method of human brain fixation through the carotid system optimizes the procurement of human brain tissue, allowing a greater understanding of human neurological diseases, while benefiting anatomy departments by making the remainder of the body available for teaching purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Insausti
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Ana María Insausti
- Department of Health, School of Medicine, Public University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Mónica Muñoz López
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Isidro Medina Lorenzo
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Maria del Mar Arroyo-Jiménez
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - María Pilar Marcos Rabal
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Carlos de la Rosa-Prieto
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - José Carlos Delgado-González
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Javier Montón Etxeberria
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Sandra Cebada-Sánchez
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Juan Francisco Raspeño-García
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - María Mercedes Iñiguez de Onzoño
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Francisco Javier Molina Romero
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Ruth Benavides-Piccione
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Silvia Tapia-González
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Sadhana Ravikumar
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - David A. Wolk
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paul Yushkevich
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Emilio Artacho-Pérula
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Neuromax CSIC Associated Unit, Medical Sciences Department, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
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Coliță CI, Olaru DG, Coliță D, Hermann DM, Coliță E, Glavan D, Popa-Wagner A. Induced Coma, Death, and Organ Transplantation: A Physiologic, Genetic, and Theological Perspective. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065744. [PMID: 36982814 PMCID: PMC10059721 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In the clinic, the death certificate is issued if brain electrical activity is no longer detectable. However, recent research has shown that in model organisms and humans, gene activity continues for at least 96 h postmortem. The discovery that many genes are still working up to 48 h after death questions our definition of death and has implications for organ transplants and forensics. If genes can be active up to 48 h after death, is the person technically still alive at that point? We discovered a very interesting parallel between genes that were upregulated in the brain after death and genes upregulated in the brains that were subjected to medically-induced coma, including transcripts involved in neurotransmission, proteasomal degradation, apoptosis, inflammation, and most interestingly, cancer. Since these genes are involved in cellular proliferation, their activation after death could represent the cellular reaction to escape mortality and raises the question of organ viability and genetics used for transplantation after death. One factor limiting the organ availability for transplantation is religious belief. However, more recently, organ donation for the benefit of humans in need has been seen as “posthumous giving of organs and tissues can be a manifestation of love spreading also to the other side of death”.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cezar-Ivan Coliță
- Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila, 020276 Bucharest, Romania; (C.-I.C.)
| | - Denissa-Greta Olaru
- Department of Psychiatry, University for Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
| | - Daniela Coliță
- Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila, 020276 Bucharest, Romania; (C.-I.C.)
| | - Dirk M. Hermann
- Chair of Vascular Neurology, Dementia and Ageing, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Eugen Coliță
- Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila, 020276 Bucharest, Romania; (C.-I.C.)
| | - Daniela Glavan
- Department of Psychiatry, University for Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
- Correspondence: (D.G.); (A.P.-W.)
| | - Aurel Popa-Wagner
- Department of Psychiatry, University for Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
- Chair of Vascular Neurology, Dementia and Ageing, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
- Correspondence: (D.G.); (A.P.-W.)
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11
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Pérez-Santos I, García-Cabezas MÁ, Cavada C. Mapping the primate thalamus: systematic approach to analyze the distribution of subcortical neuromodulatory afferents. Brain Struct Funct 2023:10.1007/s00429-023-02619-w. [PMID: 36890350 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02619-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Neuromodulatory afferents to thalamic nuclei are key for information transmission and thus play critical roles in sensory, motor, and limbic processes. Over the course of the last decades, diverse attempts have been made to map and describe subcortical neuromodulatory afferents to the primate thalamus, including axons using acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline, and histamine. Our group has been actively involved in this endeavor. The published descriptions on neuromodulatory afferents to the primate thalamus have been made in different laboratories and are not fully comparable due to methodological divergences (for example, fixation procedures, planes of cutting, techniques used to detect the afferents, different criteria for identification of thalamic nuclei…). Such variation affects the results obtained. Therefore, systematic methodological and analytical approaches are much needed. The present article proposes reproducible methodological and terminological frameworks for primate thalamic mapping. We suggest the use of standard stereotaxic planes to produce and present maps of the primate thalamus, as well as the use of the Anglo-American school terminology (vs. the German school terminology) for identification of thalamic nuclei. Finally, a public repository of the data collected under agreed-on frameworks would be a useful tool for looking up and comparing data on the structure and connections of primate thalamic nuclei. Important and agreed-on efforts are required to create, manage, and fund a unified and homogeneous resource of data on the primate thalamus. Likewise, a firm commitment of the institutions to preserve experimental brain material is much needed because neuroscience work with non-human primates is becoming increasingly rare, making earlier material still more valuable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Pérez-Santos
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Arzobispo Morcillo 4, 28029, Madrid, Spain.,PhD Program in Neuroscience, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid-Cajal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel García-Cabezas
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Arzobispo Morcillo 4, 28029, Madrid, Spain.,PhD Program in Neuroscience, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid-Cajal, Madrid, Spain.,Neural Systems Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Carmen Cavada
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Arzobispo Morcillo 4, 28029, Madrid, Spain. .,PhD Program in Neuroscience, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid-Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
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12
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Ábrahám H, Kojima H, Götzer K, Molnár A, Tornóczky T, Seress L. Development of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the postnatal human hippocampal formation. Front Neuroanat 2023; 17:1058370. [PMID: 36816519 PMCID: PMC9932602 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2023.1058370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Parvalbumin (PV) is a calcium-binding protein present in fast-spiking GABAergic neurons, such as basket and axo-axonic cells. Previous studies in non-human primates reported prenatal expression of PV in the temporal archicortex including entorhinal cortex and hippocampal formation. In contrast, PV-immunoreactivity was observed only postnatally in the human entorhinal cortex. Regarding PV expression in the human hippocampal formation, no information is available. Methods: In this study, the neurochemical maturation of PV-immunoreactive interneurons was studied in the postnatal developing human hippocampal formation. Results: Before birth, no PV-immunoreactive neurons could be detected in the human hippocampus. At birth, only a few PV-immunoreactive neurons were visible in Ammon's horn. The first PV-immunoreactive cells in the hilus of the dentate gyrus appeared at the age of 1 month. Even at the age of 5 months, only a few PV-immunopositive cells were present in the dentate hilus. The number of cells and their dendritic and axonal arborization in Ammon's horn and in the dentate gyrus gradually increased with age. Even at the age of 2 years, dendritic tree and axons of PV-immunoreactive neurons were less complex than can be seen in 8 and 11 years old children. Discussion: Our results showed that long-lasting maturation of PV-immunoreactive interneurons follows the developmental sequence of the subfields of the human hippocampal formation and provides further morphological evidence for the long-lasting functional maturation of the human cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hajnalka Ábrahám
- Department of Medical Biology and Central Electron Microscopic Laboratory, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary,Center for Neuroscience, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary,Institute for the Psychology of Special Needs, Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary,*Correspondence: Hajnalka Ábrahám
| | - Hisae Kojima
- Department of Medical Biology and Central Electron Microscopic Laboratory, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Katalin Götzer
- Department of Medical Biology and Central Electron Microscopic Laboratory, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Abigél Molnár
- Department of Medical Biology and Central Electron Microscopic Laboratory, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Tamás Tornóczky
- Department of Pathology, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary
| | - László Seress
- Department of Medical Biology and Central Electron Microscopic Laboratory, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary,Center for Neuroscience, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
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13
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Bolon B. Toxicologic Pathology Forum Opinion: Interpretation of Gliosis in the Brain and Spinal Cord Observed During Nonclinical Safety Studies. Toxicol Pathol 2023; 51:68-76. [PMID: 37057409 DOI: 10.1177/01926233231164557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Gliosis, defined as a nonneoplastic reaction (hypertrophy and/or proliferation) of astrocytes and/or microglial cells, is a frequent finding in the central nervous system (CNS [brain and/or spinal cord]) in nonclinical safety studies. Gliosis in rodents and nonrodents occurs at low incidence as a spontaneous finding and is induced by various test articles (e.g., biomolecules, cell and gene therapies, small molecules) delivered centrally (i.e., by injection or infusion into cerebrospinal fluid or neural tissue) or systemically. Several CNS gliosis patterns occur in nonclinical species. First, gliosis may accompany degeneration and/or necrosis of cells (mainly neurons) or neural parenchyma (neuron processes and myelin). Second, gliosis often follows inflammation (i.e., leukocyte accumulation causing parenchymal damage) or neoplasm formation. Third, gliosis may appear as variably sized, randomly scattered foci of reactive glial cells in the absence of visible parenchymal damage or inflammation. In interpreting test article-related CNS gliosis, adversity is indicated by parenchymal injury (e.g., degeneration, necrosis, or inflammation) and not the mere existence of a glial reaction. In the absence of clear structural damage to the parenchyma, gliosis as a standalone CNS finding should be interpreted as a nonadverse reaction to regional alterations in microenvironmental conditions rather than as evidence of a glial reaction associated with neurotoxicity.
