Development of an in vivo adeno-associated virus-mediated siRNA approach to knockdown tyrosine hydroxylase in the lateral retrochiasmatic area of the ovine brain

Seasonal regulation of structural plasticity and neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain: focus on the sheep hypothalamus

To cope with variations in the environment, most mammalian species exhibit seasonal cycles in physiology and behaviour. Seasonal plasticity during the lifetime contributes to seasonal physiology. Over the years, our ideas regarding adult brain plasticity and, more specifically, hypothalamic plasticity have greatly evolved. Along with the two main neurogenic regions, namely the hippocampal subgranular and lateral ventricle subventricular zones, the hypothalamus, which is the central homeostatic regulator of numerous physiological functions that comprise sexual behaviours, feeding and metabolism, also hosts neurogenic niches. Both endogenous and exogenous factors, including the photoperiod, modulate the hypothalamic neurogenic capacities. The present review describes the effects of season on adult morphological plasticity and neurogenesis in seasonal species, for which the photoperiod is a master environmental cue for the successful programming of seasonal functions. In addition, the potential functional significance of adult neurogenesis in the mediation of the seasonal control of reproduction and feeding is discussed.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Role of melatonin and oxidative stress

Type 2 diabetes mellitus caused by transfer of susceptible immortal gene from parent to progeny in individuals prone, and/or in contribution of factors such as obesity and physical inactivity results in chronic extracellular hyperglycemia due to insulin resistance or impaired glucose tolerance. Hyperglycemia leads to increased production of superoxide radical in mitochondrial electron transport chain, consequently, inhibit glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, increase the flux of substrates that direct the expression of genes responsible for activation of polyol, hexosamine, advanced glycation end products and protein kinase-C pathways enzymes. Simultaneously, these pathways add-up free radicals in the body, hamper cell redox state, alter genes of insulin sensitivity and are responsible for the diabetic complications like retinopathy, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, nephropathy and neuropathy. Experimental evidence suggests that the indoleamine hormone melatonin is capable of influencing in development of diabetic complications by neutralizing the unnecessary production of ROS, protection of beta cells, as they possess low antioxidant potential and normalize redox state in the cell. However, studies reported the beneficial effects of pharmacological supplementation of melatonin in humans but it has not been extensively studied in a multicountric, multicentric which should include all ethnic population.

Melatonin and pancreatic islets: interrelationships between melatonin, insulin and glucagon

The pineal hormone melatonin exerts its influence in the periphery through activation of two specific trans-membrane receptors: MT1 and MT2. Both isoforms are expressed in the islet of Langerhans and are involved in the modulation of insulin secretion from β-cells and in glucagon secretion from α-cells. De-synchrony of receptor signaling may lead to the development of type 2 diabetes. This notion has recently been supported by genome-wide association studies identifying particularly the MT2 as a risk factor for this rapidly spreading metabolic disturbance. Since melatonin is secreted in a clearly diurnal fashion, it is safe to assume that it also has a diurnal impact on the blood-glucose-regulating function of the islet. This factor has hitherto been underestimated; the disruption of diurnal signaling within the islet may be one of the most important mechanisms leading to metabolic disturbances. The study of melatonin–insulin interactions in diabetic rat models has revealed an inverse relationship: an increase in melatonin levels leads to a down-regulation of insulin secretion and vice versa. Elucidation of the possible inverse interrelationship in man may open new avenues in the therapy of diabetes.

Dynamics of olfactory and hippocampal neurogenesis in adult sheep

Although adult neurogenesis has been conserved in higher vertebrates such as primates and humans, timing of generation, migration, and differentiation of new neurons appears to differ from that in rodents. Sheep could represent an alternative model to studying neurogenesis in primates because they possess a brain as large as a macaque monkey and have a similar life span. By using a marker of cell division, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), in combination with several markers, the maturation time of newborn cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) and the main olfactory bulb (MOB) was determined in sheep. In addition, to establish the origin of adult-born neurons in the MOB, an adeno-associated virus that infects neural cells in the ovine brain was injected into the subventricular zone (SVZ). A migratory stream was indicated from the SVZ up to the MOB, consisting of neuroblasts that formed chain-like structures. Results also showed a long neuronal maturation time in both the DG and the MOB, similar to that in primates. The first new neurons were observed at 1 month in the DG and at 3 months in the MOB after BrdU injections. Thus, maturation of adult-born cells in both the DG and the MOB is much longer than that in rodents and resembles that in nonhuman primates. This study points out the importance of studying the features of adult neurogenesis in models other than rodents, especially for translational research for human cellular therapy.

Lentiviral-mediated gene transfer to the sheep brain: implications for gene therapy in Batten disease

The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs; Batten disease) are inherited neurodegenerative lysosomal storage diseases with common clinical features of blindness and seizures culminating in premature death. Gene-therapy strategies for these diseases depend on whether the missing activity is a secreted lysosomal protein taken up by neighboring cells, or an intramembrane protein that requires careful targeting. Therapies are best developed in animal models with large complex human-like brains. Lentiviral-mediated gene delivery to neural cell cultures from normal sheep and sheep affected with an NCL resulted in green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression in neurons and neuroblasts, more efficiently than in astrocytes. Similar transgene expression was obtained from two constitutive promoters, the viral MND promoter and the human EF1α promoter. In vivo studies showed stable and persistent GFP expression throughout the cell bodies, axons, and dendrites from intracortical injections and indicated ependymal and subependymal transduction. The sheep showed no ill effects from the injections. These data support continuing gene-therapy trials in the sheep models of Batten disease.