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14
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Krassner MM, Kauffman J, Sowa A, Cialowicz K, Walsh S, Farrell K, Crary JF, McKenzie AT. Postmortem changes in brain cell structure: a review. FREE NEUROPATHOLOGY 2023; 4:4-10. [PMID: 37384330 PMCID: PMC10294569 DOI: 10.17879/freeneuropathology-2023-4790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Brain cell structure is a key determinant of neural function that is frequently altered in neurobiological disorders. Following the global loss of blood flow to the brain that initiates the postmortem interval (PMI), cells rapidly become depleted of energy and begin to decompose. To ensure that our methods for studying the brain using autopsy tissue are robust and reproducible, there is a critical need to delineate the expected changes in brain cell morphometry during the PMI. We searched multiple databases to identify studies measuring the effects of PMI on the morphometry (i.e. external dimensions) of brain cells. We screened 2119 abstracts, 361 full texts, and included 172 studies. Mechanistically, fluid shifts causing cell volume alterations and vacuolization are an early event in the PMI, while the loss of the ability to visualize cell membranes altogether is a later event. Decomposition rates are highly heterogenous and depend on the methods for visualization, the structural feature of interest, and modifying variables such as the storage temperature or the species. Geometrically, deformations of cell membranes are common early events that initiate within minutes. On the other hand, topological relationships between cellular features appear to remain intact for more extended periods. Taken together, there is an uncertain period of time, usually ranging from several hours to several days, over which cell membrane structure is progressively lost. This review may be helpful for investigators studying human postmortem brain tissue, wherein the PMI is an unavoidable aspect of the research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M. Krassner
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Departments of Pathology, Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence & Human Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research Core and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Justin Kauffman
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Departments of Pathology, Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence & Human Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research Core and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Allison Sowa
- Microscopy and Advanced Bioimaging Core, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Katarzyna Cialowicz
- Microscopy and Advanced Bioimaging Core, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Samantha Walsh
- Hunter College Libraries, CUNY Hunter College, New York, NY
| | - Kurt Farrell
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Departments of Pathology, Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence & Human Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research Core and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - John F. Crary
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Departments of Pathology, Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence & Human Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research Core and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Andrew T. McKenzie
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Departments of Pathology, Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence & Human Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research Core and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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15
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Rey-Stolle F, Dudzik D, Gonzalez-Riano C, Fernández-García M, Alonso-Herranz V, Rojo D, Barbas C, García A. Low and high resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for untargeted metabolomics: A tutorial. Anal Chim Acta 2022; 1210:339043. [PMID: 35595356 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2021.339043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 09/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
GC-MS for untargeted metabolomics is a well-established technique. Small molecules and molecules made volatile by derivatization can be measured and those compounds are key players in main biological pathways. This tutorial provides ready-to-use protocols for GC-MS-based metabolomics, using either the well-known low-resolution approach (GC-Q-MS) with nominal mass or the more recent high-resolution approach (GC-QTOF-MS) with accurate mass, discussing their corresponding strengths and limitations. Analytical procedures are covered for different types of biofluids (plasma/serum, bronchoalveolar lavage, urine, amniotic fluid) tissue samples (brain/hippocampus, optic nerve, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas) and samples obtained from cell cultures (adipocytes, macrophages, Leishmania promastigotes, mitochondria, culture media). Together with the sample preparation and data acquisition, data processing strategies are described specially focused on Agilent equipments, including deconvolution software and database annotation using spectral libraries. Manual curation strategies and quality control are also deemed. Finally, considerations to obtain a semiquantitative value for the metabolites are also described. As a case study, an illustrative example from one of our experiments at CEMBIO Research Centre, is described and findings discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Rey-Stolle
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain
| | - Danuta Dudzik
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain; Department of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Carolina Gonzalez-Riano
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Fernández-García
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain
| | - Vanesa Alonso-Herranz
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Rojo
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain
| | - Coral Barbas
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonia García
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo CEU, CEU Universities. Campus Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain.
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16
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Pyramidal cell axon initial segment in Alzheimer´s disease. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8722. [PMID: 35610289 PMCID: PMC9130508 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12700-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The axon initial segment (AIS) is a region of the neuron that is critical for action potential generation as well as for the regulation of neural activity. This specialized structure-characterized by the expression of different types of ion channels as well as adhesion, scaffolding and cytoskeleton proteins-is subjected to morpho-functional plastic changes in length and position upon variations in neural activity or in pathological conditions. In the present study, using immunocytochemistry with the AT8 antibody (phospho-tau S202/T205) and 3D confocal microscopy reconstruction techniques in brain tissue from Alzheimer's disease patients, we found that around half of the cortical pyramidal neurons with hyperphosphorylated tau showed changes in AIS length and position in comparison with AT8-negative neurons from the same cortical layers. We observed a wide variety of AIS alterations in neurons with hyperphosphorylated tau, although the most common changes were a proximal shift or a lengthening of the AISs. Similar results were found in neocortical tissue from non-demented cases with neurons containing hyperphosphorylated tau. These findings support the notion that the accumulation of phospho-tau is associated with structural alterations of the AIS that are likely to have an impact on normal neuronal activity, which might contribute to neuronal dysfunction in AD.
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17
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Reorganization of Parvalbumin Immunopositive Perisomatic Innervation of Principal Cells in Focal Cortical Dysplasia Type IIB in Human Epileptic Patients. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23094746. [PMID: 35563137 PMCID: PMC9100614 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is one of the most common causes of drug-resistant epilepsy. As several studies have revealed, the abnormal functioning of the perisomatic inhibitory system may play a role in the onset of seizures. Therefore, we wanted to investigate whether changes of perisomatic inhibitory inputs are present in FCD. Thus, the input properties of abnormal giant- and control-like principal cells were examined in FCD type IIB patients. Surgical samples were compared to controls from the same cortical regions with short postmortem intervals. For the study, six subjects were selected/each group. The perisomatic inhibitory terminals were quantified in parvalbumin and neuronal nuclei double immunostained sections using a confocal fluorescent microscope. The perisomatic input of giant neurons was extremely abundant, whereas control-like cells of the same samples had sparse inputs. A comparison of pooled data shows that the number of parvalbumin-immunopositive perisomatic terminals contacting principal cells was significantly larger in epileptic cases. The analysis showed some heterogeneity among epileptic samples. However, five out of six cases had significantly increased perisomatic input. Parameters of the control cells were homogenous. The reorganization of the perisomatic inhibitory system may increase the probability of seizure activity and might be a general mechanism of abnormal network activity.
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18
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Alternative Brain Slice-on-a-Chip for Organotypic Culture and Effective Fluorescence Injection Testing. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052549. [PMID: 35269696 PMCID: PMC8910551 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Mouse brain slices are one of the most common models to study brain development and functioning, increasing the number of study models that integrate microfluidic systems for hippocampal slice cultures. This report presents an alternative brain slice-on-a-chip, integrating an injection system inside the chip to dispense a fluorescent dye for long-term monitoring. Hippocampal slices have been cultured inside these chips, observing fluorescence signals from living cells, maintaining the cytoarchitecture of the slices. Having fluorescence images of biological samples inside the chip demonstrates the effectiveness of the staining process using the injection method avoiding leaks or biological contamination. The technology developed in this study presents a significant improvement in the local administration of reagents within a brain slice-on-a-chip system, which could be a suitable option for organotypic cultures in a microfluidic chip acting as a highly effective bioreactor.
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19
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Chen JJ, Thiyagarajah M, Song J, Chen C, Herrmann N, Gallagher D, Rapoport MJ, Black SE, Ramirez J, Andreazza AC, Oh P, Marzolini S, Graham SJ, Lanctôt KL. Altered central and blood glutathione in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis. Alzheimers Res Ther 2022; 14:23. [PMID: 35123548 PMCID: PMC8818133 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-022-00961-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increasing evidence implicates oxidative stress (OS) in Alzheimer disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Depletion of the brain antioxidant glutathione (GSH) may be important in OS-mediated neurodegeneration, though studies of post-mortem brain GSH changes in AD have been inconclusive. Recent in vivo measurements of the brain and blood GSH may shed light on GSH changes earlier in the disease. AIM To quantitatively review in vivo GSH in AD and MCI compared to healthy controls (HC) using meta-analyses. METHOD Studies with in vivo brain or blood GSH levels in MCI or AD with a HC group were identified using MEDLINE, PsychInfo, and Embase (1947-June 2020). Standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for outcomes using random effects models. Outcome measures included brain GSH (Meshcher-Garwood Point Resolved Spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) versus non-MEGA-PRESS) and blood GSH (intracellular versus extracellular) in AD and MCI. The Q statistic and Egger's test were used to assess heterogeneity and risk of publication bias, respectively. RESULTS For brain GSH, 4 AD (AD=135, HC=223) and 4 MCI (MCI=213, HC=211) studies were included. For blood GSH, 26 AD (AD=1203, HC=1135) and 7 MCI (MCI=434, HC=408) studies were included. Brain GSH overall did not differ in AD or MCI compared to HC; however, the subgroup of studies using MEGA-PRESS reported lower brain GSH in AD (SMD [95%CI] -1.45 [-1.83, -1.06], p<0.001) and MCI (-1.15 [-1.71, -0.59], z=4.0, p<0.001). AD had lower intracellular and extracellular blood GSH overall (-0.87 [-1. 30, -0.44], z=3.96, p<0.001). In a subgroup analysis, intracellular GSH was lower in MCI (-0.66 [-1.11, -0.21], p=0.025). Heterogeneity was observed throughout (I2 >85%) and not fully accounted by subgroup analysis. Egger's test indicated risk of publication bias. CONCLUSION Blood intracellular GSH decrease is seen in MCI, while both intra- and extracellular decreases were seen in AD. Brain GSH is decreased in AD and MCI in subgroup analysis. Potential bias and heterogeneity suggest the need for measurement standardization and additional studies to explore sources of heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinghan Jenny Chen
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Room FG52, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mathura Thiyagarajah
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Room FG52, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jianmeng Song
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Room FG52, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Clara Chen
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Room FG52, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Nathan Herrmann
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Room FG52, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Geriatric Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Damien Gallagher
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Geriatric Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mark J Rapoport
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Geriatric Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sandra E Black
- Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.,KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Joel Ramirez
- Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ana C Andreazza
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Paul Oh
- KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Susan Marzolini
- KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Simon J Graham
- Physical Sciences, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Krista L Lanctôt
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Room FG52, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada. .,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Geriatric Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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Aqul AA, Ramirez CM, Lopez AM, Burns DK, Repa JJ, Turley SD. Molecular markers of brain cholesterol homeostasis are unchanged despite a smaller brain mass in a mouse model of cholesteryl ester storage disease. Lipids 2022; 57:3-16. [PMID: 34618372 PMCID: PMC8766890 DOI: 10.1002/lipd.12325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL), encoded by the gene LIPA, facilitates the intracellular processing of lipids by hydrolyzing cholesteryl esters and triacylglycerols present in newly internalized lipoproteins. Loss-of-function mutations in LIPA result in cholesteryl ester storage disease (CESD) or Wolman disease when mutations cause complete loss of LAL activity. Although the phenotype of a mouse CESD model has been extensively characterized, there has not been a focus on the brain at different stages of disease progression. In the current studies, whole-brain mass and the concentrations of cholesterol in both the esterified (EC) and unesterified (UC) fractions were measured in Lal-/- and matching Lal+/+ mice (FVB-N strain) at ages ranging from 14 up to 280 days after birth. Compared to Lal+/+ controls at 50, 68-76, 140-142, and 230-280 days of age, Lal-/- mice had brain weights that averaged approximately 6%, 7%, 18%, and 20% less, respectively. Brain EC levels were higher in the Lal-/- mice at every age, being elevated 27-fold at 230-280 days. Brain UC concentrations did not show a genotypic difference at any age. The elevated brain EC levels in the Lal-/- mice did not reflect EC in residual blood. An mRNA expression analysis for an array of genes involved in the synthesis, catabolism, storage, and transport of cholesterol in the brains of 141-day old mice did not detect any genotypic differences although the relative mRNA levels for several markers of inflammation were moderately elevated in the Lal-/- mice. The possible sites of EC accretion in the central nervous system are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amal A. Aqul
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas TX 75390 USA
| | - Charina M. Ramirez
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas TX 75390 USA
| | - Adam M. Lopez
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas TX 75390 USA
| | - Dennis K. Burns
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas TX 75390 USA
| | - Joyce J. Repa
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas TX 75390 USA
- Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas TX 75390 USA
| | - Stephen D. Turley
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas TX 75390 USA
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21
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Quintero ME, Pontes JGDM, Tasic L. Metabolomics in degenerative brain diseases. Brain Res 2021; 1773:147704. [PMID: 34744014 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Among the most studied diseases that affect the central nervous system are Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases, but the lack of effective biomarkers, accurate diagnosis, and precise treatment for each of them is currently an issue. Due to the contribution of biomarkers in supporting diagnosis, many recent efforts have focused on their identification and validation at the beginning or during the progression of the mental illness. Metabolome reveals the metabolic processes that result from protein activities under the guided gene expression and environmental factors, either in healthy or pathological conditions. In this context, metabolomics has proven to be a valuable approach. Currently, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) are the most commonly used bioanalytical techniques for metabolomics. MS-assisted profiling is considered the most versatile technique, and the NMR is the most reproductive. However, each one of them has its drawbacks. In this review, we summarized several alterations in metabolites that have been reported for these three classic brain diseases using MS and NMR-based research, which might suggest some possible biomarkers to support the diagnosis and/or new targets for their treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Escobar Quintero
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - João Guilherme de Moraes Pontes
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Ljubica Tasic
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil.
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Vallianatou T, Lin W, Bèchet NB, Correia MSP, Shanbhag NC, Lundgaard I, Globisch D. Differential regulation of oxidative stress, microbiota-derived, and energy metabolites in the mouse brain during sleep. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2021; 41:3324-3338. [PMID: 34293940 PMCID: PMC8669215 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x211033358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Sleep has evolved as a universal core function to allow for restorative biological processes. Detailed knowledge of metabolic changes necessary for the sleep state in the brain is missing. Herein, we have performed an in-depth metabolic analysis of four mouse brain regions and uncovered region-specific circadian variations. Metabolites linked to oxidative stress were altered during sleep including acylcarnitines, hydroxylated fatty acids, phenolic compounds, and thiol-containing metabolites. These findings provide molecular evidence of a significant metabolic shift of the brain energy metabolism. Specific alterations were observed for brain metabolites that have previously not been associated with a circadian function including the microbiome-derived metabolite ergothioneine that suggests a regulatory function. The pseudopeptide β-citryl-glutamate has been linked to brain development and we have now discovered a previously unknown regioisomer. These metabolites altered by the circadian rhythm represent the foundation for hypothesis-driven studies of the underlying metabolic processes and their function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodosia Vallianatou
- Department of Chemistry-BMC, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Weifeng Lin
- Department of Chemistry-BMC, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nicholas B Bèchet
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Mario SP Correia
- Department of Chemistry-BMC, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nagesh C Shanbhag
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Iben Lundgaard
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Daniel Globisch
- Department of Chemistry-BMC, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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23
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Dawidowska J, Krzyżanowska M, Markuszewski MJ, Kaliszan M. The Application of Metabolomics in Forensic Science with Focus on Forensic Toxicology and Time-of-Death Estimation. Metabolites 2021; 11:metabo11120801. [PMID: 34940558 PMCID: PMC8708813 DOI: 10.3390/metabo11120801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, the diagnostic methods used by scientists in forensic examinations have enormously expanded. Metabolomics provides an important contribution to analytical method development. The main purpose of this review was to investigate and summarize the most recent applications of metabolomics in forensic science. The primary research method was an extensive review of available international literature in PubMed. The keywords “forensic” and “metabolomics” were used as search criteria for the PubMed database scan. Most authors emphasized the analysis of different biological sample types using chromatography methods. The presented review is a summary of recently published implementations of metabolomics in forensic science and types of biological material used and techniques applied. Possible opportunities for valuable metabolomics’ applications are discussed to emphasize the essential necessities resulting in numerous nontargeted metabolomics’ assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Dawidowska
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland; (J.D.); (M.J.M.)
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland;
| | - Marta Krzyżanowska
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland;
| | - Michał Jan Markuszewski
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland; (J.D.); (M.J.M.)
| | - Michał Kaliszan
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-58-3491255
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24
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Villaseñor A, Godzien J, Barker-Tejeda TC, Gonzalez-Riano C, López-López Á, Dudzik D, Gradillas A, Barbas C. Analytical approaches for studying oxygenated lipids in the search of potential biomarkers by LC-MS. Trends Analyt Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2021.116367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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New Advances in Tissue Metabolomics: A Review. Metabolites 2021; 11:metabo11100672. [PMID: 34677387 PMCID: PMC8541552 DOI: 10.3390/metabo11100672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolomics offers a hypothesis-generating approach for biomarker discovery in clinical medicine while also providing better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of chronic diseases. Clinical metabolomic studies largely rely on human biofluids (e.g., plasma, urine) as a more convenient specimen type for investigation. However, biofluids are non-organ specific reflecting complex biochemical processes throughout the body, which may complicate biochemical interpretations. For these reasons, tissue metabolomic studies enable deeper insights into aberrant metabolism occurring at the direct site of disease pathogenesis. This review highlights new advances in metabolomics for ex vivo analysis, as well as in situ imaging of tissue specimens, including diverse tissue types from animal models and human participants. Moreover, we discuss key pre-analytical and post-analytical challenges in tissue metabolomics for robust biomarker discovery with a focus on new methodological advances introduced over the past six years, including innovative clinical applications for improved screening, diagnostic testing, and therapeutic interventions for cancer.
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Escasany E, Lanzón B, García-Carrasco A, Izquierdo-Lahuerta A, Torres L, Corrales P, Rodríguez Rodríguez AE, Luis-Lima S, Martínez Álvarez C, Javier Ruperez F, Ros M, Porrini E, Rydén M, Medina-Gómez G. Transforming growth factor β3 deficiency promotes defective lipid metabolism and fibrosis in murine kidney. Dis Model Mech 2021; 14:271939. [PMID: 34431499 PMCID: PMC8489029 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.048249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis are pathological features of chronic kidney disease. Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a key player in the development of fibrosis. However, of the three known TGFβ isoforms, only TGFβ1 has an established role in fibrosis, and the pathophysiological relevance of TGFβ2 and TGFβ3 is unknown. Because Tgfb3 deficiency in mice results in early postnatal lethality, we analyzed the kidney phenotype of heterozygous Tgfb3-knockout mice (Tgfb3+/−) and compared it with that of matched wild-type mice. Four-month-old Tgfb3+/− mice exhibited incipient renal fibrosis with epithelial–mesenchymal transition, in addition to glomerular basement membrane thickening and podocyte foot process effacement associated with albuminuria. Also evident was insulin resistance and oxidative stress at the renal level, together with aberrant renal lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function. Omics analysis revealed toxic species, such as diacylglycerides and ceramides, and dysregulated mitochondrial metabolism in Tgfb3+/− mice. Kidneys of Tgfb3+/− mice showed morphological alterations of mitochondria and overactivation of non-canonical MAPK ERK1/2 and JNK cascades. Our study indicates that renal TGFβ3 might have antifibrotic and renoprotective properties, opposing or counteracting the activity of TGFβ1. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Summary: Our study describes the renal abnormalities of heterozygous Tgfb3-targeted mice and suggests that TGFβ3 is renoprotective and may counteract the activity of TGFβ1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elia Escasany
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
| | - Borja Lanzón
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
| | - Almudena García-Carrasco
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
| | - Adriana Izquierdo-Lahuerta
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
| | - Lucía Torres
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Corrales
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Sergio Luis-Lima
- IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Departamento de Nefrología e Hipertensión, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Concepción Martínez Álvarez
- Departamento de Anatomía y Embriología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Javier Ruperez
- Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte, 28660 Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Ros
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
| | - Esteban Porrini
- Universidad La Laguna, Instituto Tecnologías Biomédicas (ITB), 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Mikael Rydén
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, 141 86 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gema Medina-Gómez
- Lipobeta group, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain.,LAFEMEX laboratory, Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avda. de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, 28922 Madrid, Spain
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Immunostaining for NeuN Does Not Show all Mature and Healthy Neurons in the Human and Pig Brain: Focus on the Hippocampus. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 2021; 29:e46-e56. [PMID: 33710124 DOI: 10.1097/pai.0000000000000925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Neuronal nuclei (NeuN) is a neuron-specific nuclear protein, reported to be stably expressed in most postmitotic neurons of the vertebrate nervous system. Reduced staining has been interpreted by some to indicate loss of cell viability in human studies, while others suggest this may be because of changes in the antigenicity of the target epitope. Preliminary studies in our laboratory found low immunostaining for the NeuN antibody on formalin fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE) human brain tissue. We report on the techniques and results used to enhance the staining for NeuN in that tissue. In parallel, we stained NeuN in piglet brain tissue, sourced from an experimental model where methodological parameters, including those for tissue fixation and storage, were tightly controlled. In human FFPE brain tissue, we were unable to enhance NeuN immunostaining to a degree sufficient for cell counting. In contrast, we found consistently high levels of staining in the piglet brain tissue. We conclude that processes used for fixation and storage of human FFPE brain tissue are responsible for the reduced staining. These results emphasize that a cautionary approach should be taken when interpreting NeuN staining outcomes in human FFPE brain tissue.
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García-Aguilera ME, de San Miguel ER, Cruz-Pérez J, Aguirre-Cruz L, Ramirez-Alfaro CM, Esturau-Escofet N. NMR-based metabolomics of human cerebrospinal fluid identifies signature of brain death. Metabolomics 2021; 17:40. [PMID: 33864540 DOI: 10.1007/s11306-021-01794-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Brain death (BD) is the irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brainstem. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a biological liquid that circulates in brain and spine. Metabolomics is able to reveal the response of biological systems to diverse factors in a specific moment or condition. Therefore, the study of this neurological condition through metabolic profiling using high resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is important for understanding biochemical events. OBJECTIVES The aim of the current study is to identify the metabolomics signature of BD using 1H-NMR spectroscopy in human CSF. METHODS 1H-NMR spectroscopy has been employed for metabolomic untargeted analysis in 46 CSF samples: 22 control and 24 with BD. Spectral data were further subjected to multivariate analysis. RESULTS Statistically significant multivariate models separated subject's samples with BD from controls and revealed twenty one discriminatory metabolites. The statistical analysis of control and BD subjects using Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) model resulted in R2X of 0.733 and Q2 of 0.635. An elevation in the concentration of statistically discriminant metabolites in BD was observed. CONCLUSION This study identifies a metabolic signature associated with BD and the most relevant enriched selected metabolic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha E García-Aguilera
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Química, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Eduardo Rodríguez de San Miguel
- Departamento de Química Analítica, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Cd., Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Jocelyn Cruz-Pérez
- Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez, Av. Insurgentes sur 3877, 14269, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Lucinda Aguirre-Cruz
- Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez, Av. Insurgentes sur 3877, 14269, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Christian M Ramirez-Alfaro
- Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez, Av. Insurgentes sur 3877, 14269, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Nuria Esturau-Escofet
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Química, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico.
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Gonzalez-Riano C, Tapia-González S, Perea G, González-Arias C, DeFelipe J, Barbas C. Metabolic Changes in Brain Slices over Time: a Multiplatform Metabolomics Approach. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:3224-3237. [PMID: 33651263 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-02264-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Brain slice preparations are widely used for research in neuroscience. However, a high-quality preparation is essential and there is no consensus regarding stable parameters that can be used to define the status of the brain slice preparation after its collection at different time points. Thus, it is critical to fully characterize the experimental conditions for ex vivo studies using brain slices for electrophysiological recording. In this study, we used a multiplatform (LC-MS and GC-MS) untargeted metabolomics-based approach to shed light on the metabolome and lipidome changes taking place at different time intervals during the brain slice preparation process. We have found significant modifications in the levels of 300 compounds, including several lipid classes and their derivatives, as well as metabolites involved in the GABAergic pathway and the TCA cycle. All these preparation-dependent changes in the brain biochemistry related to the time interval should be taken into consideration for future studies to facilitate non-biased interpretations of the experimental results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Gonzalez-Riano
- Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28660, Boadilla del Monte, Spain
| | - Silvia Tapia-González
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Avenida Doctor Arce 37, 28002, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gertrudis Perea
- Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Avenida Doctor Arce 37, 28002, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Avenida Doctor Arce 37, 28002, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Coral Barbas
- Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28660, Boadilla del Monte, Spain.
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30
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Dienel GA. Stop the rot. Enzyme inactivation at brain harvest prevents artifacts: A guide for preservation of the in vivo concentrations of brain constituents. J Neurochem 2021; 158:1007-1031. [PMID: 33636013 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Post-mortem metabolism is widely recognized to cause rapid and prolonged changes in the concentrations of multiple classes of compounds in brain, that is, they are labile. Post-mortem changes from levels in living brain include components of pathways of metabolism of glucose and energy compounds, amino acids, lipids, signaling molecules, neuropeptides, phosphoproteins, and proteins. Methods that stop enzyme activity at brain harvest were developed almost 50 years ago and have been extensively used in studies of brain functions and diseases. Unfortunately, these methods are not commonly used to harvest brain tissue for mass spectrometry-based metabolomic studies or for imaging mass spectrometry studies (IMS, also called mass spectrometry imaging, MSI, or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-MSI, MALDI-MSI). Instead these studies commonly kill animals, decapitate, dissect out brain and regions of interest if needed, then 'snap' freeze the tissue to stop enzymatic activity after harvest, with post-mortem intervals typically ranging from ~0.5 to 3 min. To increase awareness of the importance of stopping metabolism at harvest and preventing the unnecessary complications of not doing so, this commentary provides examples of labile metabolites and the magnitudes of their post-mortem changes in concentrations during brain harvest. Brain harvest methods that stop metabolism at harvest eliminate post-mortem enzymatic activities and can improve characterization of normal and diseased brain. In addition, metabolomic studies would be improved by reporting absolute units of concentration along with normalized peak areas or fold changes. Then reported values can be evaluated and compared with the extensive neurochemical literature to help prevent reporting of artifactual data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald A Dienel
- Department of Neurology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.,Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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Hsu CH, Lin S, Ho AC, Johnson TD, Wang PC, Scafidi J, Tu TW. Comparison of in vivo and in situ detection of hippocampal metabolites in mouse brain using 1 H-MRS. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2021; 34:e4451. [PMID: 33258202 PMCID: PMC8214416 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The study of cerebral metabolites relies heavily on detection methods and sample preparation. Animal experiments in vivo require anesthetic agents that can alter brain metabolism, whereas ex vivo experiments demand appropriate fixation methods to preserve the tissue from rapid postmortem degradation. In this study, the metabolic profiles of mouse hippocampi using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1 H-MRS) were compared in vivo and in situ with or without focused beam microwave irradiation (FBMI) fixation. Ten major brain metabolites, including lactate (Lac), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), total choline (tCho), myo-inositol (mIns), glutamine (Gln), glutamate (Glu), aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutathione (GSH), total creatine (tCr) and taurine (Tau), were analyzed using LCModel. After FBMI fixation, the concentrations of Lac, tCho and mIns were comparable with those obtained in vivo under isoflurane, whereas other metabolites were significantly lower. Except for a decrease in NAA and an increase in Tau, all the other metabolites remained stable over 41 hours in FBMI-fixed brains. Without FBMI, the concentrations of mIns (before 2 hours), tCho and GABA were close to those measured in vivo. However, higher Lac (P < .01) and lower NAA, Gln, Glu, GSH, tCr and Tau were observed (P < .01). NAA, Gln, Glu, GSH, tCr and Tau exhibited good temporal stability for at least 20 hours in the unfixed brain, whereas a linear increase of tCho, mIns and GABA was observed. Possible mechanisms of postmortem degradation are discussed. Our results indicate that a proper fixation method is required for in situ detection depending on the targeted metabolites of specific interests in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao-Hsiung Hsu
- Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Stephen Lin
- Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Ai-Chen Ho
- Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - T. Derek Johnson
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Department of Neurology, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Paul C. Wang
- Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Joseph Scafidi
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Department of Neurology, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Tsang-Wei Tu
- Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
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32
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Bohnert S, Reinert C, Trella S, Schmitz W, Ondruschka B, Bohnert M. Metabolomics in postmortem cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics: a state-of-the-art method to interpret central nervous system-related pathological processes. Int J Legal Med 2021; 135:183-191. [PMID: 33180198 PMCID: PMC7782422 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-020-02462-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In the last few years, quantitative analysis of metabolites in body fluids using LC/MS has become an established method in laboratory medicine and toxicology. By preparing metabolite profiles in biological specimens, we are able to understand pathophysiological mechanisms at the biochemical and thus the functional level. An innovative investigative method, which has not yet been used widely in the forensic context, is to use the clinical application of metabolomics. In a metabolomic analysis of 41 samples of postmortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples divided into cohorts of four different causes of death, namely, cardiovascular fatalities, isoIated torso trauma, traumatic brain injury, and multi-organ failure, we were able to identify relevant differences in the metabolite profile between these individual groups. According to this preliminary assessment, we assume that information on biochemical processes is not gained by differences in the concentration of individual metabolites in CSF, but by a combination of differently distributed metabolites forming the perspective of a new generation of biomarkers for diagnosing (fatal) TBI and associated neuropathological changes in the CNS using CSF samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Bohnert
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, Versbacher Str. 3, 97078, Wuerzburg, Germany.
| | - Christoph Reinert
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, Versbacher Str. 3, 97078, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Trella
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, Versbacher Str. 3, 97078, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Werner Schmitz
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Biozentrum - Am Hubland, 97074, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Ondruschka
- Institute of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael Bohnert
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, Versbacher Str. 3, 97078, Wuerzburg, Germany
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33
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Boyaci E, Lendor S, Bojko B, Reyes-Garcés N, Gómez-Ríos GA, Olkowicz M, Diwan M, Palmer M, Hamani C, Pawliszyn J. Comprehensive Investigation of Metabolic Changes Occurring in the Rat Brain Hippocampus after Fluoxetine Administration Using Two Complementary In Vivo Techniques: Solid Phase Microextraction and Microdialysis. ACS Chem Neurosci 2020; 11:3749-3760. [PMID: 33125227 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluoxetine is among the most prescribed antidepressant drugs worldwide. Nevertheless, limited information is known about its definitive mechanism. Although in vivo examinations performed directly in related brain structures can provide more realistic, and therefore more insightful, knowledge regarding the mechanisms and efficacy of this drug, only a few techniques are applicable for in vivo monitoring of metabolic alterations in the brain following an inducement. Among them, solid phase microextraction (SPME) and microdialysis (MD) have emerged as ideal in vivo tools for extraction of information from biosystems. In this investigation, we scrutinized the capabilities of SPME and MD to detect ongoing changes in the brain following acute fluoxetine administration. Sequential in vivo samples were collected simultaneously from male rats' hippocampi using SPME and MD before drug administration in order to establish a baseline; then samples were collected again following fluoxetine administration for an investigation of small molecule alterations. Our results indicate that MD provides more comprehensive information for polar compounds, while SPME provides superior information with respect to lipids and other medium level polar molecules. Interestingly, in the lipidomic investigation, all dysregulated features were found to be membrane lipids and associated compounds. Moreover, in the metabolomic investigations, dysregulation of hippocampal metabolite levels associated with fatty acid transportation and purine metabolisms were among the most notable findings. Overall, our evaluation of the obtained data corroborates that, when used in tandem, SPME and MD are capable of providing comprehensive information regarding the effect of fluoxetine in targeted brain structures and further elucidating this drug's mechanisms of action in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezel Boyaci
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
| | - Sofia Lendor
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Barbara Bojko
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Nathaly Reyes-Garcés
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Germán Augusto Gómez-Ríos
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Mariola Olkowicz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Mustansir Diwan
- Neuroimaging Research Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Michael Palmer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Clement Hamani
- Neuroimaging Research Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Janusz Pawliszyn
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
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34
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Scholefield M, Church SJ, Xu J, Robinson AC, Gardiner NJ, Roncaroli F, Hooper NM, Unwin RD, Cooper GJS. Effects of Alterations of Post-Mortem Delay and Other Tissue-Collection Variables on Metabolite Levels in Human and Rat Brain. Metabolites 2020; 10:E438. [PMID: 33138273 PMCID: PMC7694048 DOI: 10.3390/metabo10110438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of post-mortem human tissue is indispensable in studies investigating alterations in metabolite levels in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, variability between samples may have unknown effects on metabolite concentrations. The aim of this study was to characterize the impact of such variables. Cingulate gyrus was obtained from AD cases and controls, from three brain banks. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to measure and compare the levels of 66 identifiable metabolites in these tissues to determine effects of tissue-collection variables. The effect of PMD was further investigated by analysis of rat brain cortex and cerebellum collected following post-mortem delays (PMDs) of zero to 72 h. Metabolite levels between cases and controls were not replicable across cohorts with variable age- and gender-matching, PMD, and control Braak staging. Analysis of rat tissues found significant effects of PMD on 31 of 63 identified metabolites over periods up to 72 h. PMD must be kept under 24 h for metabolomics analyses on brain tissues to yield replicable results. Tissues should also be well age- and gender-matched, and Braak stage in controls should be kept to a minimum in order to minimize the impact of these variables in influencing metabolite variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Scholefield
- Centre for Advanced Discovery & Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M19 9NT, UK; (S.J.C.); (J.X.); (R.D.U.); (G.J.S.C.)
| | - Stephanie J. Church
- Centre for Advanced Discovery & Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M19 9NT, UK; (S.J.C.); (J.X.); (R.D.U.); (G.J.S.C.)
| | - Jingshu Xu
- Centre for Advanced Discovery & Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M19 9NT, UK; (S.J.C.); (J.X.); (R.D.U.); (G.J.S.C.)
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92 019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Andrew C. Robinson
- Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Salford Royal Hospital, Salford M6 8HD, UK;
| | - Natalie J. Gardiner
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Gastroenterology, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, UK;
| | - Federico Roncaroli
- Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, and Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology & Inflammation, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M19 9NT, UK;
| | - Nigel M. Hooper
- Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M19 9NT, UK;
| | - Richard D. Unwin
- Centre for Advanced Discovery & Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M19 9NT, UK; (S.J.C.); (J.X.); (R.D.U.); (G.J.S.C.)
- Stoller Biomarker Discovery Centre & Division of Cancer Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Citylabs 1.0 (Third Floor), Nelson Street, Manchester M13 9NQ, UK
| | - Garth J. S. Cooper
- Centre for Advanced Discovery & Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M19 9NT, UK; (S.J.C.); (J.X.); (R.D.U.); (G.J.S.C.)
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92 019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
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35
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Regalado-Reyes M, Furcila D, Hernández F, Ávila J, DeFelipe J, León-Espinosa G. Phospho-Tau Changes in the Human CA1 During Alzheimer's Disease Progression. J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 69:277-288. [PMID: 30958368 PMCID: PMC6598029 DOI: 10.3233/jad-181263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Despite extensive studies regarding tau phosphorylation progression in both human Alzheimer's disease cases and animal models, the molecular and structural changes responsible for neurofibrillary tangle development are still not well understood. Here, by using the antibodies AT100 (recognizes tau protein phosphorylated at Thr212 and Ser214 in the proline-rich region) and pS396 (recognizes tau protein phosphorylated at serine residue 396 in the C-terminal region), we examined phospho-tau immunostaining in neurons from the hippocampal CA1 region of 21 human cases with tau pathology ranging from Braak stage I to VI. Our results indicate that the AT100/pS396 ratio decreases in CA1 in accordance with the severity of the disease, along with its colocalization. We therefore propose the AT100/pS396 ratio as a new tool to analyze the tau pathology progression. Our findings also suggest a conformational modification in tau protein that may cause the disappearance of the AT100 epitope in the late stages of tau pathology, which may play a role in the toxic tangle aggregation. Thus, this study provides new insights underlying the stages for the formation of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mamen Regalado-Reyes
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Diana Furcila
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Félix Hernández
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain.,CIBERNED, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Spain
| | - Jesús Ávila
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain.,CIBERNED, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain.,Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,CIBERNED, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Spain
| | - Gonzalo León-Espinosa
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Química y Bioquímica, Facultad de Farmacia, CEU San Pablo University - CEU Universities, Madrid, Spain
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36
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Raghunathan R, Hogan JD, Labadorf A, Myers RH, Zaia J. A glycomics and proteomics study of aging and Parkinson's disease in human brain. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12804. [PMID: 32733076 PMCID: PMC7393382 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69480-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies on Parkinson’s disease mechanisms have shown dysregulated extracellular transport of α-synuclein and growth factors in the extracellular space. In the human brain these consist of perineuronal nets, interstitial matrices, and basement membranes, each composed of a set of collagens, non-collagenous glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and hyaluronan. The manner by which amyloidogenic proteins spread extracellularly, become seeded, oligomerize, and are taken up by cells, depends on intricate interactions with extracellular matrix molecules. We sought to assess the alterations to structure of glycosaminoglycans and proteins that occur in PD brain relative to controls of similar age. We found that PD differs markedly from normal brain in upregulation of extracellular matrix structural components including collagens, proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycan binding molecules. We also observed that levels of hemoglobin chains, possibly related to defects in iron metabolism, were enriched in PD brains. These findings shed important new light on disease processes that occur in association with PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rekha Raghunathan
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, 02118, USA
| | - John D Hogan
- Bioinformatics Program, Boston University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Boston, 02118, USA
| | - Adam Labadorf
- Bioinformatics Program, Boston University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Boston, 02118, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, 02118, USA
| | - Richard H Myers
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, 02118, USA.,Bioinformatics Program, Boston University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Boston, 02118, USA.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, 02118, USA
| | - Joseph Zaia
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, 02118, USA. .,Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, 670 Albany St., Rm. 509, Boston, 02118, USA. .,Bioinformatics Program, Boston University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Boston, 02118, USA.
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37
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Zelentsova EA, Yanshole LV, Melnikov AD, Kudryavtsev IS, Novoselov VP, Tsentalovich YP. Post-mortem changes in metabolomic profiles of human serum, aqueous humor and vitreous humor. Metabolomics 2020; 16:80. [PMID: 32613532 DOI: 10.1007/s11306-020-01700-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Application of metabolomic methods to forensic studies may expand the limits of the post-mortem interval (PMI) estimation, and improve the accuracy of the estimation. To this end, it is important to determine which tissue is the most suitable for analysis, and which compounds are the most promising candidates for PMI estimation. OBJECTIVES This work is aimed at the comparison of human serum, aqueous humor (AH), and vitreous humor (VH) as perspective tissues for metabolomic-based PMI estimation, at the determination of most promising PMI biomarkers, and at the development of method of PMI estimation based on the measurement of concentrations of PMI biomarkers. METHODS Quantitative metabolomic profiling of samples of the human serum, AH, and VH taken at different PMIs has been performed with the use of NMR spectroscopy. RESULTS It is found that the metabolomic changes in anatomically isolated ocular fluids are slower and smoother than that in blood. A good positive time correlation (Pearson coefficient r > 0.5) was observed for several metabolites, including hypoxanthine, choline, creatine, betaine, glutamate, and glycine. A model for PMI estimation based on concentrations of several metabolites in AH and VH is proposed. CONCLUSIONS The obtained results demonstrate that the metabolomic analysis of AH and VH is more suitable for the PMI estimation than that of serum. The compounds with good positive time correlation can be considered as potential PMI biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina A Zelentsova
- International Tomography Center SB RAS, Institutskaya 3a, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
- Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 2, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Lyudmila V Yanshole
- International Tomography Center SB RAS, Institutskaya 3a, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Arsenty D Melnikov
- International Tomography Center SB RAS, Institutskaya 3a, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Ivan S Kudryavtsev
- Novosibirsk Regional Clinical Bureau of Forensic Medicine, Nemirovicha-Danchenko 134, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630087
| | - Vladimir P Novoselov
- Novosibirsk Regional Clinical Bureau of Forensic Medicine, Nemirovicha-Danchenko 134, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630087
| | - Yuri P Tsentalovich
- International Tomography Center SB RAS, Institutskaya 3a, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090.
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38
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Lendor S, Olkowicz M, Boyaci E, Yu M, Diwan M, Hamani C, Palmer M, Reyes-Garcés N, Gómez-Ríos GA, Pawliszyn J. Investigation of Early Death-Induced Changes in Rat Brain by Solid Phase Microextraction via Untargeted High Resolution Mass Spectrometry: In Vivo versus Postmortem Comparative Study. ACS Chem Neurosci 2020; 11:1827-1840. [PMID: 32407623 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Analysis of brain samples obtained postmortem remains a standard approach in neuroscience, despite often being suboptimal for inferring roles of small molecules in the pathophysiology of brain diseases. Sample collection and preservation further hinders conclusive interpretation of biomarker analysis in autopsy samples. We investigate purely death-induced changes affecting rat hippocampus in the first hour of postmortem interval (PMI) by means of untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. The unique possibility of sampling the same brain area of each animal both in vivo and postmortem was enabled by employing solid phase microextraction (SPME) probes. Four millimeter probes coated with mixed mode extraction phase were used to sample awake, freely roaming animals, with 2 more sampling events performed after death. Significant changes in brain neurochemistry were found to occur as soon as 30 min after death, further progressing with increasing PMI, evidenced by relative changes in levels of metabolites and lipids. These included species from several distinct groups, which can be classified as engaged in energy metabolism-related processes, signal transduction, neurotransmission, or inflammatory response. Additionally, we perform thorough analysis of interindividual variability in response to death, which provides insights into how this aspect can obscure conclusions drawn from an untargeted study at single metabolite and pathway level. The results suggest high demand for systematic studies examining the PMI time course with in vivo sampling as a starting point to eliminate artifacts in the form of neurochemical changes assumed to occur in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Lendor
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Mariola Olkowicz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Ezel Boyaci
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Miao Yu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Mustansir Diwan
- Neuroimaging Research Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Clement Hamani
- Neuroimaging Research Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Michael Palmer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Nathaly Reyes-Garcés
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - German Augusto Gómez-Ríos
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Janusz Pawliszyn
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
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39
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Merino-Serrais P, Tapia-González S, DeFelipe J. Calbindin immunostaining in the CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cell layer of the human and mouse: A comparative study. J Chem Neuroanat 2020; 104:101745. [PMID: 31945411 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2020.101745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 01/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Immunostaining for calbindin (CB) is commonly used to label particular populations of neurons. Recently, it has been shown that the CA1 pyramidal cells in the mouse can be subdivided along the radial axis into superficial and deep pyramidal cells and that this segregation in the radial axis may represent a general principle of structural and functional organization of the hippocampus. One of the most widely used markers of the superficial pyramidal cells is CB. However, this laminar segregation of pyramidal cells has not been reported in the human CA1 using CB immunostaining. The problem is that the different pattern of CB immunostaining observed in the mouse compared to the human could be explained by technical features, of which one of the most important is the postmortem time (PT) delay typical of the brain tissue obtained from humans. In the present study, we have studied the influences of PT delays and fixation procedures and we found that the clear differences found between the CA1 of the human and mouse do not depend on the fixation, but represent actual species-specific differences. These remarkable differences between species should be taken into consideration when making interpretations in translational studies from mouse to human brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Merino-Serrais
- Departamento de Neurobiología Funcional y de Sistemas, Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain; Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Silvia Tapia-González
- Departamento de Neurobiología Funcional y de Sistemas, Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain; Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Departamento de Neurobiología Funcional y de Sistemas, Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain; Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain.
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40
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41
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Furcila D, Domínguez-Álvaro M, DeFelipe J, Alonso-Nanclares L. Subregional Density of Neurons, Neurofibrillary Tangles and Amyloid Plaques in the Hippocampus of Patients With Alzheimer's Disease. Front Neuroanat 2019; 13:99. [PMID: 31920568 PMCID: PMC6930895 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2019.00099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A variety of anatomical alterations have been reported in the hippocampal formation of patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and these alterations have been correlated with cognitive symptoms in the early stages of the disease. Major hallmarks in AD are the presence of paired helical filaments of tau protein (PHFTau) within neurons, also known as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), and aggregates of amyloid-β protein (Aβ) which form plaques in the extracellular space. Nevertheless, how the density of plaques and NFTs relate to the severity of cell loss and cognitive decline is not yet clear. The aim of the present study was to further examine the possible relationship of both Aβ plaques and NFTs with neuronal loss in several hippocampal fields (DG, CA3, CA1, and subiculum) of 11 demented AD patients. For this purpose, using stereological techniques, we compared neuronal densities (Nissl-stained, and immunoreactive neurons for NeuN) with: (i) numbers of neurons immunostained for two isoforms of PHFTau (PHFTau-AT8 and PHFTau-pS396); and (ii) number of Aβ plaques. We found that CA1 showed the highest number of NFTs and Aβ plaques, whereas DG and CA3 displayed the lowest number of these markers. Furthermore, AD patients showed a variable neuronal loss in CA1 due to tangle-related cell death, which seems to correlate with the presence of extracellular tangles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Furcila
- Cajal Laboratory of Cortical Circuits, Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Network Biomedical Research Center on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Domínguez-Álvaro
- Cajal Laboratory of Cortical Circuits, Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Cajal Laboratory of Cortical Circuits, Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Network Biomedical Research Center on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Cajal Institute (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Lidia Alonso-Nanclares
- Cajal Laboratory of Cortical Circuits, Centre for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Network Biomedical Research Center on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Cajal Institute (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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42
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González-Riano C, Dudzik D, Garcia A, Gil-de-la-Fuente A, Gradillas A, Godzien J, López-Gonzálvez Á, Rey-Stolle F, Rojo D, Ruperez FJ, Saiz J, Barbas C. Recent Developments along the Analytical Process for Metabolomics Workflows. Anal Chem 2019; 92:203-226. [PMID: 31625723 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina González-Riano
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - Danuta Dudzik
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain.,Department of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy , Medical University of Gdańsk , 80-210 Gdańsk , Poland
| | - Antonia Garcia
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - Alberto Gil-de-la-Fuente
- Department of Information Technology, Escuela Politécnica Superior , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , 28003 Madrid , Spain
| | - Ana Gradillas
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - Joanna Godzien
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain.,Clinical Research Centre , Medical University of Bialystok , 15-089 Bialystok , Poland
| | - Ángeles López-Gonzálvez
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - Fernanda Rey-Stolle
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - David Rojo
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - Francisco J Ruperez
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - Jorge Saiz
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
| | - Coral Barbas
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Pharmacy Faculty , Universidad San Pablo-CEU , Boadilla del Monte , 28668 Madrid , Spain
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43
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Tapia-González S, Insausti R, DeFelipe J. Differential expression of secretagogin immunostaining in the hippocampal formation and the entorhinal and perirhinal cortices of humans, rats, and mice. J Comp Neurol 2019; 528:523-541. [PMID: 31512254 PMCID: PMC6972606 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Secretagogin (SCGN) is a recently discovered calcium-binding protein belonging to the group of EF-hand calcium-binding proteins. SCGN immunostaining has been described in various regions of the human, rat and mouse brain. In these studies, it has been reported that, in general, the patterns of SCGN staining differ between rodents and human brains. These differences have been interpreted as uncovering phylogenetic differences in SCGN expression. Nevertheless, an important aspect that is not usually taken into account is that different methods are used for obtaining and processing brain tissue coming from humans and experimental animals. This is a critical issue since it has been shown that post-mortem time delay and the method of fixation (i.e., perfused vs. nonperfused brains) may influence the results of the immunostaining. Thus, it is not clear whether differences found in comparative studies with the human brain are simply due to technical factors or species-specific differences. In the present study, we analyzed the pattern of SCGN immunostaining in the adult human hippocampal formation (DG, CA1, CA2, CA3, subiculum, presubiculum, and parasubiculum) as well as in the entorhinal and perirhinal cortices. This pattern of immunostaining was compared with rat and mouse that were fixed either by perfusion or immersion and with different post-mortem time delays (up to 5 hr) to mimic the way the human brain tissue is usually processed. We found a number of clear similarities and differences in the pattern of labeling among the human, rat, and mouse in these brain regions as well as between the different brain regions examined within each species. These differences were not due to the fixation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Tapia-González
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Insausti
- Laboratorio de Neuroanatomía Humana, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
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44
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Kim M, Jang WJ, Shakya R, Choi B, Jeong CH, Lee S. Current Understanding of Methamphetamine-Associated Metabolic Changes Revealed by the Metabolomics Approach. Metabolites 2019; 9:metabo9100195. [PMID: 31547093 PMCID: PMC6835349 DOI: 10.3390/metabo9100195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolomics is a powerful tool used in the description of metabolic system perturbations caused by diseases or abnormal conditions, and it usually involves qualitative and/or quantitative metabolome determination, accompanied by bioinformatics assessment. Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant with serious abuse potential and due to the absence of effective pharmacotherapy and a high recurrence potential, methamphetamine addiction is a grave issue. Moreover, its addiction mechanisms remain unclear, probably due to the lack of experimental models that reflect personal genetic variances and environmental factors determining drug addiction occurrence. The metabolic approach is only recently being used to study the metabolic effects induced by a variety of methamphetamine exposure statuses, in order to investigate metabolic disturbances related to the adverse effects and discover potential methamphetamine addiction biomarkers. To provide a critical overview of methamphetamine-associated metabolic changes revealed in recent years using the metabolomics approach, we discussed methamphetamine toxicity, applications of metabolomics in drug abuse and addiction studies, biological samples used in metabolomics, and previous studies on metabolic alterations in a variety of biological samples—including the brain, hair, serum, plasma, and urine—following methamphetamine exposure in animal studies. Metabolic alterations observed in animal brain and other biological samples after methamphetamine exposure were associated with neuronal and energy metabolism disruptions. This review highlights the significance of further metabolomics studies in the area of methamphetamine addiction research. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of metabolic changes induced by methamphetamine addiction progress and to the design of further studies targeting the discovery of methamphetamine addiction biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minjeong Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeoldaero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.
| | - Won-Jun Jang
- College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeoldaero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.
| | - Rupa Shakya
- College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeoldaero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.
| | - Boyeon Choi
- College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeoldaero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.
| | - Chul-Ho Jeong
- College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeoldaero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.
| | - Sooyeun Lee
- College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeoldaero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.
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Cell numbers, distribution, shape, and regional variation throughout the murine hippocampal formation from the adult brain Allen Reference Atlas. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:2883-2897. [PMID: 31444616 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-01940-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Quantifying the distribution of cells in every brain region is fundamental to attaining a comprehensive census of distinct neuronal and glial types. Until recently, estimating neuron numbers involved time-consuming procedures that were practically limited to stereological sampling. Progress in open-source image recognition software, growth in computing power, and unprecedented neuroinformatics developments now offer the potentially paradigm-shifting alternative of comprehensive cell-by-cell analysis in an entire brain region. The Allen Brain Atlas provides free digital access to complete series of raw Nissl-stained histological section images along with regional delineations. Automated cell segmentation of these data enables reliable and reproducible high-throughput quantification of regional variations in cell count, density, size, and shape at whole-system scale. While this strategy is directly applicable to any regions of the mouse brain, we first deploy it here on the closed-loop circuit of the hippocampal formation: the medial and lateral entorhinal cortices; dentate gyrus (DG); areas Cornu Ammonis 3 (CA3), CA2, and CA1; and dorsal and ventral subiculum. Using two independent image processing pipelines and the adult mouse reference atlas, we report the first cellular-level soma segmentation in every sub-region and non-principal layer of the left hippocampal formation through the full rostral-caudal extent. It is important to note that our techniques excluded the layers with the largest number of cells, DG granular and CA pyramidal, due to dense packing. The numerical estimates for the remaining layers are corroborated by traditional stereological sampling on a data subset and well match sparse published reports.
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Kim YH, Shim HS, Kim KH, Lee J, Chung BC, Kowall NW, Ryu H, Lee J. Metabolomic Analysis Identifies Alterations of Amino Acid Metabolome Signatures in the Postmortem Brain of Alzheimer's Disease. Exp Neurobiol 2019; 28:376-389. [PMID: 31308797 PMCID: PMC6614073 DOI: 10.5607/en.2019.28.3.376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Revised: 05/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite significant advances in neuroscience research over the past several decades, the exact cause of AD has not yet fully understood. The metabolic hypothesis as well as the amyloid and tau hypotheses have been proposed to be associated with AD pathogenesis. In order to identify metabolome signatures from the postmortem brains of sporadic AD patients and control subjects, we performed ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometer (UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS). Not only our study identified new metabolome signatures but also verified previously known metabolome profiles in the brain. Statistical modeling of the analytical data and validation of the structural assignments discovered metabolic biomarkers associated with the AD pathogenesis. Interestingly, hypotaurin, myo-inositol and oxo-proline levels were markedly elevated in AD while lutamate and N-acetyl-aspartate were decreased in the postmortem brain tissue of AD patients. In addition, neurosteroid level such as cortisol was significantly increased in AD. Together, our data indicate that impaired amino acid metabolism is associated with AD pathogenesis and the altered amino acid signatures can be useful diagnostic biomarkers of AD. Thus, modulation of amino acid metabolism may be a possible therapeutic approach to treat AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoon Hwan Kim
- MolecularRecognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul 02792, Korea
| | - Hyun Soo Shim
- Center for Neuroscience, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea
| | - Kyoung Heon Kim
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul 02792, Korea
| | - Junghee Lee
- Veteran's Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Bong Chul Chung
- MolecularRecognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea
| | - Neil W. Kowall
- Veteran's Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Hoon Ryu
- Center for Neuroscience, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea
- Veteran's Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
- Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Convergence Research Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Care System of Dementia, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea
| | - Jeongae Lee
- MolecularRecognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea
- Convergence Research Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Care System of Dementia, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea
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Pelletti G, Garagnani M, Barone R, Boscolo-Berto R, Rossi F, Morotti A, Roffi R, Fais P, Pelotti S. Validation and preliminary application of a GC–MS method for the determination of putrescine and cadaverine in the human brain: a promising technique for PMI estimation. Forensic Sci Int 2019; 297:221-227. [DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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48
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Postnatal development and maturation of layer 1 in the lateral prefrontal cortex and its disruption in autism. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2019; 7:40. [PMID: 30867066 PMCID: PMC6417186 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-019-0684-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism is a neurodevelopmental connectivity disorder characterized by cortical network disorganization and imbalance in excitation/inhibition. However, little is known about the development of autism pathology and the disruption of laminar-specific excitatory and inhibitory cortical circuits. To begin to address these issues, we examined layer 1 of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), an area with prolonged development and maturation that is affected in autism. We focused on layer 1 because it contains a distinctive, diverse population of interneurons and glia, receives input from feedback and neuromodulatory pathways, and plays a critical role in the development, maturation, and function of the cortex. We used unbiased quantitative methods at high resolution to study the morphology, neurochemistry, distribution, and density of neurons and myelinated axons in post-mortem brain tissue from children and adults with and without autism. We cross-validated our findings through comparisons with neighboring anterior cingulate cortices and optimally-fixed non-human primate tissue. In neurotypical controls we found an increase in the density of myelinated axons from childhood to adulthood. Neuron density overall declined with age, paralleled by decreased density of inhibitory interneurons labeled by calretinin (CR), calbindin (CB), and parvalbumin (PV). Importantly, we found PV neurons in layer 1 of typically developing children, previously detected only perinatally. In autism there was disorganization of cortical networks within layer 1: children with autism had increased variability in the trajectories and thickness of myelinated axons in layer 1, while adults with autism had a reduction in the relative proportion of thin axons. Neurotypical postnatal changes in layer 1 of LPFC likely underlie refinement of cortical activity during maturation of cortical networks involved in cognition. Our findings suggest that disruption of the maturation of feedback pathways, rather than interneurons in layer 1, has a key role in the development of imbalance between excitation and inhibition in autism.
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Furcila D, García M, Toader C, Morales J, LaTorre A, Rodríguez Á, Pastor L, DeFelipe J, Alonso-Nanclares L. InTool Explorer: An Interactive Exploratory Analysis Tool for Versatile Visualizations of Neuroscientific Data. Front Neuroanat 2019; 13:28. [PMID: 30914926 PMCID: PMC6421977 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2019.00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The bottleneck for progress in many research areas within neuroscience has shifted from the data acquisition to the data analysis stages. In the present article, we propose a method named InTool Explorer that we have developed to perform interactive exploratory data analysis, focusing on neuroanatomy as an example of its utility. This tool is freely-available software that has been designed to facilitate the study of complex neuroscience data. InTool Explorer requires no more than an internet connection and a web browser. The main contribution of this tool is to provide a user-designed canvas for data visualization and interaction, to perform specific exploratory tasks according to the user needs. Moreover, InTool Explorer permits visualization of the datasets in a very dynamic and versatile way using a linked-card approach. For this purpose, the tool allows the user to select among different predefined card types. Each card type offers an abstract data representation, a filtering tool or a set of statistical analysis methods. Additionally, InTool Explorer makes it possible linking raw images to the data. These images can be used by InTool Explorer to define new customized filtering cards. Another significant contribution of this tool is that it allows fast visualization of the data, error finding, and re-evaluation to establish new hypotheses or new lines of research. Thus, regarding its practical application in the laboratory, InTool Explorer provides a new opportunity to study and analyze neuroscience data prior to any statistical analysis being carried out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Furcila
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Marcos García
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.,Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Cosmin Toader
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Antonio LaTorre
- Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ángel Rodríguez
- Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Pastor
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.,Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Department of Functional and Systems Neurobiology, Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Lidia Alonso-Nanclares
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Department of Functional and Systems Neurobiology, Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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50
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Glausier JR, Konanur A, Lewis DA. Factors Affecting Ultrastructural Quality in the Prefrontal Cortex of the Postmortem Human Brain. J Histochem Cytochem 2019; 67:185-202. [PMID: 30562121 PMCID: PMC6393839 DOI: 10.1369/0022155418819481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Electron microscopy (EM) studies of the postmortem human brain provide a level of resolution essential for understanding brain function in both normal and disease states. However, processes associated with death can impair the cellular and organelle ultrastructural preservation required for quantitative EM studies. Although postmortem interval (PMI), the time between death and preservation of tissue, is thought to be the most influential factor of ultrastructural quality, numerous other factors may also influence tissue preservation. The goal of the present study was to assess the effects of pre- and postmortem factors on multiple components of ultrastructure in the postmortem human prefrontal cortex. Tissue samples from 30 subjects were processed using standard EM histochemistry. The primary dependent measure was number of identifiable neuronal profiles, and secondary measures included presence and/or integrity of synapses, mitochondria, and myelinated axonal fibers. Number of identifiable neuronal profiles was most strongly affected by the interaction of PMI and pH, such that short PMIs and neutral pH values predicted the best preservation. Secondary measures were largely unaffected by pre- and postmortem factors. Together, these data indicate that distinct components of the neuropil are differentially affected by PMI and pH in postmortem human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anisha Konanur
- The Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
| | - David A. Lewis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh
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